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\
%xt\i^tiU%h C!{ambr«nsts,
JOURNAL
VOL. I. FOUR.TH BERIE8.
LONDON:
J. PARKER, 377, STRAND.
1870.
liOKDOM:
T. BMSAMIft, 9f, —BAT qVSBM tTftBBT.
A
PBEFACE TO VOL. I.
FOURTH SERIES.
This firet volume of a new series will be found, like
many that have preceded it, to contain important addi-
tions to the history and archaeology of Wales. Among
these must be placed the description of the only cran-
nog existing in the Principality, as far as is yet known ;
while Sir Gardner Wilkinson has directed attention to
the avenue in Benton, in Pembrokeshire, with the illus-
tration of which he has kindly presented the Associa-
tion, which had up to that time escaped the notice of
Welsh antiquaries. An exhaustive article on those
hitherto unexplained bronze articles of spoon-like form,
by Mr. Albert Way, will also be found ; and if it does
not determine their nature, at least tells all that is yet
known about them up to the present time.
The new light thrown upon the coast castles of
Britanny by M. Le Men, in his interesting account of
Castel Coz, will assist researches into similar castles in
Wales and Cornwall; while the results obtained by
him from excavating into the interiors of dwellings
seem to correspond with those which have been
IV PREFACE.
obtained by Mr. W. O. Stanley from his labours among
the ancient dwelling-places of those who once occupied
the headland of Anglesey.
In the present volume also wiU be found important
communications concerning cromlechs and chambered
mounds, from the pens of Sir Gardner Wilkinson and
Mr. Stanley, who has also generously presented the
Association with the numerous illustrations which
accompany his description of the well known remains
at Plasnewydd in Anglesey. The thanks of the Asso-
ciation are also due to Mr. R. W. Banks for his addi-
tional present of illustrations.
The appropriation of a certain space of the Journal
for the printing of deeds, rolls, records, etc., is a new
feat\u:e in the ArchcBologia Cambreiisis. Members are
reminded that these are separately paged, so as to form
a complete voliune of itself, when required.
FOURTH SERIES.— No. I.
NOTICE TO M:
All members wishing to assist in
of the Arch(Bologia Camhrtmms arf
without delay to the Eev. E, L. Bi
Members wishing to compli
series may, on application to either of the Secretaries,
numbers supplied at half the usaal price.
Nor is the tract thus water-girdled leas obviously de-
fined by the lofty chain, which rises immediately within
the rivers, and forms for the moat part their southern
boundary. Commencing above the Uak, near Newport
and Pontypool, at an elevation of about 1,500 feet, the
range trends by tJie north and west, including the
]
obtained by Mr. W. O. Stanley from hie labours among
the ancient dwelling-places of those who once occupied
the headland of Anglesey.
In the present volume also will be found important
communications concerning cromlechs and chambered
mounds, from tbn nana r^P Cs:~ r% ■ -
"^-^
FOURTH SERIES.— No. L
JANUAKY, 1870.
AN OUTLINE OF THE TOPOGEAPHY OF
GLAMORGAN.
[^Reprinted, hy permission, from the Gentleman's Magazine for Jan. 1861.]
[Wk have to apologise fco members for not having laid before them,
at an earlier period, the following interesting and important
paper. — Ed. Arch. Camb.^
It wiU be apparent to any one who inspects a map of
South Wales upon which the mountains and rivers are
strongly dehneated, that the county of Glamorgan is
but a part, though a very considerable part, of a great
natural division of the country, portions of which are
included within the adjacent shires of Monmouth,
Brecknock, and Caermarthen.
The district thus defined by nature, is contained
within the water-courses of the Usk and the Towy,
whose waters, rising near Trecastle at a thousand feet
above the sea level, flow, on the one hand towards the
east, and on the other towards the west, to faU into the
Bristol Channel at Newport, and in, the Bay of Caer-
marthen.
Nor is the tract thus water-girdled less obviously de-
fined by the lofty chain, which rises immediately within
the rivers, and forms for the most part their southern
boundary. Commencing above the U sk, near Newport
and Pontypool, at an elevation of about 1,500 feet, the
range trends by the north and west, including the
4nrB ssB., vol. i. 1
2 AN OUTLINE OF THE TOPOGRAPHY
Blorenge of 1,800 feet, until it reaches the Brecon Bea-
con, the highest land in South Wales, where it rises to
2,862 feet.
From thence, passing westwards and towards the
south, it contains the Caermarthen Vans of 2,598 feet,
and finally sinks down to about 354 feet, where it ter-
minates upon the Bay of Caermarthen, between the
outlets of the Towy and the Gwendraeth.
The tract thus doubly defined by rivers and moun-
tains, has yet a third and not less definite, if less ap-
parent limit, for it is also the great mineral field of
South Wales, to which the Principality owes its present,
and its prospect of an increasing, prosperity for many
centuries to come.
The county of Glamorgan is entirely contained within
this mineral field, but does not occupy its whole extent,
a moderate area being shared by Monmouth, and a still
smaller one by Caermarthen.
Following the system of geography which has com-
pared Italy with a boot and Oxfordshire with a seated
old woman, Glamorgan may be likened, not inaptly, to
a porpoise in the act of diving. Roath represents its
mouth, Ruperra its prominent snout, Blaen-Rhymny
and Waun-cae-Gerwin its dorsal fins, Gower its out-
stretched tail, and the Hundred of Dinas-Powis its
protuberant belly. The likeness is sufficient to present
to the memory the salient outlines of the county, and
for that reason it is recorded here.
The river Rhymny, known anciently as the Elarch,
forms the eastern boundary of Glamorgan, and divides
it from Monmouth. In like manner the Llwchwr forms
its western boundary, and divides it from Caermarthen.
The intervening, or northern limit, is far less definitely
marked, and being for the most part arbitrary, has been,
at one point, disputed for centiuies.
At Rhyd-y-Milwyr, *the soldiers' ford,' near the sources
of the Rhymny, is the junction point of Glamorgan,
Monmouth, and Brecknock. Thence a vague and dis-
puted line, contested with arms in the reign of Edward
OP GLAMORGAN. 3
I, and by law at this day, extends west by Castell-Nos
to the Taff Vachan, descending which, below Morlais,
to its jimction with the Taff Vawr above Merthyr, it
stretches westwards, chiefly along certain water-courses,
by Bryn-Cwrw to Blaen-nant-hir, and thence descends
to the Aberdare valley at GamlynganoL
Ascending the Cynon by Hirwann, the boundary
passes north and east with great irregularity by Pont-
nedd- Vachan, up the western of the streams which
there unite, by the Gaer, whence it descends by the
upper Dulais to Gwaum-jarll, and thence passes south-
eastward, into the valley of the Tawe. This it crosses,
and ascending the Twrch, ceases to be the limit of
Brecknock, and divides Glamorgan from Caermarthen.
The junction of the Twrch with its main tributary, the
LlynfeU, is the imion point of three counties.
From the Twrch the line ascends this tributary,
traverses Waun-cae-Gerwin, and descends the Amman
to its confluence with the Gar, up which it passes to
Nant-Melyn, and thence crossing westward to the
Llwchwr at its union with the Amman, it there com-
pletes the northern frontier of the coimty.
The greatest breadth of Glamorgan is from Castell-
Nos on the north to Breaksea point, about twenty-nine
miles. Its greatest length is from the Rhymny below
Ruperra to Wormshead in Gower, about fifty-three
miles. These, however, are extreme points : the average
dimensions of the county are materially less, and its
area is about 792 square miles, or 506,880 statute acres.
The Llwchwr and the Rhymny but half belong to
the county. Though large rivers, their tributaries &om
Glamorgan are not considerable. The Llwchwr receives
the Cam-flfrwd from Cefn-Drim, the Dulais from Cam-
wen ; and the double waters of the Lliw from Cefn-
Uiw and Penllergare have a combined outlet into the
sea just below the strait and tower of Llwchwr. The
Rhymny receives only the Bargoed from Gelligaer, and
a few small brooks, the Cylla, the Gledyr, the On, the
Brech-fa, and the Dulais, about and below Caerphilly.
4 AN OUTLINE OF THE TOPOGRAPHY
Besides the border waters, the county contains five
considerable rivers, the Taff, the Tawe, the Nedd, the
Ely, and the Ogwr.
Of these, the TafF, rising in the Beacons by two heads,
receives the Morlais, and its affluent the Dowlais, above
Merthyr, and below it the Bargoed Taff, the Cayach
from Llanvabon, the Cynon and its tributaries the Aman
and the Dare, the Caeadwg, the Rhondda, the Corwg,
the Ffrwd, and the Garw. It escapes from the moun-
tains by the defile of the Garth, and flows with but
little further increase into the sea at Cardiff.
The Tawe rises in Moel-feu-dy, among the Vans of
Caermarthen, by very many considerable streams, of
which the chief are the Haffys, the Giaidd, the Gwyseg,
north of the county boundary, and upon or within it,
the Twrch, the Clydach and the Ffyndrod. It is the
river of Swansea, called by the Welsh Aber-Tawe ;
and it reaches the sea through a gorge of great bold-
ness, and which, should the world survive the copper
manufacture, may again be beautiful.
The Nedd rises between the Taff and the Tawe, in
the same mountain range. Its heads, situate in the
county of Brecon, are the Hepste and the Melte (cele-
brated for their falls), the Nedd Vachan, the Byxddyn,
the Dringarth, the Llia, the Gwerlech, the Dulas, the
Clydach, and the Cryddan. The main stream gives
name to the town of Neath, below which, skirting the
once celebrated groimds of Briton Ferry, it opens into
the sea.
The Ogwr and the Ely are less important streams ;
they rise wholly within the county, and in the high
ground south of the Rhondda. The Ogwr springs from
four heads, the Ogwr-Vach and Vawr, the Garw and
the Llyfnu, with their subordinates the Llechydd, and
the Cydfyw, from Cam Celyn, Mynydd-Llangeinor, and
Foel-Vawr. These combine shortly after emerging
from the moimtain tract, and, flowing past Bridgend,
the main stream receives the Wenny from Mynydd-
Portreff, and its tributary the Alim, and falls into the
OP GLAMORGAN. 5
sea between the sands of Newton and the high downs
of Sutton.
The Ely, or Afon-lai, rises east of the sources of the
Ogwr, under Pen-rhiw-fer, upon the south-western
skirts of Mynydd Glyn. In the gorge of Mynydd
Mailwg it receives the Mychydd from Gwaun-CasteUau,
and below the gorge the Dowlais from Foel-Ddyhewyd
with the Nant-y-Cessan ; after which it flows down a
broad valley of great pastoral beauty and, swollen by
several nameless brooks, turns the high escarpments of
Rhiwau-Cochion and Caerau, winds in links across the
alluvial moor of Leckwith, and finally falls into a bay or
small estuary common to it with the Taff, beneath the
protecting headland of Penarth.
Among the lesser but independent streamlets which
drain the southern coast direct into the sea, may be
mentioned the Cowbridge brook, which rises in Brigan,
flows past the old fortified town of Cowbridge, threads
its way beneath the frowning ruins of Llanblethian
and by the pleasant meads of Beaupr^, and reaches the
sea at Aberthaw, which thus preserves in composition
the name of the stream of which Cowbridge is evidently
an usurpation.
The coimtry to the east of Aberthaw supplies two
streams ; of which one, sometimes called the Barry,
from Dinas-Powis and the back of Caerau, joins the
Barry estuary ; and the other, from St. Lythan's and
Bonvileston, fertilises the meadows of Penmark and
Fonmon, receives the Golych from St. Nicholas, and as
the Kenson, reinforced by the Bran and the Carvan
brooklets, joins the Aberthaw water at Llancadle.
There are also brooks which reach the sea respectively,
the Hodnant at Colhugh, and others at Marcross and
Monknash.
These all belong to the county east of the Ogwr.
West of that river, among the secondary streams, is the
Pyle or Kenfig brook, which rises behind Mynydd-Mar-
gam, receives the Nant-y-Glo from the west, and flows
mto the sea past the solitary wall and across the fluc-
tuating sands of Kenfig.
6 AN OUTLINE OF THE TOPOGRAPHY
West again of this, the sands are traversed by a
larger stream, the Avan, which rises under Crug-yr-
Avan and Fachgen-Cam, in the dark recesses of Glyn-
Corwg, and receives the Fedw, the Corwg from Foel-
Chwerch, the Trafael, the Avan Vach or Gwen-flOrwd,
and the Meiliad ; and passing and giving name to Aber-
afon, reaches the sea in union with the Ffrydwyllt, a
rapid mountain-stream, subject, like the Avan, to sud-
den floods.
Gower gives rise to a few small streamlets, such as
those from Mynydd-bach, Llanrhidian, and Cheriton
along its western, and under Penmaen and Penard upon
its southern shore.
Of these rivers none, excepting in a slight degree
the Llwchwr, are either navigable by nature, or admit
conveniently of being made so to any extent by art.
Those which rise in the north of the coimty are rapid
and uncertain, sometimes foaming torrents, more fre-
quently nearly dry. They descend through those wild
and rocky, but always verdant, valleys for which Gla-
morgan is justly celebrated ; and though their molten
crystal be not imfrequently soiled with mineral stains,
and their peaceful murmuring lost amidst the dissonance
of the steam-engine, they still in their varying turns
disclose those nooks and angles by which the Silurian
race have ever been attracted to their native land.
The general surface of Glamorgan is exceedingly ir-
regular ; but its leading irregularities, like its natural
boundaries', .may be most conveniently described by a
reference to its geology.
The whole of the northern two-thirds of the county
is occupied by its coal-field, and the southern edge of
this basin is formed by the uplifting of the carboniferous
limestone and the lower sandstone of the coal, which,
dipping northwards, present towards the south an es-
carpment more or less bold, including elevations which
at the Garth and Mynydd Maelog, attain nearly 1,000
feet, and which divide very definitely the hill-country,
or Blaenau, from the Vale, or Bro. This distinction
OF GLAMORGAN. 7
subsists from the heights of Ruperra on the Rhymny
to the Ogmore and the Kenfig Sands, where the southern
edge of the coal-field is broken into by Swansea Bay,
re-appearing on its western shore in the limestone of
the Mumbles in Gower.
The Vale, called, under the old Welsh government,
the ' Bro,' in distinction from ' the Blaenau,' though not
without marked features and elevated downs, is rather
undulating than hilly, being covered up for the most
part by the later rocks, which are not, like those of the
coal, more or less uplifted, but lie more or less nearly
horizontal, the subordinate valleys having been scooped
out by some gentle aqueous action. These rocks pre-
sent lines of cliffs towards the sea, ranging from fifty
to one hundred feet in height. The boldest elevations
are from Penarth to Sully, Porthkerry to Fontegary, in
the neighbourhood of St. Donat s and Dunraven, and
in parts of Gower. The Vale is thickly studded with
churches, country-seats, old manor-places absorbed by
the lai-ger propietoi«, white faxmtouses, and rumeS
castles. Its parishes are of moderate and convenient
area. It is. traversed by roads which, if not all excel-
lent, are nmnerous ; and having been in great part
early enclosed and steadily inhabited by the English,
its not inconsiderable natural advantages have been en-
hanced by seven centuries of continued, if not veiy
scientific, cultivation.
The Inll-district, forming two-thirds of the county,
and composed entirely of i^cks of the coal formation, is
extremely irregular, and in parts very wild and moun-
tainous. The parishes are large, the roads scarce, the
soil poor; it contains but few coimtry-seats, and its
population is of modem growth, and confined to those
valleys in which the minerals are worked and manufac-
tured.
Taking its great natural divisions, the most eastward
of these, between the Bhymny and the Taff, contains
Mynydd EglwysUan, which reaches 1,287 feet, Cefn
Merthjn*, 1,540 feet, and Dowlais Mountain, about
8 AN OUTLINE OF THE TOPOGRAPHY
1,350 feet. Next, towards the west, the Taff and the
Nedd enclose a triangle of country of which the Vale
(commencing under the Garth, 981 feet) and the sea
form the base, and which is again intersected by branches
of the Taff, the Ely, and the Ogwr. A ridge which at
one point attains a height of 1,750 feet, and is known as
Mynydd Merthyr, intervenes between Merthyr on the
Taff and Aberdare on the Cynon ; and another ridge
which includes the Gilwem and Cefn-Rhos-Gwawr, gives
origin to the Aman and the Dare, and divides these
streams from the Rhondda.
The Rhondda rises upon the upper slopes of Craig-y-
llyn and Cam-Moysin, of which the latter is 2,000 feet
above the sea, and the highest land in the county, being
visible mther than conspicuous from nearly every part
of it.
South of the Rhondda the sources of the Ogmore
and the Avan lie in the wildest and least known tract
in the county. This includes Mynydd Llangeinor, in
height 1,859 feet; Moel Gilau, 1,191 feet; Mynydd
Llandyfodwg, 1,485 feet ; Caerau, 1,760 feet ; and
Mynydd Dinas, 1,087 feet. Bordering on this dis-
trict are Margam Down, 1,096 feet, and Ogmore Down,
292 feet
West of the Nedd, between that river and the
Llwchwr, the country, though high, is scarcely to be
called mountainous, and is bare and uninteresting.
Above Swansea, Cilfae and the Town Hill rise to 600
feet and 570 feet, Mynydd Cam-Goch to 300 feet, and
Mynydd Gwair to about 1000.
Gower has but little in common with Glamorgan.
Its seignory was in former days annexed to the Honour
of Caermarthen, and it is still, with its twenty-three
parishes, included in the diocese of St. David's. It has,
however, many charms of its owti, and is especially re-
markable for its deep and wooded valleys, and for the
rocky beauty of its bays, of which those of the Mumbles,
Caswall, Oxwich, Port-Eynon, and Rhosili are the most
celebrated. It contains some high land, including the
OF GLAMORGAN. 9
rather bold ridge of Cefii Biyn, 583 feet, but nothing
worthy of being called a mountain.
Glamorgan possesses about eighty-six miles of sea-
coast, of which about fifty miles are more or less bold
and bluff, and the remainder open, flat, and sandy, the
sand having in modem times made considerable en-
croachments upon the land.
It can boast of no very excellent natural harbours;
but at the mouths of the Taff and Ely, protected by
the headland of Penarth, the roadstead has been con-
nected with artificial docks, a process which has also
been carried on at the mouth of the Tawe in Swansea
Bay, and at Briton-Ferry on the Nedd. There are also
smaller harbours at Porthcawl and Port-Talbot. Aber-
thaw, upon the mouth of the Cowbridge Tawe, though
now of little account, was in the last centiuy a favourite
resort of the Bristol coasters, who by this channel
carried on a considerable trade with Cowbridge and the
central districts of the county. Colhugh also, an adja-
cent bay, was in some repute. East of Aberthaw, Barry
Island, placed in a small bay, affords shelter for vessels
of 100 tons burden, and would admit, at a moderate
expense, of considerable improvement. Burry Bay, the
estuary of the Llwchwr, is an old roadstead common to
the two coTmties, but it suffers under the serious draw-
back of being open to the prevailing south-west winds,
and has been but little used since the formation of the
adjacent Caermarthenshire port of Llanelly.
It would be tmjust, in any general outline of Glamor-
gan, to withhold the description of Speed, which gives
a quaint, but clear and somewhat pleasant, account of
the appearance presented by the county in the golden
days of Elizabeth ; —
"The air," says the old and accurate topographer,
"is temperate, and gives more content to the mind than
the soU doth fruit or ease unto travellers ; the hills
being high and very many, which from the north, not-
withstanding, are lessened as it were by degrees ; and
towards the sea-coasts the country becometh somewhat
10 AN OUTLINE OF THE TOPOGRAPHY
plain ; which part is the best both for plenty of grain,
and populous of inhabitants. The rest, all mountain,
is replenished with cattle, which is the best means unto
wealth that this shire doth afford, upon whose hills you
may behold whole herds of them feeding : and from
whose rocks most clear springing waters through the
vaUeys trickling, which sportingly do pass with a most
pleasant sound, and did not a Ettle revive my wearied
spirits amongst those vast mountains, employed in their
search : whose infancy at first admitted an easie step
over ; but grown unto strength, more boldly forbad me
such passage, and with a more stem countenance held
on their journey unto the British seas."
LEGAL DIVISIONS.
The boundaries of the present coimty of Glamorgan,
though first acknowledged by statute only in the 27th
Henry VIII, are, with the addition of the tract between
PwU-Cynan and the Llwchwr, those of the old Norman
seignory, which was carved out of the older Welsh pro-
vinces of Morganwg and Glamorgan.
Morganwg, one of the six constituent parts of the
principality or sub-kingdom of Dynevawr, and said by
some writers to have been co-extensive with Gwent or
Essylwy, or SUuria, was of considerable extent, and
seems to have included parts of Gloucester, Hereford,
Monmouth, Glamorgan, and Caermarthen ; whereas
Glamorgan lay entirely within Morganwg, and, at least
in the eleventh century, was confined, as its name is
said to import, to the maritime or southern parts of the
present county, and extended only from the Taff to the
Ogwr. The distinction, though long but nominal, was
retained in the style of the chief lord, and* appears in
the words " Dominus Morgianise et Glamorganiae" upon
the great seals of the Despensers, Beauchamps, and
Nevilles, and in frequent private deeds as late as the
reign of Henry VIII.
OF GLAMORGAN. 1 1
The Glamorgan of the later Welsh seems to have
extended a little further inland, and eastward. It was
composed of four cantreds, or himdreds, which contained
thirteen commotes ; and of these, three cantreds and
ten commotes were within the modem cotinty, and ex-
tended from PwU-Cynan to the Rhymny, and from the
sea to the confines of Brecknock.^
These divisions and subdivisions were —
I. Cantred Cronedd, including the commotes of
I. Rhwngnedd and^t'an; 2. Tir-y -Hundred, possibly
Tir-yr-AUt by Glyn-Corwg ; 3. Maenor-Glyn-Ogwr.
Which three probably comprehended the present
lordships of Nedde or Neath, Avan, and Coyty.
II. Cantred Pennythen or Pennychen, mentioned
in the Liber Landaveiisis, iDcluding the commotes of
1. Miskin; 2. Glyn-Rhondda ; 3. Maenor-Talavan ;
4. Maenor-Ruthyn. The cantred included, probably,
the present lordships of Miskin, Glyn-Ehonclda, Tala-
van, and Ruthyn.
III. Cantred Brenhinol, so called because it included
the royal residence of Cardiff, and possessed, in con-
sequence, certain jura regalia which were confirmed to
it by Fitzhamon.
Its commotes were,
1. Kibhivr, answering to the modem hundred of the
same name.
2. Senghenydd'UchorCaiach, which included the pre-
sent parishes of Gelligaer and Merthyr.
3. Senghenyddris'Caiachy which probably was co-ex-
tensive with tiie parishes of Llanvabon and Eglwysilan,
the hamlets, of Van and Rudry, and a strip of land
iDcluding Whitchurch, at the southern foot of Caer-
philly moimtain.
These two tracts, north and south of the Caiach river,
are usually regarded as two commotes, but in all pro-
^ The Liber Landwvensis describes the lordship of Glamorgan as
composed of seven cantreds ; bnt of these, three only, Gwjr or Gower,
Gorfynydd, and Pennychen, relate to the modem county, and only
the last two to the Norman seignory.
12 AN OUTLINE OF THE TOPOGRAPHY
bability they were but parts of the great commote of
Senghenydd.
It is remarkable that none of the names, either of
the three cantreds or of the ten commotes, point to any
part of the Vale, or tract south of the Ely, althougn
they profess, with the cantreds and commotes of Gwent,
to include the whole of Glamorgan. From this it would
appear as if the distinction between HOI and Vale,
which in its full strength has usually been attributed
to the peopling of the latter by the Normans, not only
existed, as is known to have been the case, previously,
but was sufficiently strict to cause the exclusion of the
Vale from the recognised di\'isions and subdivisions of
the Glamorgan of the tenth and eleventh centuries.
Nevertheless, this is a conclusion not lightly to be ad-
mitted; and it is, no doubt, possible that the original
Kibbwr included all east of Thaw, or even the whole
vale to the Ogwr ; or that Miskin extended to the coast,
between Thaw and Ogwr.
It will be observed, on reference to the present
hundreds, that some of the names of the above divi-
sions have disappeared ; but this is by no means un-
common, and has pcciured to a much greater extent in
the more peaceable counties of England. In Warwick-
shire, for example, not one Himdred remains of the ten
named in Domesday, and in Buckinghamshire but eight
out of eighteen. The marvel rather is, that, in so txu*-
bulent a district, so many names and boundaries should
have been retained.
Subordinate to the commotes in extent were the pa-
rochial divisions, the origin of which, uncertain in Eng-
land, is altogether unknown in Wales.
In England, the parish, in its present acceptation,
though a very old ecclesiastical division, was not found
in the earhest centuries of the Church. It was, how-
ever, well estabUshed before a.d. 970, when the laws
of Edgar were framed, and was possibly brought into
partial use by Archbishop Honorius early in the seventh
century. Its introduction was no doubt gradual. Each
OF GIAMORGAN. 13
parish was originally formed of one or more private
estates or manors, and, in consequence, though parishes
often include more than one manor, a manor does not
very commonly embrace more than one parish. The
churches were, it is supposed, built by the lords of pri-
vate estates to accommodate their tenants.
Little is certainly known of the extent or tenure of
private estates in Wales before the Norman invasion;
but it cannot reasonably be doubted that there also
manors — ^that is, private estates — preceded parishes ;
though not imfrequently, in Glamorgan, the Normans
seem to have changed the names of the parishes, and
to have created a considerable number of sub or mesne
manors, corresponding to their new partition of the
estates.
Manors in Glamorgan are very numerous and exceed-
ingly complex, and in most of their tenures bear strong
mai'ks of having been remodelled to suit Norman insti-
tutions. Usually they are co-extensive with the parish,
but they also not unfrequently include a part only of a
parish, and sometimes parts of more than one. There
are also outlying manors, parts or the whole of detached
parishes appendant on, and paying service to, the prin-
cipal manor. Thus Dinas-Powis, weU known to nave
been a residence of the Welsh princes before the Con-
quest, and by no means a place of any particular conse-
quence afterwards, has certain appendant manors, no
doubt of Welsh constitution, though after the pattern
of the feudal system. This is quite distinct from the
knight-service and similar free tenures introduced by
the Normans into the district, for the support and de-
fence of the castle of Cardiff. Here, as in England and
France, the manor seems to have been a private estate,
originally kept in hand {manendo) by the lord, but after
a time, and latterly to a great extent, subgranted to a
mesne lord ; under which process manors became so in-
conveniently multipHed, and the chief lords' rights so
reduced, that the general practice of subinfeudation was
checked by the charter of 9th Hen. Ill, and afterwards
14 AN OUTLINE OF THE TOPOGRAPHY
forbidden to mesne lords by the statute Quia Emptores
of 1290. The restriction was extended to lords para-
mount, or m capite, by the statutes PrcBvogativa Regis,
17 Edw. II, cap. 6, and 34 Edw. Ill, cap. 15, which last
confirmed all subinfeudations down to the commence-
ment of the reign of Edward II, but left them after-
wards subject to the royal prerogative. As a rule, there-
fore, all manors, as Blackstone observes, are of earlier
date than the accession of Edward I.
The population returns enumerate 125 parishes or
parochial districts in the modem county of Glamorgan,
and these contain about 1 70 reputed hamlets. Of the
parishes, the names of about eighty-four are pure
Welsh — such as LlandaflP, Ystradyvodwg, Merthyr-
Mawr, Llanmadoc ; about seventeen may be English
translations of earlier Welsh names — such as Whit-
church, Michaelston, St. George s, Bishopston ; two, at
least, are doubtful ; and about twenty-two are pure
English names, either for new parochial divisions, or,
more probably, for places the Welsh name for which is
lost or was superseded : such are Barry, Sully, Bon-
vileston, Flemingston, Gileston, Laleston, Peterston,
Nicholaston,Ileynoldston, Walterston; and of the super-
seding class, Swansea for Abertawe.
Of the 170 hamlets, about 126 are pure Welsh, and
44 English; and an examination into the names of
smaller places, as farms and fields, shews a stiU greater
disproportion. The English names are almost all in the
vale and towards the sea; the Welsh are general, but
most frequent in the hilly and interior districts.
There is no list of the manors of the whole county,
but they are in number at least 160 ; and of these about
sixty-three bear English names and ninety-seven Welsh
names, though many of the latter are probably of Nor-
man institution.
Of extra-parochial districts Glamorgan is reputed to
contain six — Highlight, Llanveithen, Monknash, Nash,
Stembridge, and Sker. It is probable, having regard
to the not inconsiderable possessions of the monastic
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OF GLAMORGAN. 1 9
give an average of 8i^^ of ploughlands to a fee : a small
measure, the knight's fee, 3 Edw. Ill, being computed
at 12 ploughlands, and its value during the reigns of
Edw. I and II at £20 per annum.
The two Surveys do not, however, admit of dose
comparison, and the contents of several of the manors
in fees differ so widely from thieir contents in plough-
lands as to make it evident that the names cannot in-
clude the same lands. The estimate in fees is also ex-
clusive of the lands of the lord, the bishop, and the
monastic institutions in the Body of the shire.
The area of all the whole measures of land, as in-
deed of the later acre, was very ill defined. The hide
was the usual Saxon measinre : it occurs in Domesday,
where, under Hereford, mention is made of a Welsh
hide. The usual Norman measure was the caruca, caru-
cate, or plough-land, being as much arable land as one
ploTigh could till in the year, with a proportion of pas-
ture for the oxen and house-kept cattle. The hide and
plough-land were often used indifferently, and varied
from 60 to 100 acres, or even 150. The average has
been taken at 96 acres. Four virgates went to the hide,
and 24 acres to the virgate. The Welsh acre contains
an acre and a half English.^
The following list is extracted from Meyric, the
modem parochial a^eage being in some cases added,
but, exceptmg in the case of very compact and early
cultivated lordships, the comparisons between the acres,
fees, and plough-lands, are of little value, because the sub-
manora are often omitted, and the progress of cultivation
in the outlying lordships tended to add to their reputed
area. Sully, St. Nicholas, St. Fagan's, Llanthrithyd, St.
Hilary, PenllLne, Llanvihangel, and St. Donat s have no
sub-manors in their area, and were probably in full cul-
tivation at an early period ; but even from these the
results are very contradictory. The annual values also
do not preserve any proportion to the area.
^ An acre of land in the manor of Caerphilly contains 192 perches
of 22 feet to the perch.
2»
20
AN OUTLINE OF THE TOPOGRAPHY
Acies.
2167
9205
2955
2104
8395
2241
1391
1554
4500
1200
586
683
727
2175
1041
2771
897
KiiishU' Fees.
i
1
2
3
4
1
1.
2
1
S
X
2
8
10 parts.
2
1
1
2 parts.
1
4
1
{
1
2
Si
2
{
{
Lordshipa.
:}
Sully . . . -
Wrinston - - -
Coychurch - - -
Wenvoe - - -
St. Nicholas - -
Penmark - - -
St. Fagan's - -
Llantitbryd - -
Littlebone - - ■
Llystalybont - -
Llanharry -----
In Uancovran - - -
St. Hilary -----
Newcastle - - - . .
Penlline . - - - .
Penlline - - . - .
Uanvihangol - - - •
Llandoch - - - - 1
St. Mary Church - - J
In LlanvBes - - - .
Llandoch, or Llandue •
In Ggmore - - - .
St. Donat's - - - .
Marcross -----
St. Athan - - - - .
Llangwy th -----
Llangewydd - - - -
St. Athan - . - - -
John le Norres - - ^
Ad. le Welsh - - - f.
Ph. le Fleming - -
Jo. Jule [of Gileston]
Lesurth - - - - - )|
Llyswomey - - - I |
$
Value.
10 marks.
lOZ.
30Z.
601
20Z.
lOZ.
2Z.
21.
21.
101.
2Z.
IZ. 10*.
20Z.
20Z.
60Z.
20Z.
J marks.
2Z.
40Z.
15Z.
Plough
Laiida.
8
4
22
3
12
li
12
3
7
10
6
6
Meyric, who wrote in the reign of Elizabeth, de-
scribes the lordship as composed of the body, members,
boroughs, and the possessions of the Church of Llan-
daff.
The Body of the shire, comitatits Glamorgan et Mor-
ganwg, contained the lands which owed suit to the
Shire Court, and in 1325 these, as stated, seem to have
amoimted to 36 j^ knights' fees or 323^ plough-lands,
exclusive of the lords* private estates, the bishops' lands.
OF GLAMORGAN.
21
and those granted since the Conquest to monastic
bodies.
The manors within the Body are thus enumerated : —
Sully
Wenvoe
Cogan
Coston
Dinas Powis
Wrinston
Barry, East
Gadoxton
LlandoQgh
Penarth
Leek with
Balowik
Began ston
Hanghall Wold
Samonston
Wallas
Bonvileston
Merthyr Dovan
St. Fagan's
Michaels ton
Peterston
St. George
St. Nicholas
Penmark
Llantrithyd
Littlebone
Llystalybont
Walterston
Llancadle
Molton
Lidmerstone
Odynsfee
Fonmon
Llancarvan
Liege Castle
Llanbethery
Llancovian
Brigan
Corrwg
Maylog
Scurlage Castle
Tregoose
Penon
St. Athan's
Lesnrth
Llyswomey
Llanharry
Whitchurch
St. Hilary
Newcastle
Penlline
Llanvihangel
Llandongh
St. Marr Church
Llanvaeh
Ogmore
St. Donat's
Marcross
Llangwyth
Llangewydd
Newton Nottage
Llandow
Picketston
Llanvaes
Eglwys-Brewis
West Orchard
Oileston
East Orchard
Castleton
Flemingston
Wallas
Cornelly
Graymmoyn
Merthyr- Mawr
Colneston
Llampha
Oldcastle
Corntown
A Survey of 1650 enumerates the parishes upon
which was levied the impost known as "chence/ or
" towle"; and these, at that time, seem to have been re-
garded as composing the body of the shire. Of course,
a list of parishes will not tally with a list of manors,
but besides this are other discrepancies. The parishes
named are
Bonvileston
Cadoxton
Eglwys Brcwis
Flemmyston
Gileston
LlantwiUmajor
Llanmaes
Llandongh
Llancarvan
Llantrillyd
Lavemock
Llandongh by Cardiff
Llanharry, part of
Llangan
Llandow
Llyswomey
Llanvihangel
Lechwith
Llanvihangel
Marcross
Michaelston
Merthyr Dovan
Penlline
Penmark
Forth Kerry
Penarth
Peterston
22 AN OUTLINE OP THE TOPOGRAPHY, ETC.
Fendoylon SotUh St. Mcbolas St. Georges
St. Donat's St Andrews 8L Mary HiU
St. Hilary St. Fagans Treoys
St. Mary-Chnroh Sally Wenvoe
St. Athan
Those in italics do not appear in the manorial list,
which, however, includes twelve names of parishes that
do not appear in the parochial list.
On the whole, the Body of the shire may be shewn
to have extended, generally, from the Taff to the Kenfig
river, and from the sea to the Ely, the middle Ogwr,
and Cefn-Cribbwr, including the modem himdreds of
Dinas-Powis, the south parts of those of Cowbridge and
Ogmore, and part of that of Newcastle, the excepted
paxts within these boundaries being the lordships of
Talavan and Llanblethian, and the Abbey lands. Can-
tred Brenhinol or Kibbwr, seems to have been excluded
as specially dependent upon the lord.
The Body was originally a county in itself, held in
capite by the lord, who had jura regalia, pleas of ac-
tions real or personal, and pleas of the crown, with
power to pardon all offences except treason.
Dowlais 1861. G. T. C.
CAisNS, arc., abodt axthub'b btohs.
■.T,a,B. SloDH N.E.gldsof Ai
. BuppDBfd CLrfllM,
B.C1HB. 4th Sir. Vol.i.
23
AVENUE AND CAENS ABOUT ARTHUR'S STONE
IN GOWER.
If the Greeks recorded the " wonders of the world "
in their time, under the mystical niimber seven, four of
which might be claimed as their own, the Cymry^ have
also recorded the wonders and mighty labours of the
Britons in one of their Triads, under their favoinite,
and equally mystical, number three; namely, 1, raising
the Maen Cetti; 2, erecting the work of Emrys; and,
3, heapmg the pile, or mound, of Cyvrangon. The
first of these is the stone of Cetti, or "Arthur s Stone^;"
the second, Stonehenge; and the third, apparently, the
mound called Silbury Hill, near Abury. But as the
first is the only one connected with the inquiry I pro-
pose to make, my remarks will be confined to it, and to
the avenue and the cams in its immediate vicinity.
The great cromlech, called Arthur s stone, stands on
that part of the hill called Cefn Brjm, in Gower, which
is an outlying branch projecting from the north side of
the main ridge (Cefn, or "backbone"); and the great
number of cams in that locality show that it was
selected as the most appropriate spot for the burial of
the dead in early British times. For though several
cams, or tumuli, are found on other parts of the hill,
they are more scattered, and evidently occupy positions
1 A qnestion has lately been raised respecting this name by which
the " Welsh" call themselves ; bat it is well known that Cymro
" Welshman", or properly Cym-bro (from hroy " native land") sig-
nifies "of the same country", a "fellow countryman", or "compa-
triot"; asAUrfro (a mutation ofAll-bro) means " of another country",
or " a foreigner": hence Allobroges. And Richard of Cirencester
(b. i, c. 6, 12) says " all the BelgsB are Allobroges, or foreigners",
which of course they were to the Britons. All is related to oXXos, and
alnUf of two cognate languages ; as Cym answers to cttw, com, or
con. Cymry and Cimbri are the same word under different forms ;
and we may remember how often m and m& are interchanged. The
words related to Cymro , as Cymraig and others, are well known.
2 Not called "Arthur's Quoit" by the people of the country, as
some suppose.
24 AVENUE AND CARN8
not 80 peculiarly chosen for the purpose. Near to the
Great Cromlech is a line of four, or perhaps five, stones,
standing at irregular distances from each other, and in a
direction nearly east and west, which has every appear-
ance of being the remains of an avenue. If so, it
passed a little to the north of the cromlech ; and
though these stones only form a portion of one side, or
of one row of that avenue, some of the corresponding
stones may be traced on the other side, and give the
avenue a oreadth of about 49 ft. The five most con-
spicuous stones on the north side may be the isolated
remains of a great number which once stood there, the
intervals between them being respectively 165, 79,
149, and 107ft.; and the whole length of the line, from
the most easterly to the westernmost stone\ nearly
opposite, or to the north of the cromlech, is .500 ft.
These stones stand a little to the north of a drive, or
grass road, apparently made there in later times, which
passes to north of the cromlech; and as the stone
opposite the cromlech (the westernmost of the five
above mentioned) is distant from it about 60 ft., this
alone suffices to show that the avenue did not run
direct to tliat monument. It is difl&cult to determine
whether a corresponding line of stones formerly stood
on the opposite, or south, side, so as to form a real
avenue ; but eyen if this were so, the avenue would not,
as we have already seen, lead to, but pasty the crom-
lech, as the grass road does at the present day. It is
also difficult to decide whether this road has taken the
place of an older one, once the centre of the avenue, or
IS a drive of entirely recent origin, made for the purpose
of passing near the cromlech, and round the great cam
beyond it to the west; whence it continues over the
adjoining part of the hill. It certainly has the usual
appearance of old paths, such as we find in the vicinity
^ I am not quite certain about this fifth stone ; and if really one
of the avenue, it is not quite in the same line as the other four,
though the direction may have been slightly altered at that part to
suit the curve of the avenue.
*
I
ABOUT Arthur's stone in gower. 25
of ancient ruins, the grass being short and smooth;
though this may have been caused by the removal of
the fern and furze, and the constant use of the road
after it was formed into a drive. It is, however, rea-
sonable to suppose that the few stones, which stand here
and there to the south of the grass road, constituted
part of the corresponding side of the avenue, though
the intervening distance of 49 ft. (6 ft. more than the
width of the eastern avenue at Abury) may appear an
unusual breadth for one, the stones of which do not
exceed 3 to 3^ ft. in height. I may also state that
other stones appear here and there, on both sides of the
grass road, beyond the limits of the portion of the
avenue marked by the five stones, which may be a con-
tinuation of the same double line to the east and west.
They would not, however, be sufficiently conspicuous
to suggest the existence of an avenue, if the five stones
had not been present to prove it. Many also stand at
the extreme end, to the south-east, where the first
cams are met with on this part of the hill {v. plan).
I need scarcely observe that it is by no means necessary
that the avenue should lead direct to Arthur's Stone,
and it is more usual to find a cromlech at one side of,
and at a short distance from, it; that near Merivale
Bridge, on Dartmoor, stands about 50 ft. to the south
of the avenue, and the Dolmens in Britanny are, in like
manner, placed outside the avenue. A cam also stands
about 80 ft. south of the same avenue near Merivale
Bridge; but about 560 ft. west of the cromlech, in the
centre of the avenue, is a concentric cam, of which the
diameter is about three times the breadth of the avenue.
The position of Arthur s Stone, with respect to the
avenue is, therefore, siaular to that of some other crom-
lechs in this country and in Britanny; but while we
see that the avenues of Merivale Bridge, and in some
other places on Dartmoor, terminate in an upright
stone, a cam, a concentric aisle, or some other sepul-
chral monument, we are unable to ascertain how the two
ends of the Cefn Bryn avenue were closed, or to what
26 AVENUES AND CARNS
they led We do, however, find two cams within the
space of the 500 ft. occupied by the five stones; one
between the fourth and fifth, the other close to the
easternmost stone; beyond which the numerous cams
are scattered over the surface of the hill, in various
positions, and too irregularly placed to belong to any
avenue. And it is certain that no long line of cams
can be traced at regular intervals leading from or to
Arthur s Stone. In fact the greatest number of cams
lie towards the south-east end of the hill, which will at
once be seen from the survey I have made of this
portion of Cefii Bryn; and the cams, numbering up-
wards of eighty, are mostly distant from Arthurs
Stone, in an entirely different direction from the avenue,
and wholly independent of both of them. The hill has
the appearance of a large cemetery, the tombs or cams
of which are evidently of very great age. They are
not remarkable for their size, being only from 1 2 to 1 5
ft. in diameter, and of inconsiderable height, though
considerably reduced in size by time and accident, since
they were put up; but the cam which stands about
355 ft. to the west of Arthur s Stone is of much greater
size and importance than the rest, measuring about 68
ft. in diameter. Though it does not appear to contain
a cromlech, like the neighbouring one which formerly
covered Arthur's Stone, it is httle inferior to it in size ;
and the excavations made in its centre, if persevered in,
would probably have disclosed a cam, or indications of
the spot where the body was burnt. A little below it,
to the southward, is a hollow, evidently excavated for
some purpose, about 165 ft. long by 68 ft., which is
filled with water in the winter but dry in summer; and
this I suppose to have been made in excavating the
earth reqSUd to form the g,*at tumulus, for if i« »
tumulus rather than a cam, the rain of ages having
washed away the earth, leaving only the stones we now
see there.^ Another earn, or tumulus, about 560 ft. to
^ In reality these were all tnmnli of earth and stones, and not cams
of heaped stones such as we find in some places.
ABOUT AETHUE'S STONE IN GOWER. 27
the south, is the next in sijze to this, and has a diame-
ter of twenty feet. I opened it lately, but found no
signs of interment beneath it. In the mass of cams on
the highest part of the hill to the south-south-east, and
about one thousand feet from Arthur's Stone, is one
about 30 ft. long by 12 ft., remarkable for being long
instead of circular, like the rest; and another may be
seen in the low ground, 450 ft. to the south-west of
this, of the same shape, which is unusual in this district.
A few more small cams may also be seen, from 750 to
800 ft. to the south-west of this, on the main ridge of
Cefti Bryn, and others in various parts of the hill.
Besides the numerous stones scattered about in the
vicinity of Arthur s Stone, many single blocks are met
with in various places, rarely of any great size, some of
which may have been placed in situ by man, while
others (and by far the greater number) occupy their
present positions through mere accident.
In the line of stones north of the drive before men-
tioned is a supposed circle, 170 ft. east of Arthur's
Stone; but this is evidently of late time, and some of
the stones have been placed there by accident, perhaps
when the drive was cleared; and though another, 350
ft. south of Arthur's Stone, presents an approach to the
circular arrangement, the stones are not suflSciently
regular to allow us to consider it a real circle.
To the north-east of the Cromlech is a large slab,
about 3 ft. 3 in. by 3 ft. 1 in. in thickness (once placed
on four smaller stones), which may have covered a cist,
though I could find no traces of interment beneath it.
Immediately below the slab was a square block, placed
there by man, but the clay beneath it appeared to have
been disturbed.
About 1 1 80 ft. south-south-east of Arthur's Stone is
a similar enclosure (which on Dartmoor would be caUed
a "pound"), once the abode of some of the ancient
people who inhabited this wild district, and whose
tombs occupy so large a portion of the hill. It is about
63 ft. in diameter, and within it are vestiges of small
28 AVENUES AND CARNS
circular huts, one side frequently resting against the
wall of the enclosure, which, like the huts, was mostly
built of small rough stones. Its entrance, as might be
expected, was on the west, the side least exposed to
cold winds; and this, as well as the selection of a low
depression in the hill to the west of the great cam,
where the remains of two huts may be traced, shows
that these hardy people were not neglectful of precau-
tions against the east wind. I observed two other hut-
enclosures about 70 ft. apart, a little more than an^
eighth of a mile to the north-west of Arthur s Stone
(once the abode of some of the same people, who built '
similar enclosures on Rhossili Down, on Llanmadoc ^
Hill, and in other parts of Southern Gower) ; another ^
stands on a part of the same line of hill to the west- •
ward, from which it is separated by a ravine. It is
about 1120 ft. west of Arthur's Stone. Here the huts •
that once stood within it are marked by heaps of small '
stones, and, judging jfrom similar heaps in other enclo-
sures, I believe they constituted the domed roofs of '
circular huts, constructed like the modem ovens of the
coimtry, with small stones, but cemented together with
clay, in default of the mortar of later times. Wood was
always less accessible than stone in this part of Gower,
and lence the necessity of roofing huts in the manner
I have mentioned; and the ro\md form was adopted
according to the custom of the old Britons, for whose
houses, as weU as villages and camps, it was preferred.
This enclosure is 50 ft. in diameter, but its interest is
increased by the "hollow way" which runs down the
hiU from it to the northwara, and it soon afterwards
deflected to the north-west, towards the valley, illustra-
ting another British custom, showing the care with
which the people on these hills secured themselves from
observation on the approach of an enemy. The danger
here expected was from the sea, by the estuary on that
side. Similar "hollow ways" are traced in many other
places, as approaches to British villages and camps. A
path also led from the hut-enclosure to the brook in the
ravine below.
J
i
1
'^NV
1
I
f:
i
ABOUT Arthur's stone in gower. 29
Several detached huts may be observed to the south-
west of this, and others in various parts of the hill on
its northern slope, evidently so placed, notwithstanding
their exposure to the north wind, because the danger
from attack was greater in that quarter, and greater
watchfulness vas required there than on the well-
guarded southern face of Cefn Bryn.
These single huts, and small enclosures, scattered
over the hiU side, and often very distant from each
other, fiilly exemplify the well known habits of the
Celts to Uve apart from each other, which seems to be
inherited by the English from their British ancestors.
Though Arthur's Stone has been often described, it
may not be irrelevant, in giving the plan I made of it,
to state that the thickness of its massive capstone is
very imusual, being 6 ft. 8 in. in breadth (varjdng at
different parts), and 7 ft. 5 in. in height towards the
north end, decreasing to 4 ft. 11 in., and 2 ft. 1 in. at
the south, with a total length of from 13 ft. 9 in. to
14 ft. 6 in. It was once much larger, a considerable
portion having fellen from its western side. This
happened, not as some have supposed, at a late time,
"thirty years ago"; for though the story of its having
been spUt by St. David with a blow from his sword,
related in the lolo MSS., is fabulous, it shows that
tradition attributes its fracture to a remote period ; and
whether Camden is correct or not, in stating that it
was split for mill stones, his authority is a sufficient
witness of its having been broken before he wrote.
Besides the proof which St. David is said to have given
of its not being holy, he is supposed to have commanded
a spring of water to rise from beneath it, which was
long believed to accoimt for the water standing there,
and only to become dry in the hottest summer ; but, not-
withstaaiding all St. David's admonitions and miracles,
many superstitious practices were continued at this
cromlech tiU within very recent times: honey cakes
were offered upon it for good luck, and at certain
periods of the moon, the credulous crawled round it
30 AVENUES AND CARNS
on their hands and feet in the hopes of seeing a lover,
or for some equally siUy reason, which many, even at
the present day, may remember, though few would be
willmg to confess that they had given way to such
credulity.
Another name of Arthinr's Stone, Maen Cetti, has
led to much discussion. Some have contended that it
was derived from that of a tribe of Britons, who did,
or did not, live in the neighbourhood. But its resem-
blance to a word signifying "habitation," "hut," or
"cot,'' and the idea of habitation so often attached to
such monuments, as to Kit's Cotty house, in Kent, and
to Swine's houses on Rhdssili Down, seem to connect
Maen Cetti with a stone hut.^
The capstone and its supporters are of the conglom-
erate of the old red stone, which is the formation of
Cefii Bryn, as of all the highest hills in this extreme
comer of Gower, and has been thrust upwards through
the carboniferous (or mountain) limestone; and the
numerous blocks of large size in various parts of this
ridge, particularly towards its western extremity, might
well serve to suggest to an ancient Briton the propriety
of raising cromlechs in their vicinity, though the only
one on this hUl is Arthur s Stone. It has been sug-
gested that this cromlech appears from its low position
to have been formed by excavating beneath the block
which now forms its massive capstone, and which was
then lying on the surface; and that it was supported
artificially during the process, until its future supporters
were fixed in their places, thus accounting for four only
out of nine bearing, or touching, the capstone, and for
their bases being so far below the level of the ground.
It may, however, be observed that of the four stones,
the three at the north end may have been placed there
after the interments had been made beneath the cap-
stone, in order to close the chamber, or compartment,
^ I have elsewhere had occasion to observe that the word cwt or
cyi (pi. cyiiiau) also signifies " roundness", which would apply very
properly to the circular houses or hut-circles of the ancient Britons.
ABOUT Arthur's stone in gower. 31
at that end, for it consists of two parts separated by a
rude partition of one central pillar, standing between
the two outer ones, which was placed nearly in the
centre, though it now inclines a little to the eastward,
owing to the great pressure of the capstone. The
other (southern) compartment may have been closed by
other stones now removed, or possibly by the long stone
lying about 3 ft. from the southern extremity of the
cromJech. This stone measures 8 ft. 4 in. or 8 ft. 5 in.
in length, by 2 in. in breadth, and is about 3 ft. 3 in.
thick, which is certainly much less than the height of
the other (upright) supporters of the capstone; and,
indeed, it might, from its size and appearance, be taken
for a maen hir ^"longstone"), were it not that its position
ill accords witn that generally assigned to such monu-
ments. It is rather longer than is necessary to fiU the
space between the other two southernmost supporters,
but if its height is considered sufficient, an additional
projection at each end of it, though it might distinrb
the regularity of the sides, would not interfere with the
object of closing the chamber; and we find that one of
the slabs forming the west side of the ChAn cromlech
projects in like manner beyond its neighbours at the
south end.
The open spaces left between the supporters, in this
and other cromlechs, are supposed to have been filled
up with smaller stones, or with rude dry masonry.
The position of the capstone of this cromlech presents
to the eye a curious deception ; the lower edge of it
appearing to dip towards the south, while in reality it
dips slightly towards the north. *The deception is partly
caused by the form of the stone in that part, wmch at
its northern end rises suddenly at a considerable angle,
while the rest is nearly level, having an incline of about
6^ ins. in 9 ft. from the south end.^ The whole, how-
ever, does appear to lean over considerably to the west-
^ I greatly fear for the safety of this interesting monument ; and,
indeed, some silly person has lately thrown down one of the four
prindpal stones of the avenue above mentioned.
32 AVENUES AND CARNS
ward, from which side the portion above mentioned has
fallen off; though in reality the upper edge overhangs
the lower one only about 9 ins. JBut you perceive at
once how nearly horizontal is the line of the bottom of
the capstone, on standing opposite to, and at a little
distance from, the west side {v. elevation in plate 3).
Here, too, you perceive how the whole cromlech stands
in relation to the bank, or slope of the hill, to the south
of it ; and its position, not immediately on the highest
part, but a little below it, is in accordaiice with that of
similar monuments in other places ; the object being to
! profit by the higher ground on one side, and to save
abour in raising the mound or cam over it. The
ground, however, is here little above the level of the
under part of the capstone, perhaps about 2 ft. ; and it
is possible that, when a capstone was as massive as this
of Arthur's Stone, the upper part of it may not have
been quite covered by the tumulus. Being immovable
when thus partly exposed, it would answer the same
purpose as the large stone rolled against the door of the
sepulchre, according to the custom at Jerusalem ; and
this mode of partially covering large capstones was, if I
mistake not, prevalent among the Scandinavians, in
raising mounds over their tombs. It is difficult to deter-
mine whether it was at any time a custom in Britain,
when such massive capstones were used. The dimen-
sions of the southern compartment of Arthur s Stone
are uncertain. It may have been about 6 ft. long by
4 ft. 1 ins. ; and the northern one about 6 ft. broad
and 3 ft. 9 ins. in length, varying in different parts.
The capstone I have already steted to be from 13ft.
9 ins. to 1 4 fL 6 ins. in length, by 6 ft. 8 ins. in breadth,
and 7 ft. 5 ins. in thickness towards the north end ; the
southern end being considerably less, and tapering to a
round point. It has beneath it nine upright pillars, of
which four only touch or support it, marked in my plan
B, c, 0, and i ; and two others, K and L, are fallen. One
of its central supporters, on the east side, stands about
2 ft. 6 ins. above the present surface of the ground, or
%
ABOUT Arthur's stone in gower. 33
rather of the loose stones thrown or fallen around them,
which render it difficult to fix this measurement very
exactly; and the average height of the supporters above
the original surface seems to have been about 3 ft. 9 ins.,
varying in different places. They stand in a hollow,
and this is now filled with water, which is seldom dry
even in the hottest summers. The three supporters at
the north end are higher than at the east; and one
stands 4 ft. 5 ins. above the present surface, or about 5 ft.
4 ins. above the original surface of the ground, in accord-
ance with the truncated or bevelled shape of the cap-
stone in that part, though this additional height does
not enable them to touch it. That at the north-west
comer is about 4 ft. 9 ins. above the original surface of
the groimd. The whole height of the cromlech may
have been about 1 1 ft. at the highest part. Its weight
was reckoned by Camden about twenty tons ; and when
the fallen block still formed part of it, between twenty-
five and thirty; but I consider that it weighs much
more. That the large flat block now lying on the ground
at the west side, was once a portion of the capstone is
evident from its dimensions, and from the appearance
of its upper surface. It corresponds to rather more than
half of tne thickest part of the western face, from which
it was detached, not, I imagine (as Camden was told),
to make millstones, but more probably by the frost, after
water had entered a fissure in that part, no mark of
wedges being visible at the edges. The detached piece
measures about 7 ft. 3 ins. by 6 ft. 9 ins.; and is 1 ft.
8 ins., or at the north and north-west ends 3 ft. 2 ins.
in thickness ; and its present shape and reduced size
may possibly be owing to the southern portion (beyond
the line marked a, d, in the plan and elevation^) having
been broken off after its fall by those who intended to
fashion it into a millstone, though it was not split off
from the capstone for that purpose ; and the trouble of
cutting into a proper shape a block not very well adapted
^ I have marked the corresponding points on the capstone and
the fallen block, in the elevation.
4th 8BB. VOL. I. 3
34 AVENUES AOT) CARNS
for a millstone, may account for their desisting from the
attempt after they had performed the rougher and
easier work of breaking away with sledge-hanmiers
some of its superfluous parts.^ It will, however, be seen,
on comparing it with the part from which it fell, that
•one end, corresponding to the top of the north-west
comer of the capstone, projects 8 or 9 ins. (at e), the cap-
stone having been broken away in that part since it was
detached from it.
Two of the supporters of the detached block have
been thrown down:; evidently at the time of its fall, as
one lies partly beneath it; and the other has been
thrust aside from its original position at the north-west
comer, where it closed the northern chamber in that
part. The entire height of one of these is 4 ft. 1 1 ins. ;
of the other, 3 ft. 4 ins, ; but some portion of the latter
may have been broken off, and the other may have
closed the chamber in that part, without performing the
office of supporter to the block in its original position.
It has been said by some persons that Arthur s Stone
(i. e. the cap) formerly rocked ; and that it has changed
its position at different times, bearing more or less on
some of its supporters; but the truth of these state-
ments cannot easily be ascertained. There is a slab of
irregular shape, measuring about 4 ft. 10 ins. by 3 ft.
10 ins., which lies to the south-west of the cromlech,
perhaps part of the fallen portion of the capstone ; and
as it rocks, this peculiarity may have been transferred,
by imperfect recollection, from it to the capstone. The
idea tnat massive stones of this kind rock is not unu-
sual ; nor is it imusual to find that many do so from
natural causes. They have been noticed by ancient as
weU as by modem writers. Pliny {N. II. ^ ii, 96) describes
one at Harpasa in Asia Minor, which might be rocked
by one finger, but was immovable if pressed by the
whole body; perfectly agreeing with the principle on
which they move, — a too powerful thrust causing the
^ On one of its sides are certain small holes which may have been
made for introducing wedges into this part of the fallen block.
ABOUT Arthur's stone in gower, 35
stone to be no longer balanced on its pivot, and making
it touch the opposite side of the surrounding hollow.
In times of ignorance and superstition they were
looked upon with great veneration ; and there can be
little doubt that tne priests, in those days, availed
themselves of the wonderful property of rocking stones
to impose upon the credulous. Some are still found on
Dartmoor and in other parts of England ; but I can
assert, from my own observation, that the immense
block which till lately stood above the granite quarries
of Constantino, in Cornwall, was not a rocking stone as
some have asserted ; nor do I know of any authority to
shew that it rocked in ancient times. I can readily
believe that the Druids^ may have taken advantage of
these and other natural phenomena to impose upon the
ignorant Britons ; perhaps occasionally imitating nature,
which had given them a hint of the modus operandi^ in
order to produce similar miracles when required. And
as the pagan prieste of Itely, in old times, made fra^-
incense to Uquify at Egnatia, without fire (" flamma sine
thiu'e liquescere limine sacro"), so the hint has, in like
manner, been taken in later times, and in the same
country, to cause the Uquefaction of another substance.
Arthur's Stone stands nearly north and south, or 195**
by compass ; and as the entrances to the two chambers
were at the north and south ends, it may be supposed
that they are at variance with usual custom, crom-
lechs being said to have their entrances on the east
side.
^ It Beems to be a fashion with some persons, at the present daj,
to question the existence of the Dmids, though Ceesar, Diodoms,
Strabo, Cicero, Diogenes Laertins,Pomponius Mela, and others, better
acquainted with the matter, were of a different opinion ; and Cicero
states that he was personally acquainted with a Druid. In i, 78, De
Divinatione, he says : " Dryades sunt e qnibus ipse Divitiacum He-
duum hospitem tuum laudatoremque cognovi, qui et natursB rationem
quam physiologiam GrsBci appellant, notam esse sibi profitebatur."
Their tenets are circumstantially set forth by other writers. They
were proscribed by Claudius. Pliny (xxx, 4) says that Tiberius had
before put down the Druids of the Gallic tribes ; and they are men-
tioned by later, as well as by several other early, writers.
32
36 AVEKUES AND CARNS
Thifl was a favourite direction for those who prayed or
oflfered sacrifice in ancient times. ^ The East was consi-
dered the commencement of the world ; and not only
smi- worshippers, but others in different ages, have had
a superstitious fancy to direct their prayers towards
sunrise.* In Greek temples (with numerous exceptions)
that custom was followed,^ and many people buried their
dead towards the east ; but I cannot discover any proof
of a fixed rule in the cromlechs of Britain, some open-
ing to the south-west, others to the north or to south-
south-west, one to the south-west or to the north-east,
and others to different points. But it is not always
easy to ascertain on which side, the entrance was, or
which was the last closed; and even the sepulchral
chambers with entrances at the end of a passage, as in
our tumps at Stoney Littleton, Uley, and other places,
do not solve the question, since the bodies might be
placed in the lateral chambers in various positions, and
at right angles with the passage. It is, however, very
^ Vitmvias (iv, 6) says : " If possible, temples sbonld be so placed
tbat tbe statue may face to the west, so that those who offer sacrifice
at the altar may look towards the east, and towards the statue
But temples which stand in the public roads ought to be so placed
that passers by may look in, and make their salutations (to the
statue)." The entrance at the west end, through the tower of our
old Saxon churches, and in our cathedrals, afforded the same oppor-
tunity of looking in direct to the east end ; and advantage was taken
of this long line for processions. The Jews were ordered to pray
towards the Temple of Jerusalem when in foreign lands (I Elings,
8, 44 ; Dan. 6, 10) ; and to pray towards the east, and *' worship die
sun toward the east," was a heathen custom abhorred by them
(Ezek. 8, 16).
' A direction variable, but not quite so much as that of Mekkeh,
which may correspond to any point of the compass, according to the
fixed or temporary place of Uie individual when he prays. Pompey
observed to Sylla, that *' the rising sun had more worshippers than
the setting sun," the double meaning of which we have adopted.
' It was not adopted in primitive Christian churches, some of
which were round, in imitation of the Holy Sepulchre ; and even
St. Peter's, like St. Maria Maggiore (erected in 300) and numerous
early churches, is not directed to the east. Afterwards the entrance
faced the west, and the so-called altar was placed at the east end,
and the people prayed towards the east.
ABOUT Arthur's stone in gower. 37
evident that the bodies found in our tumuli are not de-
posited there according to any fixed rule, two being
often placed together, "each having the head in an
opposite direction", and some in five difierent positions.^
Yet, if we admit the authority of one of the lolo MSS.
respecting the orientation of British monuments (which
says that it was a custom of the Britons to place in front
of the entrance to their circles, at the distance of three
or three times three fathoms, a stone to indicate the
eastern cardinal point; and another to the north of it,
to face the risiog sun at the longest summer dsty; and
an additional one to the south of it, pointing to the
position of the rising sun at the shortest winter's
day, — ^a line being drawn from these outer stones to one
in the centre of the circle), we ought to suppose that
the Britons had a particular veneration for sunrise and
the east. But it is safer to be guided, in such matters,
by facts obtained from the tombs themselves respecting
the mode of depositing the bodies of the dead ; and
besides the evidence derived from the tumuli above
mentioned, I may cite that of the tump, or chambered
tomb, in Green Combe, near Park Mill, in Glamorgan,
lately opened by Mr. Vivian, where the bodies were
placed in various directions, and not uniformly towards
the east. It is true that when three supporters of a
cromlech alone remain, or when there are large openings
between four or more of the supporters, it may be a
doubtful question; but we have sufficient authority for
concluding that it was not an invariable rule with the
Britons to make their tombs face, or to place the bodies
of the dead, in any particular direction.
With regard to the position of some tumuli and other
sepulchral monmnents on heights, it is quite consistent
with the feeling which made the friends of the de-
ceased raise such memorials in honoiu* of those they
esteemed and respected. It was natural that a distin-
guished individual should be buried on some elevated
spot; his memory was honomred by the marked position
^ See Bateman's Ten Years' Diggings, pp. 68, 73, 7Q,
38 AVENUES AND CARNS
they selected for his monument ; and people in early
ages generally adopted this custom. And while it re-
called the memory of the deceased, it stimulated those
who came after him to emulate his deeds, and to show
themselves worthy of a sunilar honour.
Some tumuli had upright stones placed roimd them,
which caU to mind the large mounds of upper Ethiopia,
called Tarabeel, as well as the smaller ones in the same
country, surrounded at their base by rows of small
pebbles, though the Tarab^el appear to have been once
covered with a rude casmg of flat stones, perhaps an imi-
tation of the Pyramids which abound there, and which
differ only from them in their circular form. The tumu-
lus is the natural monument of the dead. We find it,
on a grand scale, represented by the Pyramids of Egypt,
of Ethiopia, and of Mexico, with the only difference
that these were rectangular; the largest tombs of the
Etruscans were a circular moimd standing upon a raised
basement of stone, from which the grand tomb of
Augustus, and that of Adrian (now the Castle of St.
Angelo), at Rome, were copied; the Greeks raised
tumuli over the bodies of their distinguished heroes,^
some of which remain to this day, and perfectly accord
with the descriptions given of them by Homer, Apol-
lonius Rhodius, and other ancient writers; those of
the old Ulyrians are seen in Dalmatia ; and numerous
tumuli in Europe, Asia, Africa, and America, bear
witness to the universality of the custom of raising
them in honour of the dead. Nor was the ancient
pagan \ise of the tumulus and the cam at once dis-
carded by the Britons on their conversion to Christian-
ity, and cams have been found in Wales with christian
interments; for, besides that of a certain "Carausius"
(a namesake of the usurper), who "hie jacet in hoc con-
geries lapidum,'' bearing the monogram of Christ, there
^ Pansanias {Accad,^ c. 16) speaks of a tomb on a circular base-
ment of stone in Gfreece also, " \iOov KprfTriBi ev kvkXw ir^pieyofievovP
It was the tomb of Epytns, which he says was mentioned by Homer.
Some other Greek tombs were of similar form.
ABOUT Arthur's stone in gower. 39
is one in memory of David, beheaded in London by
Edward 1st, and another of his brother Llewelyn, still
called Camedd Davydd and Camedd Llewelyn. There
are also Cam y Groes ("Cam of the Cross"), in Gla-
morgan, Ty Illtyd, in Breconshire, and several others of
Christian times in North and South Wales ; and a large
tumulus stands in the churchyard of Ystrad Owen, near
Cowbridge, said to be of Owen ab Morgan, King of
Glamorgan.
The moimd, or cam, which once covered Arthur's
Stone may be traced here and there, showing that its
diameter was from 73 to 74 ft. It consisted of earth
as well as of stones, and on the higher ground, to the
south-east and west, indications of the extent of the
outer limit of the mound may be perceived.^ For
though I was at one time disposed to think that crom-
lechs were not covered by a mound, or a cam,^ I have
since found reason to alter that opinion ; not from any
conjecture, but from actual proof; and a visit to those at
Marros, on the south-west border of Caermarthenshire,
convinced me of the fact, and explained the presence of
the remarkable masses of stone about the Bhdssili
Cromlechs — ^the Swine's, or Swayne's, houses already
mentioned — given in my plan (in Plate 5), from which
^ Some stones, of greater size than the rest, appear to have been
placed at the edge or on the circumference of the circular mound or
cam raised over this cromlech.
^ JVlanj arguments might be, and have been, used in support of
the opinion that they were so covered; among the most valid of
which is this, that if not covered thej would be the most exposed
and the worst kind of burial-place for the dead. But another, which
endeavours to prove it by stating that Anglo-Saxon MSS. do not
mention cromlechs as visible structures, is fallacious, since circles
are also unnoticed in those documents ; and no one will suppose that
they were also concealed under mounds in those days ; the reason
really being that people at that time were not in the habit of noticing
such monuments, except when one happened to mark a boundaiy,
like " the stone kist on Holcombe", and in other instances quoted
firom the Codex Byplomaticus by Mr. Kemble ; all which show that
some at least of these hdran stanas (" hoary-stones" as they are still
called), cromlechs, and others, were uncovered about nine hundred
years ago. (F. Joum. Arch, Inst.y xiv, pp. 132, 135.)
40 AVENUES AND CARNS
it will be fleen, and paxticularly from the northern one,
that the cromlech was placed very far from the centre
of the cam, probably to render it less liable to be
discovered; and the stones lying about Arthurs Stone
were used for the same purpose. And though it is
well known that more than one edict was issued in
early christian times, to huxj and conceal such monu-
ments, in consequence of the superstitious reverence
which still continued to be paid to them, the distant
position and important character of the Marros crom-
lechs would render the execution of such an order, in
their case, almost unnecessary. Such a prohibition,
however, was as much required by the early christians
of Britain as of any other country; and there is suffi-
cient evidence of the Britons having been converted
to Christianity at a period long before the edicts of the
" fourth and nfth centuries" were promulgated. For even
if the long credited story of their conversion at the time
of St. Paul is not accepted ; if the conversion of King
Lucius, about 180 A.D., mentioned by Bede, is doubted;
if TertuUian's and Origen s statements that Christianity
had penetrated into Britain in their time (at the begin-
ninff of the third century); are not considered sufficient
authority; if Eusebius' assertion that the apostles and
the seventy disciples carried Christianity " to the British
Isles" (which is also stated by Theodoret) is not consid-
ered sufficiently circimistantial, it is at least certain that
churches had been already built in Britain *'at the
beginning of the fourth century," and that there is de-
cided evidence of the presence of three British bishops at
the Coimcil of Aries, in 314 A. D.; with every reason to
suppose that Christianity had long before been estab-
lished in their country. That Claudia, mentioned by
St. Paul (II Ep. Tim., iv, 21) with Pudens, was the
same as the Claudia in Martial, has been doubted;
though the coincidence is remarkable, and their identity
might readily be accepted from the two statements in
Martial, that Claudia was married to Pudens, Epig.
lib. iv, 13, "Claudia, Rufe, meo nubit peregrina Pu-
ABOUT AKTHUR'S STONE IN GOWER, 41
denti/' and that Claudia Bufina was a Briton, — Ep.,
lib. xi, 54
" Claudia csBmleis cum sit Rafina Britannia
Edita, cor Latin pectora plebis habet."
It is highly probable that the "foreign" and the
" British " Claudia were the same person, but it is not
80 probable that she and Pudens are the two persons
mentioned by St. Paul; the two names do not occur
together in St. Paul's epistle, as those of a man and his
wife, but separated by that of Linus ("Pudens, and
Linus, and Claudia"). Besides there is nothing to lead
lis to suppose that Aulus Pudens, a primipilus in the
Roman armj. ("et referes pili praemk clarus eques").
was a christian (Mart. Epig. i, 32, and vi, 58); and the
Pudens of St. Paul is said to have been a senator, not
a soldier.* There is, however, sufficient evidence of the
Britons having been christians before the year 314, and
great probability that they were so very much earlier.
If it has been said that there was no Archbishop in
Britain till the arrival of Augustin, in 596, this in no
way affects the question of the people being christians ;
that rank was first given to Athanasius in the same
century, and that only as a title of honour without any
jurisdiction attached to it, and in the East it was un-
known till 320. Indeed, it may occur to most persons
that the title of the head of the church at Rome was
simply "Bishop," until, in 606, Boniface obtained from
the Emperor Phocas the distinctive one of Pope, to be
applied exclusively to the Bishop of Rome, Pope having
been, till that time, the title of all bishops, as it still is
of all priests in the Greek church. It must, however,
be admitted that, without the interference of Augustin,
the Pagan Saxons, through their hostility to the Britons,
would not, in all probability, have been converted by the
^ But on what authority was he a senator ? This subject has been
ingeniously and fully examined by the learned Archdeacon of Car-
digan ; but some points, as the authority of the inscription found at
Colchester, have been called in question. (See a summary of his
arguments in vol. i, New Series, of Archoeologia Camhrensis, p. 80.)
42 AVENDES AND CARNS
British christians; and we must gratefully acknowledge
that to his preaching we are indebted for the rapid dis-
semination of Christianity throughout England, as we
are indebted to the Reformation for the purer doctrines
of our chxuch.
The Marros cromlechs, which are on the hill near the
sea, about a mile and a quarter south-east of the village
of Marros, and one mile south-south-west of Pendine,
stand at a short distance from a ledge or natural terrace
of rock,on the brow of the hill, which forms the western
side of the valley that runs towards the shore. They
are about 1 80 ft. apart, and are small, the capstone of
the northern one measuring only 3 ft. 9 in. in length
KonhtTD OnHDlsdi, UunM,
and breadth, and 4 ft. 1 in. at its western end, with a
thickness of 7 in; and that of the southern one 8 ft.
8 in. by 6 ft., and eleven inches thick.' Both have been
thrown off their supporting slabs, most of which are
still erect But these monounents are important from
' Their position and present condition will be better nnderstood
by the following references. Fig. 1. — a, one of the eidea or anp-
porting slabs of the northern cromlech is 2 ft. 1 in. long and
4-ft.S ine. high above the gronnd. b is 2 fb. 4 ins. long and 5 ins.
thick. The capstone (c) has been thrown off. It is 3 ft. 9 ins.
broad, or 4 fl. 1 in. at iU western end, and 7 ine. thick, d is 3 ft.
1 in. long, and 4 ins. thick, sloping iuwarda ; and 4 ft. 2 ina. high.
ABOUT AETHUR'8 STONE IN GOWEE. 43.
the Kttle change they have undergone, except in the
displacement of their capstones; they at once proclaim
that they were covered with stones of various sizes
from the adjacent rocks, and that the hollow space
round them was made by those who uncovered tnem.
Height Abovfl Muna CromlBch.
In fact they are only partially cleared from their tu-
mulus, or cam of heaped stones. On this accoxint they
are highly interesting, and of more importance than
many larger moniunents. About 240 fb. from the
northern cromlech is a large mass of stones, standing
apart from the wall of rock, or terrace, to the west, ana
Imown by the name of the Druids' Altar; but though
E is 4 ft. 9 ins. long, 7 ins. ihidk, abont 7 ft. from the cromlech, and
forming part of what appears to be a wall of circuit at ff on the
north fiide, and traceable again on tbe sonth-vest. This wall is
abont 2 ft. in height, o ia a large slab of rook. Fig. 2.— >, the
space in the centre of the soathem cromlech is abont 5 ft. 7 ins. by
3 ft. 7 ins. B is a pointed stone, sloping, and 2 ft. 8 ins. in length.
C, tbe capstone, fallen, 8 fL 8 ins. by 6 ft. ; and diagonally, 10 ft.
and 9 ft. It is 11 ins. thick, d is 2 ft. 5 ins. long, and 6 ins. thick,
sloping inwards. E is 2 ft. 1 in. long, sloping inwards. F is 1 ft.
4 ins. long and 10 ins. thick. This cromlech stands in the same kind
of heap of broken stones as the northern one. A and b shew the
relative positions of the north and sonth cromlechs. C is a large
mass of natnral stones called the " Druids' Altar." D an irregular
enclosure of nncertain time.
44 AVENUES AKD CARNS
attributed, like many similar objects, to the Druids, it
is a natural formation, and is probably innocent of
Druids and sacrifices. Below it to the southward are
several upright blocks, forming an irregular enclosure
beneath this low terrace of rock, but of uncertain age
and use. Between Marros and Pendine is a natural
cavern, near the junction of the carboniferous limestone
with the old red sandstone, which, from the small stream
disappearing beneath it, is called Green bridge.
I have spoken above of customs having been inherited
by the English from their Celtic ancestors, and the {acb
is consistent with reason and experience; for neither
the Romans nor even the Saxons destroyed the original
population of the country; and such an annihilation of
the inhabitants never accompanies their conquest by an
invader. It only happens when a people, immigrating
with their wives and families, drive out the native race
and occupy the whole land. A conquering people may
take possession of the coimtry, and put to death all the
men bearing arms, or likely to resist them ; but they
keep the peasantry to work for their benefit, as they
preserve the cattle and the produce of the land. The
women are also spared, and taken as wives ; and thus
an equal number of the two races is left, besides the
peasantry and the unfighting part of the population.
The balance is therefore immensely in favour of the ori-
ginal and conquered race ; and we know how great an
influence the early training of mothers has on the minds
of children, and how greatly it serves to retain habits
and ideas. It is evident, then, that the Celtic element
must still be traced in the English^ (less in some than in
^ The Celtic element was not destroyed ; and though the Saxons
were, in many parts of the country, the principal inhabitants, the
English race was at no time composed solely of Saxons, and in some
few counties the Celtic inhabitants outnumbered them. Had it
been otherwise, the English would be Grermans, which they are not.
In like manner, in South America the invaders intermarried with
the native population, and their descendants are a mixed race ;
while in North America the people are English, not having inter-
married with the Aborigines, who were driven out of the country.
This constitutes the difference between conquest and immigration.
ABOUT Arthur's stone in gower. 45
other districts, owing to the influx of Saxons being
greater than is usual in such invasions); and though
the features, statiu:e, and external aspect of a people are
often changed by the union of two races under such
conditions, many marked peculiarities of the original
inhabitants are retained ; and certain points in which
the English still resemble the ancient Britons, as de-
scribed by Roman writers, are readUy accounted for.
But the amalgamation of two different and very distinct
people, the Briton and the Saxon, and many qualities
derived from the latter, have formed the mind and
organising powers of the modem English, and given
them their aptitude for self-government, love of enter-
prise, fondness for the sea and commercial pursuits, with
other peculiarities, which they could never have acquired
from their British forefathers, however much they may
resemble them in their hereditary resolve, mentioned
by Tacitus, " never to be slaves", and in showing them-
selves obedient to laws and to those who govern them
without oppression.
Gardner Wilkinson.
Brynfield HouRe, Gower, Glamorgan.
November 1869.
46
NOTES ON THE EARLY HISTORY OF THE MANOR
OF HUNTINGTON, HEREFORDSHIRE.
(Continued from p. 246, vol, »v.)
The park adjoined the lord s demesne lands, the village
of Huntington, and the castle. Its limits are imcertain,
but judging from the names of fields in an old survey
of 1733, it probably extended from what is still known
as " Park Style" to the road which leads from Hunting-
ton village towards Brilley, comprising the greater part
of the land held with the present residence of Hunting-
ton Park and the Lodge Farm. Its estimated extent
in the early part of the seventeenth centmy was four
hundred acres. It was enclosed partly with paling and
partly with a hawthorn hedge as far as the village, near
which was the Walrhey gate, probably the entrance into
Welsh Huntington.^ lleceipts for the agistment in it
of carthorses {(ijffri) and other animals are accounted for
in 1372 and 1403. In 1372 charges occur for sawing
timber for planks, and cleaving " posteles and railles '
of oak trees fallen in Kingswood, for the renewal of the
paxk paling and cutting tynet or tyning, and cleaving
stakes for the repair of a considerable length of the
hedge. In 1413 the paling, which had in places been
blown down by the wind, was refixed with new posts
and rails from Kingswood ; and a hedge, forming part of
the park fence from the Crabtrees to the upper gate of
the castle, was pleashed. As late as the 1 5th Edward IV
the meadows under Snellesley were let to Philip Mohol-
1am ; but soon afterwards they were thrown, with other
pastures, into the park. It was then for the first time
probably used as a deer park by Edward the last duke.
Thomas Shirley was appointed^ park-keeper by letters
patent, under the duke s seal of arms,^ on the 2nd Jime,
1503, at the wages of 2d. a day, in addition to the park-
^ See " Walescheria", Rym., Foedera, i, 341.
2 " Compotus Rowland Brugge," receiver of Hay and Huntiogton,
22, 23 Henry VII. (Exch. Ministers' Acct., No. 78.)
* " Sigillum ad arma".
BOHTINOTON.
HUKTIKQTON.
THE MANOR OF HUNTINGTON. 47
keeper's yearly customary allowance of four stuns and
three truggs of rye; and on the 22 Nov. 1506, the
duke, by his letters patent, granted the office of master^
in charge of the game of his park of Huntington to
William Uvedale, knight (unties), during the dukes
pleasure, at the yearly wages of five marcs. The survey
on the duke's attainder, before referred to, states : —
" The park there is a goodly and parkly ground contain-
ing two miles about, having one himdred deer in the
same. The keeper there is Thos. Shirley, lately ad-
mitted the king s servant, as is said, — officers at the
king's pleasure. The fee of the park is at 785. per ann.
The stewardship goeth with Brecknock." In 1529, 40&
is accounted for in respect of the agistment of cattle in
the park in summer and winter ; so it may be inferred
that it had then ceased to be a deer park.
Mention may be expected to be made of the churches
of Huntington and Brilley as well as that of Kington.
A reference to the early registers of the diocese of Here-
ford has, however, aflforded no information as to Hunt-
ington and Brilley, although it has been the means of
verifying the correctness of the extracts as to Kington
in Parry's history. A repetition of these extracts in
this paper is unnecessary. It will suffice to state that
the existing registers commence with the appointment
of Thomas de Cantelupe as bishop in 1275, and that the
first entry of a presentation to the living of Kington is
dated 3rd of Kalends of May (29 April), 1279, and
was made between the abbot and convent of Tyrone^ on
an agreement between them and the Earl of Hereford
and Essex, who on the 9th February, 1293, obtained a
judgment confirming his right of presentation as against
the abbot and convent. The Bohim family appear to
have afterwards exercised the right of presentation until
31 January, 1404, when the prior and convent of Llan-
thony, near Gloucester, presented, and continued to
^ "Magister deduct' Feramm", an office probably the same as
"Magister Venator'*.
* Tiron, in the diocese of Chartres, a Benedictine abbey, of which,
the priory at Titley, a parish adjoining Kington, was a cell.
48 NOTES ON THE EARLY HISTORY
present until the dissolution of monasteries. In the
ecclesiastical taxation of England and Wales by Pope
Nicholas IV, in 1291, the entry, "Ecclesia de Kyngton,
taxatio £20 ; decima, £2", occurs under the head of the
deanery of Webbely. A charge in the account of Roger
Barton (1372, 3) of payments made to two carters and
a shepherd for offerings at the feasts of the Nativity
and Easter, and the mention of a chaplain at Hunting-
ton, in the early part of the reign of Henry IV, lead to
the inference that there was a chiirch or chapel there,
held with the living of Kington. Two or three small
pieces of land lying between Himtington Castle and the
Forest Wood belonged to the chantry of the Virgin
Mary at Kington until the abolition of chantries, when
they fell into the hands of the crown, and were not sold
until a recent period.
The right to hold fairs and markets dates from an
early pemod. King Henry III, on the 8th Jany. 1256,
granted to Humphrey de Bohun, jun., that he and his
heirs might have a weekly market on Friday within the
manor ; and a yearly fair there, of three days' duration,
on the vigil, day, and morrow, of the translation of
St. Thomas the Martyr.^
Some hght is thrown on the state of the district by
the receiver's account, 23 Henry VII. He charges him-
self, in his year's account, with the large sum of £260
for penalties on forfeited recognisances taken in the
manor court of record. The chief offenders were Jankyn
Smith, of Pentre Ivor Goch in Brilley, and Jevan Gwyn
his servant, who had robbed, and afterwards murdered,
some Carmarthenshire men, probably on their way into
England with black cattle. Jankyn made default; his
foods and house were seized for the lord's use ; and his
ailsman, Merrick David Beynon, was the sufferer.
Richard Hargest, David ap Lewis of the lordship of
Radnor, Griffith ap Thomas, and John MahoUam, bail
for Hoell ap Rhys ap Lewis, who was accused of divers
felonies, were fined for not producing him at the duke's
1 Charter Rolls, 41 H. Ill, m. 10.
OF THE MANOR OF HUNTINGTON. 49
castle when summoned. The bail of John Daywyn,
bailiff of the borough of Kington, also forfeited their
recognisances for his neither returning nor presenting
the forfeiture of the goods and chattels of Hugh Corve-
ser, accused of felony.^
It now only remains to notice a few miscellaneous
entries which occur in the accounts. In 1413 WiUiam
Grenewey, the English bailiff, rode to Marffelde to meet
the receiver, Thos. Lawrence. In 1415 he rode to Lon-
don with money for the lord, and was absent ten days.
The expenses of his journey and stay there amounted
to 10s.; and he was allowed to purchase a cloak, at a
cost of 13s. id., for himself at the lords expense. He
also charges in the same year 4^. for himself and a man
riding to Thomb/ with money for the same receiver.
In 1544 the accountant was allowed 25. for his journey
to Brecon to attend on the receiver. The wages of the
master workmen, carpenters, and laawyers, employed on
the works at the castle, in the reigns of Edward III,
Henry IV, and Henry V, were id. per day. The other
workmen employed received 3d. In 1372 Thomas the
Irishman and Robt. Stanley, masons, were employed to
do the work by contract. A charge is made for " skaffald
hurdlys". The limestone, purchased probably at Old
Radnor, cost Is. id. per sum, or 2d. per bushel, — a very
high price if we adopt Professor Rogers s multiple of
12 in order to arrive at the comparative value now;
occafiioned, in a great measure, by the want of gun-
powder to blast the hard rock. As 3d. per bushel is, in
the same account, charged for burnt lime, we may arrive
at the conclusion that the lesser price arises from the
stone being purchased in its natural state, and burnt at
Huntington in rude kilns of earth and stone; alternate
layers oi wood and limestone,'^ broken small, being placed
^ Account of Rowland Brugge, receiver of Hay and Huntington.
* Probably Thornbury, in Gloucestershire, where Edward, last
Duke of Buckingham, built a castle in the place of the old house.
(Parker's Dom. Arch. Fifteenth Century, p. 263.)
* Ure's Dictionary, " Lime."
^H BER.y VOL. I. 4
50 NOTES ON THE EARLY HISTORY, ETC.
in the kiln for the purpose. The present price of burnt
lime at ihe kiln is 6d. per bushel. The sand for mortar
was obtained by digging on the spot. In 1403 Galfrid
was master- workman at the repairs of the castle. The
names of the other workmen were Richard, Eynon
Vaughan, David, John, son of Richard, Thomkyn, David
Gam, Jevan ap Meredyth, David ap Knoll, Clement
Baker, and a workman of Glaudestre. The charge for
hauling timber from Snellesley to the castle was 6d. per
day, and from Kingswood and the Hayewood 8d. per
load (plaustratio). Sand was obtained at Yazor, about
sixteen miles distant ; and a man was paid for search-
ing for it, and carting it to the castle, for two days, 20c?.
2 cwt. and 20 lbs. of lead were purchased at 11 5. lOd. ;
and 2 cwt. of lead and an old vessel, of Philip Barrett
at Radnor, for 10s. 8d. was allowed for carrying the
lead from Radnor and other places to the castle. An
old furnace was purchased of Rees Hargest by the
plumber for 35., and 4 lbs. of tin {stanni) at a cost of l5.,
and-one pennyworth of wax, were purchased for melting
and making a solder.
Extracts from the reeve's accoimts^ and the inquisi-
tions which have supphed the materials, foUow this
paper. It is a matter for regret that no continuous
accounts exist ; but considering that the manor was only
in the hands of the crown during a minority or a for-
feiture, and how short-Hved private documents gene-
rally are, it is fortunate that a few remain, and thus
enable some account, imperfect as it necessarily must
be, to be given of the past.
After its forfeiture, on the attainder of Edward, last
Duke of Buckingham, the manor remained in the hands
of the crown until the 30th June, 1564, when it was
granted, by letters patent of Queen Elizabeth, to Sir
Ambrose Cave, chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster, and
ever afterwards continued in the hands of a subject.
R. W. B.
^ I acknowledpfe tlie obligations which I am under to Mr. Stnarfc
A. Moore, Record Agent, in searching for documents, and making
transcripts of thoso which are at the Record Office.
'ffiT
. sAi
: tnn
We
In
,it
I nil
Ifcl
*
51
ON THE TUMULUS IN PLAS NEWYDD PAEK,
ANGLESEY.
With the exception of Cornwall there is, perhaps, no
county in England. and Wales so rich in Celtic remains
as Anglesey, or possessing so varied a form of megalithic
structures, cromlechs or cistvaens, mein-hirion or cham-
bered tumulL Many of these have been ably described
of late, and figured in the pages of the Archceological
Journal and Archceologia Camhrensis; but hitherto one
of the most interesting has not been so fully described
as it deserves, from its size and peculiar features.
In the park of Plas Newydd, the seat of the Marquis
of Anglesey, towards the southern end, and on the left
hand of a path leading to the kitchen gardens, there is
to be seen a large green mound or tumulus with two
oak trees of considerable size growing upon it. No one
can pass without being struck with its appearance, situ-
ated as it is in a valley of siupassinff beauty, surroimded
by magnificent trj ot ^ ^ The^&t* to the
south-east is terminated by the grand range of Carnar-
vonshire mountains, Snowdon with its triple head above
all the others.
The visitor, descending to examine the moimd, will
find on the east side that excavations have been made
in former times, disclosing an entrance to the interior
chamber or cist which once contauied the bones or ashes
of the great warrior, in whose memory this stupendous
mound was erected. We may speculate whether he was
one of the heroes who died on this spot fighting against
the victorious legion of the Romans led by raulinus
Suetonius ; more probably he may have been one of an
earlier race. #
The mound itself, as is usually the case, is formed of
earth and the small fragments of limestone which abound
in the surrounding soil» The cist is composed of large
4»
52 TUMULUS IN PLAS NEWYDD PARK.
flat slabs of limestione, the dimensions of which are accu-
rately given in the plan, from drawings and measure-
ments taken by the Rev. W. Wynn Williams, jun., of
Menaifron. The peculiar feature of this sepulchral
chamber is the front stone closing the entrance to the cist.
It faces the east, and is perforated in two places. This
stone is now broken in half ; but the lower portion re-
mains in its original position. It has two circular holes,
about ten inches in diameter, artificially made in it;
the upper portion of the stone having been broken, and
probably removed, when the mound was first excavated.
We cannot with any certainty say that the stone had
been of one piece, or that the holes had been perfect
circles. About three-quarters appear to remain ; and
from the circumstance that this stone, on the north side,
reaches within seven inches of the covering stone at the
top, we may, I think, conclude that it was originally
one perfect stone, which closed the entrance to the
chamber. The holes are chamfered off on the outside.
The entrance is about 2 ft. 3 ins. high, and 5 ft. wide.
Of late attention has been called to such perforations
occurring in the front or side-stones of sepulchral cham-
bers in India and other parts. I have endeavoured to
ascertain how many similar structures are to be found
in this country. I am indebted to my relation, Mr.
Albert Way, for the account of one presenting the same
peculiarities of form and structure. It has been pub-
lished in the Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries,^
in the. description given by the Rev. S. Lysons of a
chambered timiulus at Rodmarton, Gloucestershire. This
mound was of a kind known as " long barrows". Its
dimensions were as follow : length, 1 76 ft. ; width, 71 ft.;
height, 1 ft. The entrance to the north chamber was
closed, nearly to the roof, by a barrier of two stones
placed side by side, upright, in the ground, and hol-
lowed out qpi their two inner and adjoining edges, so a3
to leave a sort of porthole of an oval shape.
The dimensions of the Plas Newydd tumulus are
^ Proc. Sor. Antiq., 2nd Sems, vol. ii, p. 275.
}
. tlpperUnaabitlllllln.bTi.
THHOLUS,
BUTTKESS.
QBOUND PLAK OF DOUBLS CROMLECH, NEAR STABLES, PL AS NEWTPD.
• « «> • • •
tr-» t I UJ Ui
lO
BO YARM.
QROUND PLAN, TUmiLUS, PLA8 NBWTDD.
AttCR. Camb. 4th. Seb. Vol. i.
i-k"
Hi
\
tiTmulus in plas newydd park. 53
about 150 ft in length, 105 ft. in width, and 14 to 15 ft.
in height.
Mr. Blight mentions a cromlech at Trevethy,* in Corn-
wall, with a circular hole in the covering stone. Other
instances, in Britanny and elsewhere, are noticed in the
ArchcBologia Cambrensis.^
Col. Meadows Taylor, in his most interesting account
of the cromlechs in the Dekhan in India, published by
the Royal Irish Academy,* describes a large group of
cromlechs in Shirapoor, on the Bheema and Krishna
rivers. They are called by the natives " Mori Munni",
or Mories' houses, and regarded as vestiges of a supposed
dwarf race of great strength. These Druidical, Celtic,
Scythian, or Aryan remains are most instructive. Many
of the closed kistvaens had round holes in the centre
slab, on the south side : diameter, from 9 to 4 ins. Col.
Meadows Taylor states that this peculiarity is found to
exist in similar remains in Britanny and in England,
Kits Coty House, in Kent, being a well known example ;
and such objects exist also in Circassia, according to
Bell.*
Mr. R. A. Cole mentions, in his account of the crom-
lechs of Southern India, a double one with a hole in
each end.*^ I may here, however, remark that Kits
Coty House has no hole or perforation in the front, or
in any of the other stones of which it is composed f but
it is remarkable as being composed of three upright
stones instead of four, making it an open cromlech ; or,
as Meadows Taylor goes on to say, — " I here make a
^ Described by Norden, a.d. 1584. Model in British Museum.
Note, p. 291, Leslie Forbes.
* Arch. Camh., 3rd Series, vol. xv, p. 198, by Thome ; one at Trio,
ohe at Beauvais.
^ This memoir was first given by Col. Taylor in the Transactions
of the Bombay Asiatic Society, Jan. 1853. The kistvaen with a cir-
cular aperture has been figured in Col. Forbes Leslie's Early Races
of Scotland^ ii, p. 290.
* Travels in Circassian i, p. 154.
^ Trans. Ethnological Society, vol. vii, N. S., p. 299.
* See a good representation of Kits Coty House in Col. Forbes
Leslie's Marly Eaces of Scotland^ ii, p. 275.
54 TUMULUS IN PLAS NEWYDD PARK.
distinction between kistvaen and cromlech. They are
similarly constructed, except that the former, whether
with or without a top, has always four sides, and the
latter only three. In none of the open cromlechs could
anything be found, and the original earth of the floors
remained undisturbed. In the closed or four-sided
cromlechs Were found human ashes, portions of bone,
and charcoal mixed with pieces of broken pottery, red
and black, with the invariable pandre matti, or black £j
earth mould, brought from a distance." "
Forbes Leslie, remarking upon this memoir by Col.
Meadows Taylor, observes that these kistvaens are alto-
gether above ground. They never appear to have been
under a mound like the dolmens. Tney were probably
used as sacrificial altars. Speaking of the closed kist-
vaens of the Dekhan, with the round hole in one of the
stones which forms the end or side of the monument,
it may have been intended for the spirit to pass through
in progress to the new body which it was to occupy m
its destined transmigration; and, as CoL Leslie pre-
sumed, through this opening the spirit was expected to
convey the arms, ornaments, and valuables, deposited
for its use, but still found in such tombs. ^ The Hindus
believe that the soul of a person deceased exists, but in
ethereal or imsubstantial form, until certaiu necessary
fimeral ceremonies are performed. It then passes iuto
a more substantial form, described as about the size and
length of a man s thumb. The ceremonies are continued
daily for ten days ; then once a month until the final
ceremony takes place at the end of the year. The soul
is supplied with food daily, cakes of rice and milk, rich
libations of water. ^
It is not disputed, I believe, that the Druids believed
in the Pythagorean doctrines, the pre-existence of souls,
and their transmigration from one vehicle to another.
Pennant, in his accoimt of the cromlech and tumulus
at Plas Newydd, writes as follows : " Not far from tiie
^ Ibid., p. 290. 8 Carey's Edmaydn, iii, p. 72.
6 -
TUMULUS IN PLAS NEWYDD PARK. 55
cromlech is a large camedd. Part has been removed,
and within was discovered a cell about 7 ft. long and 3
wide; covered at top with two flat stones, and lined on
the sides with others. To get in I crept over a flag
placed across the entrance. On the top of the stone
were two semicircular holes of size sufficient to take in-
the human neck. It is conjectured that above might
have been another; so that both together might perform
the office of a stock. It is indeed conjecture, yet not
an improbable one, that in this place had been kept the
wretches detained for sacrifice.; as it is weU known that
they performed those execrable rites, and often upon
captives who had sufiered long imprisonment, perhaps
in cells similar to this."^
On comparing Pennant's engraving of the Plas New-
ydd large cromlech, near the stables, published near
one hundred years ago, with the present appearance ;
also finding in Pughe's Cambria Depicta (1816), this
account, — " Some time before I saw it (the cromlech) it
v/as supposed that some part of its supporters had given
way on one side, which greatly alarmed the family. It
was in consequence propped up with pieces of thick
timber," — I am inclined to think that the projecting
stone at the north-east end, supporting the capstone,
has been placed there as a support, of late years, by the
Anglesey family. The stone is placed at an angle most
unusual in aU cromlechs, and it is not figured in Pen-
nant's view.
Had Pennant lived and written in these days, he
would, with his acute mind, most probably have com-
pared the holed stone in the sepulchral chamber at Plas
Newydd with the kistvaens of the East. In their per-
forated entrance-stone he would have traced the link
between East and West, and in his mind's eye have
followed the great migration of peoples from the plains
and hiUs of India, gradually spreading their religious
rites, manners, and customs, as far as the bleak islands
of the far West ; leaving their stupendous stone struc-
^ Toxif in WaleSf ii, p. 238.
56 TUMULUS IN PLAS NEWYDD PARK.
tures, as they passed, an indelible witness of their pass-
age, and of the cradle from which they sprang. He
might also have found reason to doubt whether the
religion of the Druids was in fact, as had been alleged,
tainted with the horrid rites of human sacrifice.
It may not be out of place to notice here that recent
research leads to the belief, or rather to the confirma-
tion of the fact, that aU megalithic structures, whether
sepulchral or for religious rites and ceremonies, were
first known in the East.
Most of the cromlechs in Anglesey appear to have
been originally chambered cists covered over with a
mound of eartn, like this tumulus at Plas Newydd. The
great cromlech near the stables at Plas Newydd bears
all the appearance of having been covered over, and a
circle of large stones arranged round the mound. Some
of these stones are still to be seen. The very curious
and interesting chambered tomb at Bryncelli, about a
mile distant, was covered with a mound in the memory
of man.^ When first opened it contained, as has been
stated, the bones of those who had therein been buried,
arranged on stone seats round the central cell, which
was supported by a stone pillar. The bodies, probably,
were introduced through the long narrow passage which
. conamunicated with the outside of the mound, like the
entrance at New Grange in Ireland.
I cannot find any authentic mention of urns having
been found in or under cromlechs.
The urn-burials, which are fi-equent in Anglesey, seem
to have been placed in a rudely formed cell composed of
flat stones, to prevent the pressure of the earth and
destruction of the urn. A small mound was fi^equently
raised over the urn, as at Bronwen's tomb on the banks
of the Alaw, and at Forth Dafarch.*
Anglesey has majiy large upright stones or meini-
hirion scattered in all parts. These seem to have
1 " Barclodiad j Gawres," by the Rev. H. Prichard, Arch. Camb.j
Oct. 1869, p. 403.
2 Arch, Camh., 3rd Series, xiv, pp. 222, 233.
M
il
B J
S I
TUMULUS m PLAS NEWYDD PARK, 57
marked battles fought in the vicinity, or to have been
raised over the tomb of a slain warrior. Wherever they
are seen tradition points out some memorable conflict
that had there oociured in ancient times.
Mr. Barnwell, in a recent memoir in the ArchcBohgia
CamhrensiSy has stated that the great question whether
all cromlechs are the perfect or imperfect remains of
sepulchral chambers, or the works of Druidic hands,
must in the year 1869 be considered finally and satis-
factorily settled ; the theory of Druidic altars being, it
is hoped, finally disposed of.^
If Mr. Barnwell means to affirm that all megalithic
structures were originally sepulchral, I must, I fear,
differ from him. At one time all stone structures were
called Druids' altars. Now it is contended that none
were ever used for religious rites and ceremonies. We
may thus nm into another extreme. If we take a
wider view of this question, and examine into the nature
of the stone altars, circles, and avenues, found existing
in other countries as well as our own, we must pause
before we come to such a conclusion. The earhest notice
of stone structures is contained in the Bible history.
There they are all connected with worship, either of
Baal or of the Supreme Deity. They were of unhewn
stone (altars of sacrifice), set up on mgh places or near
groves. We read in the Book of Deuteronomy, "Ye
shall overthrow their altars, and break their pillars" (up-
right stones), " and bum their groves with fire."^ Joshua
set up a stone as a witness ; and many other allusions
to megahthic monuments occur in Scripture, too nume-
rous to quote.
Kits Coty House, an open three-stone cell, bears no
appearance of being sepulchral ; and I am informed that
many cromlechs existing in Cornwall and Britanny are
apparently of the same character.
I append a list of known cromlechs and meinihirion
^ Arch. Gamh,^ xv, p. 118.
^ Deat. c. xii, y. 3. Sec also Smith's Dictionary of the BMe^ under
"Stones."
58 TUMULUS IN PL AS NEWYDD PARK.
in Anglesey, as far as I can ascertain them, with the
assistance of the Rev. W. Wynn Williams and the Rev.
Hugh Prichard.
Cromlechs existing iv Anglesey. — 1, Plas Newydd;
double. 2, BryncelU ; a tumulus, not sepulchral cham-
ber. 3, Tumulus at Plas Newydd. 4, Bodowyr. 5, Tre-
for, double. 6, Lligwy. 7, Bodafon. 8, Llaniechell; top
stone fallen. 9, Henblas ; query, whether artificial or
natural, probiably the latter. 1 0, Ty Newydd, Llanfaelog ;
double. 11, 12, 13, Crigyll; three small cromlechs.
1 4, Mynydd y Cnwc, Uanmelog. 1 5, Trefigneth ; triple.
16, Presaddfedd. 1 7, Pant y Saer ; lately destroyed.
18, Treban, Ceirchiog. 19, Tref Arthur, Holyhead; a
few stones remain. 20, Cromlech at Rhoscolyn, Llan-
geinwen; a few stones remain. 21, at Tan twr and
Caer-Uechau some stones remain. 22, Lon Caerau Mawr ;
ditto. 23, Perthi-duon, Llanidan; fallen. 24, near
Plas-bach, Trefdraeth; a few stones remain.
W. 0. Stanley.
Penrhos. Oct. 1, 1869.
CASTELL COLLEN, RADNOESHIEE.
In the parish of Llanfihangel Helygan, on the right
bank of the river Ithon and partly overhanging it, is an
ancient camp of considerable extent, generally known
as Castell Collen, but which appears originally to have
borne the name of " Gaer," thereby denoting its Roman
construction and origin. The name of Castell Collen
appears from Williams's HiMory of Radnorshire to be
of late origin, the farm house near is called Castell
Collen, but the camp itself is stiU called the Gaer. Its
situation is very commanding, with a fine view of the
adjacent country, the ground on the west sloping pre-
cipitously to the river Ithon ; on the north and south
the ground is also steep ; on the east side the ascent is
more gradual. The approaches are very nearly north
and south. That from the south appears to have
CASTELL COLLEN.
wound up rather circuitously from the river, which must
have been crossed by a bndge, of which, however, no
remains now appear. There are considerable traces of
ancient walls in Hie vicinity of the southern entrance ;
of the northern entrance nothing appears beyond the
opening in the mound.
PIuotCuMdlCoUan.
The camp itself indudes an area of nearly four acres
forming almost a square, about one hundred and forty-
two yards in breadth by one hundred and thirty-two
in length ; these dimensions do not include the outer
intrenchment on the west which contains a plateau of
an average width of about forty yards somewhat elevated
above the general level of the mner camp, defended by
a deep ditch with traces of an entrance near the centre,
and indistinct traces of a road running westwards, which
im
60 CASTELL COLLEN.
was doubtless tlie line of road made use of By the
Komans for the purpose of communicating with the
Cardiganshire lead mines, the direct route to which
would be through the Nantmel Valley by Caerfagu and
Davemithin (was this an ancient " Tabema''?) to Rhay-*
ader, and thence over the hills to Cwm Ystwyth.
The Roman road, which is so clearly marked over
Llandrindod Common nearly to Howey, was doubtless
the main line of communication, which this important
station was intended to command, and communicated
therewith by means of a bridge over the Ithon on its
south-eastern side. From the bridge the road took a north-
easterly direction to Cae bach ; from thence it crossed the
commons in a southerly direction alongside of the ancient
fishpool of Llanerch-y-diron in a nearly straight line to a
farm house, called Yr Heol in the parish of Disserth, and
then on to Cwrt Llechryd, where there is a consider-
able Roman fort or castellum of a regular square form
for the purpose of securing the passage over the river
Wye, and at which point the Roman road up the valley
of that river would form a junction with the main road,
traversing the county of Brecon southwards to Mari-
dunum, or Carmarthen. Northwards from Castell CoUen
the road proceeded by way of Llanbadam Fawr, taking
a line parallel to the river Clywedog, through the open-
ing of the hills near Abbey Cwmhir, and thence through
Bwlch-y-Samau (or the defile of the Causeway), to
Caersws in Montgomeryshire. The outer walls now
present the appearance of earthwork more or less hastily
thrown up, intermixed with rubble stone, and varying
in height from five to eight feet ; on the north, west,
and part of the south side, is a deep fosse. On the re-
mainder of the south side it appears to have been filled
up. On the east the ground slopes so rapidly towards
the river as not to require this protection.
By what I could learn from local information it appears
that the " Gaer" has been for many years the quarry
of the district, and all the farm houses and buildings
near have been built with stone taken from its walls
f
CASTELL COLLEN. 61
and foundations and dug up from the inside of the
camp; Where most perfect, it appears that the ram-
part was of earth faced with roughly hammered stone,
fiimilar to that now obtained from Uanfawr quarry (a
hard greenstone). I observed two fragments of Roman
brick, one of which appeared to have been mixed with
chopped straw before being burnt, and here and there
traces of lime and mortar. I was informed that many
hundred loads of stone had been dug out of the founda-
tions of buildings on the western side of the camp.
In the north-western comer there are the foundations
of an oblong building twenty yards in length by ten
yards wide, which it is probable was the Praetorium.
The surface on the western side slopes gradually towards
the line of roadway passing through the camp, and here
there axe traces of foundations running parallel with
the Prsetorium ; on the eastern side the ground is level,
and in the centre is one portion more level than the
rest, which was probably the parade ground or Augurale
belonging to the Praetorium, where was the Sacellum
for the eagles and ensigns, and where the sacrifices were
oJHfered. The Reverend Jonathan Williams in his History
(rf Radnorshire states that Romsm coins of the Empress
Faustina, bricks, pottery, and human bones have been
thrown up. I cannot find that of late years any remains
have been discovered but I think it is likely that, if the
accumulated rubbish of centuries were cleared away,
some interesting discoveries might be made. There is
an ancient lead mine in the adjoining parish of Llan-
drindod, which it is asserted waB workid by the Romans.
Many remains of ancient camps and fortifications exist
in this district, more especially in the adjoining parishes
of Llandrindod and Disserth. One of the most impor-
tant is situate in the parish of Uandewy on a consider-
able hill upon the banks of the Ithon about five-and-a-
half miles from Castell CoUen, and was probably a strong
outpost commanding the pass of the Ithon upon the
road from Caersws. It is most probable that at Castell
Collen was stationed a cohort of Roman soldiers whose
62 CORRESPONDENCE OF ABP. WILLIAMS.
duty it was to overawe and keep in check the indepen-
dent and turbulent natives of the mountainous districts
of Cardiganshire and Radnorshire and the large popula-
tion of slaves who were employed in the extensive
mining operations in the valley of the Ystwyth, and to
draw from them that tribute of lead and other minerals
which rendered Britain so valuable an appanage of Im-
perial Rome.^ S. W. Willl^ms.
COREESPONDENCE OF ARCHBISHOP WILLIAMS.
In 1861 there was found in a garret in Beaumaris a
bundle of original letters of the period of the civil war.
From their contents it appeared that they properly be-
longed to BaronhiU, and consequently they were handed
over to Sir Richard Bulkeley. Among them were two
in the handwriting of Archbishop WiUiams W one
addressed to him by Lord Arthur Capel, by way of ac-
knowledgment of a transaction suggested by the Arch-
bishop to Lord Bulkeley in a letter already printed,
{Arch. Camh. voL i, p. 329) ; and some letters from
Prince Rupert and Prince Maurice. The whole bundle
contained forty-seven docvunents, all of interest as mate-
rials for the history of Anglesey and Carnarvonshire
during the civil war. Those which supplement the
correspondence already published in the Arch. Cavnb.
are subjoined.
The first two letters of the series printed for the Earl
of Powis should be read with those long since printed
in Arch. Camb. vol. i, p. 328.
It is hoped that the remainder of these forty-seven
trouvailles may be made useful to archaeologists.
J. W.
^ Gastell Collen evidently was connected with the straight road
which ran from it by Llanyre to Newbridge-on-Wye. During the
enclosure of Llanyre, in 1841-2, two tumuli by the side of this road,
on a fEum called Carreg Croes, were levelled for the purpose of ob-
taining gravel from them to free and fill up the inequalities of the
newly stoned roads ; but no remains were found in either.
CORRESPONDENCE OF ABP. WILLIAMS. 63
I. — [Capell to Williams.]
Most Reverend,
Your powder and bulletts are safely come hither
w®^ are not measured by their quantitye but are conioined
and hold proportion only with your store, w*** falls short
of your affections to accommodate the service here, and
for which I retume to yourselfe and Mr. Bulkeley my
kinde thanks. Yo' Grace will shortely understand that
care is taken for the manning the townes of Beawmares
and Conwaye in some measure & I must borrowe tyme
to consider what is to bee done with Caernarvon, of
which I shall be myndefiill as ther shall bee opportu-
nitye. There was a report att Oxford this weeke that
complaint had been made to the house of Comons that
y* E. of Newcastle in a tyme of treatye w^*" y* Leedears
Jiad entred the town : slaine the souldiers, & pUlaged
y* inhabitants butt this not otherwise affirmed : Itt is
nott here knowne that there is a seige lay'd to Man-
chesf butt itt is nott improbable that y* E. of New-
castle will endeavour to tdce it in his march this way :
the L* Willoughby of Parham and his young excellence
Hotham were lately repiilsed from Grantham lean-
ing 60 dead in the place and 2 capteines and other
prisoners ; old Hotham hath sent for a supplye of men
and money w**" if nott sent hee resolves (& nath soe sig-
nifyed) that hee will send noe more. The comons have
voted & putt to makeing a new greate seale, contrary
to the opinion of y* lawyers and most prudent men of
y® house, affirming it to be high treason ; Marquis of
Hartford went for y* west three days since. Prince M.
y® E. of Carnarvon & Maior General Wagstaff are fol-
lowed, their strength, 5 or 6 regimts. of horse & a
Regimt of foote ; the E. of Essex hath promised in
eight days after his souldiers be paid hee will visitt
Oxford, butt his men mutinye and leave him in great
numbers dayelie. Yoin: Grace had been fully answered
in your desired garrisons butt that wee are here more
in reputation than strength as being M™ of the field,
64 CORRESPONDENCE OF ABP. WILLIAMS:
and as haveing hadd several successes agaynst a veiye
apprehensive enemye, butt as yett nott fitt for any
greate action nor able to accommodate our fiiends with,
such, afforcemts of men or ammunition as may be re-
quireable to them : however if you happen to be con-
cerned in yo"^ partes by the access of an enemy by sea,
yo' Grace & those partes shall find mee ready to lend
my best helpe in discharge of the trust reposed in
Your Graces humble servant,
Arthur Capell.
Whytchurch, 21st Maii, 1643.
[Address torn. ...nd father
... bishop of
... Conwey
... ent thes.]
II. — [Princk Rupert to Bulkelet.]
In the assembly of y* members of both Howses of
Parliamt att Oxford, It was concluded by the Kinges
Majistie and the members there assembled that for ray s-
ing of moneys for mainteynance of y* armye Letters
under his Mat' signett or Privie Seale shoulde be
directed to such persons as are nominated by the
members of the Howses to bee able to Lend, and con-
tayned in Schedules affixed to y* Comissions for sub-
scriptions issued into y® respective counties.
The moneyes to be raised by that way of Loane in y*
Sixe Counties of North Wales and y"* coimtie of Salop
the Kinges Majestie hath by his Letters to y* respec-
tive Sherrifies ordered to bee payd to mee for the use
9f the armye under my comand. Now for that the
present occasions of supplying the army requires a
spedie advance of money, I doe hereby desire yo"* upon
receipt hereof to pay to the Lord Archbishop of Yorke
whom I have entreated to receive the same, the summe
of one hundred pounds being the summe concluded by
his Majestie and y® members of the Howses to be lent
by you and specified in the Schedule before mentyoned
for w°^ yo'* shall receive a sufficient discharge upon the
CORKESPONDENCE OP ABP. WILLIAMS. 65
Privie Seale in that behalfe. In the meane tyme a dis-
charge of soe much received by the Lord Archbishop of
Yorke for my use and his Majesties service shall oblige
mee to procure such other more formall discharge as
shall be thought necessarie. Soe not doubting of yo' con-
formitie herein I rest yo'' L'pps jffrend
Rupert.
Chester the fiffc of August 1644.
[Addressed : To the Right Honer^^* Thomas Lord
Buckley Viscount Cassells these.]
m. — [Williams to Bulkblbt.]
After my verye heartyest co'mendac'on to you.
You shall understand by his highnes letter y* y* sub-
iect of y* same is about y* Lone=monyes assigned &
advanced by Both y* houses of parliament at Oxford.
Yt this money is allredye pay'd long ago in flintshyre
& latelye in denbighshyre, & in all other places in his
M^'" obedience.
I shall only add thereunto thus much yt his highness
his agent, Mr. Balle, will be heere at Conway w*^ mee
to-morrow to receave yo' money, w"*" I hope you will
send w^** all speed so avoyde further ti:ouble & molesta-
tion & I shall give you an acquittance for y* receipt
thereof, & rest obliged to procure you aU further LegaU
discharges w"** shall be tnought just and iittinge, as
aJsoe to see yt out of y* new cesment, ordered to be
made you shall be eased of soe much of what you now
advance as shall be conceaved by Y Justices yo' neigh-
bours, to have binne (for want oi Right Information)
too highlie imposed upon you, and all this upon your
present tendnnge of this money w^^ y« ♦ * ♦tye of y*
armye & y* defence of this ♦ * ♦ * nott admitt to Bee
further delayed w*^**"* your trouble & molestation w** I
seriously desyre to prevent as beinge
Yo' very loveinge freind Jo: Eboeac.
Conway 7 Augusti, 1644.
To y* rt. Hono^*' the Lord Viscount Bulkeley at
Baronhill these haste.
4rH BSR. VOL. I. 5
66 CORRESPONDENCE OF ABP. WILLIAMS.
[Seal small — an escutcheon bearing a chevron between
three men's heads couped at the neck, lookmg
dexterwise. Endorsed: Prince Rupert's letter:
and my Lorde of Yorkes, for a £100. J
IV. — WiLLIAltS TO BULKBLET.
My verie noble Lord and worthy Cozen I have even
now received from his Mat^ a letter and somme buisness
of importance conceminge that countye, to be imparted
imto you. Maye it please you therfor at your first con-
venience to appoint a meetinge at Beaumarice, of w** as
soone as I shall receive the notice I will not fayle to
wayte upon you. In the meantime I shall pray unto
God to blesse all your consultations and to make them
prosperous in these dangerous tymes. Beinge for yo' last
Lilf and kmde letteliuch obliged unS^you. a^d re-
solved to remayne
Your affectionate kinsman
and most humble servant
Jo. Eborac.
At Penrhyn, readye to take horse for Conwaye
6 of March 1645. 2 of the clocke.
Addressed : — To the right honourable the Lord Vis-
count Bulkley & his worthye fireynds the Commis-
sioners of Array and Peace, and the gentrye of the
Isle and Countye of Anglesey and to any one two
or more of them.
Seal, as in last letter.
Endorsed. — ^Receaved this letter about 4 of the clocke
in the afternoon of the 7^ of March 1645 and I did
sent a true coppie hereof to Mr. Hugh Owen of
Bodeon the 8th of the same moneth therewith de-
siring him it might bee disperst accordingly as by
this I're is required.
OORBESPONDENCE. 67
(S^bituarg.
Since the issue of our last Journal, one of our oldest members has
passed awaj. We allude to Mr. R. C. Nicoll Came of Nash Manor,
Glamorganshire, the head of the very ancient family of Games of
Kash and Ewenny. The property has been maintained in unbroken
descent for many hundreds of years, the present old Elizabethan
manor house being the third residence on the estate, occupied by the
heads of this family. Mr. Game was twenty-second in unbroken
descent irom Ynyr, King of South Wales and the property of Pen-
eame, from whence the family first derived their patronymic, is still a
portion of the Game estates. The first who assumed the name of
Came was Dyfrid (by some called Devereux), grandson of Ynyr, who
fell in the battle of Landilo Groes Ynyr, now known as Llantilio Cres-
seny in Monmouthshire. Mr. Game leaves no issue, but has left an only
brother, who is now the head of the family, and who, as owner of the
ancient Castle of St. Donats, is well known to most of the members
of our Association. The late Mr. Game was Constable of the Castle
of St. Quintin and virtute officii held for life the office of Mayor of
Cowbridge, an appointment which is in the gift of the Marquis of
Bute. The Game family have for many generations filled that office.
Mr. Game died in his 64th year at his manor house near Cowbridge.
Conespontience«
BEETON AND WELSH.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE ASCH. CAMB.
Sib,— I had imagined that the question of a Welshman and Breton
at the present time being capable of conversing had been conclusively
settled at the Portmadoc meeting in 1868. On that occasion, M.
Terrien, a Breton gentleman, and who professed to be well acquainted
with the varieties of Breton, and the Rev. K. Williams Mason, a well
known Welsh scholar, who has paid considerable attention to Celtic
philology, were put forth at the meeting to test their power of mutual
communication. The sentences on each side were very short and
8lo,wly pronounced, but the Breton was unable to make out what the
Welshman said, while he, who had however the advantage of some
acquaintance with the Breton language, was only able to catch now
and then a glimpse of meaning in the sentences of M. Terrien. I was
present at the meeting and can, therefore vouch for the accuracy of the
above statement. Great, however, was my surprise the other day in
turning over the pages of the Arch. Camb. for 1846 (p. 176), to read
that at the Eisteddfod held at Abergavenny that year, M. Villemar-
68 CORRESPONDENCE.
qu6 recited a short poem (composed for the occasion) in Breton,
*' which every per»(m preserU perfectly understood.*^ Unless since that
time the divergence of the two languages has been so marked that
what was then easily intelligible to all, was in 1868 unintelligible to
two gentlemen under the peculiar circumstances above stated, I can
not explain this extraordinary dissimilarity, or rather contradiction, of
facts. It is possible that the Breton of M. Terrien is very different from
that of M. Villemarqu^ in 1846, and hence the extraordinary facility
with which those present at that Eisteddfod understood, or rather
are said to have understood, that gentleman. Unfortunately it is not
stated whether M. Villemarque understood his Welsh Mends as well
as they understood him ; but this may be presumed to be the case, as
the understanding could hardly have been all on one side. Any one
who reads this, was present, and heard M. Villemarqu^, would, by
confirming this notice in the Archttohgia^ confer a favour on.
Sir, yours very faithfully. An Ancient Membeb.
BANGOE CATHEDRAL.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE ARCH. CAMS.
Sib, — I went over on Monday last, at the request of the Dean, to
examine the works at Bangor Cathedral ; the Rev. Hugh Prichard was
also asked ; and we were shown, by Mr. Morgan the clerk of the works
under Mr. Gilbert Scott, all the valuable discoveries made. Although
not very strong in ecclesiology, I yet saw enough to interest me in a
very high degree. So many vestiges of older work have been met
with in pulling down part of the old walls, that they have been able
to collect so much of the thirteenth century edifice as to be able to re-
produce the plan in the north and south transepts ; the old fragments
are carefully worked up and give character to the new additions. The
foundations of an earlier Norman building are met with near the junc-
tion of the choir with the transepts ; part of the wall, shewing a
buttress and round headed doorway, being also %isible on the south
side. Numerous fragments of tiles embossed have been brought to
light, enabling Mr. Morgan to make a drawing of what has been the
original pattern. Two tombs arched over : one at the end of the south
transept, the supposed grave of Owen Gwynedd; the other at a
point immediately below (but a little to the east side of) the round
arched doorway before mentioned. They say that one of these tombs
is the grave of Tudor ab Grono, and the other that of some member
of the Tudor family.
Dec. 9, 1869. W. W. W.
CAPEL BERW.
TO THE EDITOn OF THE ARCH. CAMS.
Sir, — In reply to query 169 in your last, I am happy to say that
** Capel Berw" was preserved, with the chancel of the old church of
this pansh, for burial purposes on the removal of the rest twenty
ABCH^K)LOGICAL NOTES AND QUERIES. 69
years ago ; and not only so, bnt it has just undergone good repairs
and internal improvements by the liberality of the two ladies who are
still the representatives of the Hollands of Berw, of olden times. Nor
shoidd I omit to say that a gentleman of the island, who owns a farm
close by, bore a third share of the expense and directed the operation
by his good taste. Yours, etc., R. Pabby Jokes,
Rector of the Parish.
Llanfihangel Esgeifiog, Anglesey, 6 November, 1869.
Pliscellaneous i^otices.
Thb thanks of the Association are due to the Hon. W. O. Stanley,
M.P., for kindly presenting it with all the illustrations of his account
of the tumulus at Plas Newydd. — Ed. Arch, Camb.
Note 1. — Dbuidic Stone at Le Mans, Fbance. — I have casually
met with a notice in a newspaper of a so-called " Druidic Stone"
stated to be built into the south wall of the Cathedral of Le Mans.
Although not in Wales, it is worth while to make a note of the cir-
cumstance, for some enterprising archaeologist may find himself wan-
dering in that interesting district, — quite historical ground for any
Anglo-Norman, — and may be able to verify the circumstances on which
the antiquarian character of the stone depends.
Answer to Quert^ 170. — Beaumabis Castle. — We are indebted to
our active correspondent, the author of Penmynydd and the Tudors^
for the information required in query No. 1 70. Mr. Williams informs us
that the property of Beaumaris Castle was actually sold by the Crown
to Lord Bulkeley in 1807 for £735. Another correspondent informs
us that the whole of what is called the Castle Meadow, was thrown in
with the Castle for £1,000. Those were, indeed, days of darkness;
the tail of the Georgian era. — Ed. Abch. Game.
CuBioirs DiscovEBT AT Tbnby. — We are not, strictly speaking,
concerned with the geological part of the discovery here announced,
but the circumstance leads us to observe that the changes of the coast-
line in Pembrokeshire within the reach of record, and still more those
that are to be approximated to by scientific research, are well worthy
of the efforts of all Welsh antiquaries. The Rev. G. N. Smith, of
Gumfreston, is peculiarly well suited by his scientific attainments for
70 NOTICES OF BOOKS.
conducting such researches in Pembrokeshire, while all the coast by
Stackpole, Milford Haven, St. Bride's Bay, St. David's, and Fish-
guard, promises to reward well the labours of thoroughly competent
observers. From the mouth of the Towy at Llanstephan, and all the
way on by Laughame, Pendine, and Saundersfoot to Tenby, forms a
district for geological and antiquarian examination aa interesting as
any in Glamorgan or Cardigan. — £d. Abch. Cams.
jPtotices of Boofts.
The Journal of the British Archaological Association for September
1 869. — This number of the Journal is, as usual, full of interesting
matter, though of not so striking a character as some others of the
series. The ** Roman Villa at Chedworth, in Gloucestershire," is well
described, with an. accompanying plan; and there is an attractive
paper on the ** Relics of Ancient Cornwall/' highly readable, though
in parts mixed up with theories about the Phcenicians, the god Beli-
nus, the old tin- workers, etc. The proceedings of the Annual Congress
of the Association and of the ordinary meetings of that learned body
are given in considerable detail, and are well worth consulting.
The ArchBohgical Journal, No. 103, which is the organ of the Insti-
tute, contains a paper on some stone reliquaries in Wales, by Mr.
Albert Way, which we hope to lay before our readers by the author's
permission. There is also in it a well compiled paper by Mr. G. T.
Clark on the '* Rise and Race of Hastings," completing the series.
But to us the most interesting paper of this number is to be found
among the original documents, in an inventory of the armoury in the
Castle of Amboise, on the Loire, in the reign of Louis XII» dated A..D.
1499. It is translated, by Mr. Albert Way, from the Bihliothkque de
VEcole des Chartes, by M. Leroux de Lincy ; and, with its valuable
notes, deserves the careful study of British antiquaries. The subject
is one which might be done ample justice to by the translator; and,
if his health permitted, it would worthily occupy some of his valuable
time, for he probably knows more about its details than any other
antiquary now living.
Collections Historical and Archaological relating to Montgomeryshire,
edited by the Powysland Club, Part V. October 1869.— We welcome
the appearance of another complete number of the Collections of this
energetic society ; and we have also to acknowledge the receipt of a
partial number containing a report of its annual meeting. The same
life and spirit prevail in this as in preceding numbers ; and, in parti-
cular, we are bound to point out two admirable parochial accounts of
Llangurig and Llangadfan, — the former by a young layman known to
our readers, Mr. Edward Hamer of Pontsychan School, Monmouth-
shire ; the other by the rector of Llangadfan, the Rev. Griffith Edwards,
well known to our members by the discussion of the Cantrrfy Gwaelod
NOTICES OF BOOKS. 71
tradition^ and the poem he composed on it, and recited at onr Caer-
narvon Meeting in 1847. It is, indeed, a most healthy symptom of
the awakening of antiquarian interest in Montgomeryshire, to find the
subjects just mentioned undertaken by gentlemen in the position of
these authors, and treated so ably. We have not had time to do
more than to look over these accounts, as well, indeed, as the whole
of No. y, in a cursory manner ; but we confess to have been well
rewarded even by this hasty perusal. *We happen to know each of
the parishes personally, and can testify to the accuracy of the inform*
ation here brought together. The account of Llangurig, a peculiarly
careful one, is rendered all the more striking by the numerous plates
with which it is illustrated, at the cost of J. Youde W. Lloyd, Esq.,
of Clochfaen, within its boundaries, — a good antiquary and a patriotic
parishioner. The numerous blocks of arms and the plate of the armo-
rial bearingB'of the Lloyds of Clochfaen family, with its twenty-five
quarterings and four crests, testify to the genealogical research and
generosity of this gentleman^ who is an active member of this Society
as well as of our own.
Mr. Griffith Edwards treats of the early remains of his parish with
much judgment, recording facts, and abstaining from theories. The
damage done in the district, not so very long ago, by the destruction
of cams and earthworks, seems to have been very great ; and it is to
be hoped that the Earl of Powis and Sir Watkin Williams Wynn, to
whom a large portion of the parish belongs, will take care to prevent
any ruthless destruction of early remains, especially in the upland and
.more remote parts of the county, from being again perpetrated. Some
good views illustrate this paper ; and in one part of it, the author, as
a faithful pastor of his parish, quotes the local registers with becom-
ing diligence. The following little entry, at the end of the book for
1717-1771, referring to the trees in the churchyard, which form such
a feature to any one enjoying the comforts of the inn at Cann Office
(there is capital trout-fishing thereabouts, — verhum sap,), we cannot
refrain from giving, just as the learned authors of the History of SL
DavuTs have in a similar way recorded a portion of the ^' short but
simple annals of the poor'':
"All the sycamore and ash trees now standing in the churchyard were
planted in the year 1732, when Matthew John David, of LlefryDniog,.and
£van Roberts, of Nant-y-defaid, were wardens for the said year. All the
said sycamores were given by Morgan Edwards, of Melin-y-Qrug, Esq., ex-
cepting only two, which were given and planted by the stile on the east
end of the church, by Thomas Evans, of Blowty, about two or three years
before. All the said sycamores from Melin-y-Grug were carried by Mr.
John Williames the rector's team, but were planted and railed about at the
expense of the parish. All the aeh were gathered, carried, and planted by
Lewis Ffoulkes, the parish clerk.
'^ In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand, Ist of May, 1733.
^' John Williames, rector of Llangadfan."
It is a good omen for the cause of archaeology to find the incum-
bent of a remote parish bringing his learning to bear in describing
the antiquities of his district. Would that his example were followed
72 NOTICES OF BOOKS.
more generally in Wales ! We have only room to add that the lists
of county members and sheriffs are continued in this same number,
illustrated from time to time with coats of arms and genealogical
tables. The Materials for a Topographicon^ by Mr. R. Williams,
of Newtown, are carried on ; and an Account of Llanllugan Nunnery^
by Mr. Morris 0. Jones, is also to be found in this number. This
valuable and spirited publication is an honour to both Montgomery-
shire and Wales. When will other counties produce anything of a
similar kind ?
History of the Diocese of St. Asaph, — It gives us great satisfaction
to hear that the Rev. D. R. Thomas is so far advanced with this
work as to have actually printed off Part I. As soon as it has fairly
issued from the press we shall hope to bring it before the notice of
our readers. Would that similar works could be set on foot for the
other dioceses of Wales !
Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, vol. vii, part i.
One of the most interesting archaeological publications of the day is
the last number. It is more particularly noticeable for accounts of
the primitive, or rather, we might say, the actual stone dwellings of
the Western Hebrides ; which seem to be the veritable types and re-
production of the dwellings of our British ancestors. It is not too
much to say that these valuable papers by Captain F. L. W. Thomas,
R.N., and Mr. £. Petrie, are the most important of their kind which
have hitherto been published; and the Scottish Antiquaries ought
by all means to reprint them in an accessible form, with all their ad-
mirable illustrations, in order to bring the subject fully before the
archseological world. Suffice it to say that habitations such as the
Cyttiau of our own mountains, are inhabited among these islands to
the present day ; and that the necessities of their modes of construc-
tion go very far in explaining the probable habits and customs of our
own ancestors. The subject is treated with great ability after minute and
long continued observations. The sending forth into the world such
treatises as Sir J. Y. Simpson's '' Account of Carved Stones," which
appeared in a former number of their Proceedings, and the present
paper, reflects very high honour on the Society of Scottish Antiqua-
ries.
Another valuable work, for which we are indebted to the kindness
of the Scottish Antiquaries, is a thin quarto volume, containing the
Records of the Priory of the Isle of May, edited by Dr. Stuart. It
contains many muniments referring to that Priory, printed at fuU
length, with facsimiles from the Registry of Charters, as well as planft
and elevations of the ancient buildings.
^rtjiinal documents;.
APPEXDIX TO "NOTES ON HUNTINGTON MANOR."
Inquisition post Mortem 51 Henry IIL No, 30. Writ dated 21 Feby.
51 Henry IIL
A.D. 1267, 51 H. III. — Eztenta facta apad Hereford die Lane proxima post
Annunciac'o'em b'e Mar' anno regni regis H. l. primo p' precepta' D'ni K's
de terris tenem* redditibus serviciis placit' p'q'sit cur* Hund'ror et de omni-
boB al\]s com'odis et ezitibus inde p'venientibus de yilla de Haya et
cu' p'tin'que fuerunt Humfred' de Boun ex hereditate Elienore uxoris sue p'
Will'm de Faches Hugon' de Kinardesl' Joh'em Chriketot Walt'm Wal'ns'
Bog'in Rogu' Hug* Kogu* Henr* de Baddesawe Bog'm de Tibriton Walt'm
de la Feld Kic'm de Ayling Henr* de Sutinton' Walt'm de la Pirie
Walt'm de Almeley et Bad'm clericum Qui dicunt p' sacr'm suam q'd in
d'nico apud Hayam sunt dno carucat' terre et valent p' annum cum auziliis
zvj/i. Item redditus villa de Haya cum p'quisit' teoloneo nundinis et placit'
Hiindror' valet p' annum xxijli. Item redditus furni ejusdem ville valet p'
annum vj2i. xi^«. iiijd. Item piscaria ibid' valet p' annu' xviij«. Item pass-
agium ibid' valet p' annu' xzx^*«. It' reddit' forinsec' valet p* annu' vjli.
xi\j<. ii^(2. It' reddit' vaccar* in s'do anno xxij vacc' cu' vitul' valent' zj
marc' et est sum'a valoris singul' annis Ixxiijs. iiijd. It' pannagium ibid'
valet p' annu' x<. It' operac'o'es cnstnmarior'ibid' valent p' annu' vijli. xvijs,
viyrf. It' molend' ibid' valent p' annu' xvK. It' prisa o'visie ibid' valet p'
annu' xiiijZt. xiijs. iigd. It' prata ibid' valent vjZi. xiij«. ii^d. It' placit' et
p'quisit forinseoa curie cum avent'is et attacbiam'tis omnibus foreste valent
p' annum xxZi. Item gardinum ibid' cum vivario et columbar* valent p'
annum x«. Sum'a total' cxxijZi. iijs. ii\jd.
Huniinton et Kinton cum p'tin' In d'nico apud Huntiton et Kinton sunt
tres carucat^ terre et valent p' annum cum auxiliis viijli. Item redditus burg'
de Einton' valet p' annum xzijs. Item reddit' forinsec' de Kinton valet p'
annu' xxxvi\js. Item reddit' de Bauerton p' annum xxxv«. Item redditus
de Nova Einton p* annu' valet Ixii^js igd. Item reddit' de Moseley et Chic-
wardin vaJet p' annu' lviij«. xd. Item reddit' Burgarior' de Huntiton valet
p* annu' xixs. Item reddit' forinsec' de Huntiton valet p' annu' xiiijs. vgd.
It«m reddit' de Brunley valet p' annu' vijli. Item reddit' ex consuetudine
ferine p' annu' vj sum' et valent xxiiijs. Item reddit' vaccar' in anno s'c'do
xiiij vacc' et valent v^ marc'. Item ward' castr* de Huntiton valent p' annu'
xli. Item placit' et p'quisit' cum omnibus avent'is et eschaetis valent p'
annum xxjli. Item molendinu' de Brunley valet p' annu' lx«. Item tria
I In the inquisition post mortem, 2*j Edward I, afterwards referred to^ it is
stated that each carucate contained a hundred acres.
VOL. I, 4tu 8EB. 1
ii ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS.
alia molendina ibid' valent p' aimu' xZi. sine molend' falator respondente p'
annu' de viginti solid' po'itis infra redditum preno'iatnm nt eaperins scribi-
tuT. Item pannagium ibid' p' annum valet zxs. Item parcas de Huntiton
valet p' annu' c«. Item prata ibid' valent p' annu' c solid' et qd' MuntfreA'
fil' Humfred* de Bonn et Elienore uxoris sue p'pinquior' heres est et est etatis
zviy annor* et dimid' anni.
Indorsed. — Sum'a valoris de Huntedon iiy "xvli. ryjd.
Sum'a valoris de Haya cent' xxijli. iiys. iigd.
Sum'a total' ccxv\j li. v«. iiigd.
Humphrey de Bohun, son of H. de Bobun and Eleanor bis wife, on tbe
deatb of bis gprandfatber, in 1274, succeeded to tbe title of Earl of Hereford
and Essex. He married Maud, daugbter of Ingelram de Fines, and died in
1298, leaving bis son Humpbrey, wbo was tben of tbe age of twenty-tbree
years, bia beir at law. Tbe inquisition on bis deatb (27 Edw. I, No. 142) is
omitted on account of its leng^b. A translation of it is given in Parry's HiS"
tory of Kington, witb many inaccuracies in tbe names of tbe tenants.
Humpbrey de Bobun, tbe son referred to in tbis inquisition, inberited bis
fatber's title and estates ; and married, on 25 November, 1302, Elizabeth,
widow of Jobn Count of Holland, and daugbter of King Edward I. He was
killed at tbe battle of Borougbbridge on tbe 16 Marob, 1321; and was suc-
ceeded by bis eldest son, Jobn, wbo died in 1335 witbout issue.
Marchia WaUie.
(18 Feb. 1335, 10 Edw. III.) — Inquisitio facta apud Huntyndon in Marcbia
Wallie xvi\j^ die Februaris anno regni Begis Edwardi tert^ post conquestum
decimo coram Escbaetores Domini "Regis intra Trentam secundum tenorem
brevis domini Begis bine inquisitioni conjuncti per sacramentum Fbilippi de
Loll[ewallJ Willelmi de Lollewalle Bicardi Lumbe Fbilippi atte Hulle
Jobannis de Aula Fbilippi Maholm Bosser ap Cadogan Cadogan ap Griffith
Oriffid ap Gounda Bees ap leuan leuan Yacban et leuan Gongb Qui dicunt
per sacrum suum quod Johannes nuper Comes Hereford tenuit de Domino
Bege in capite in dominico suo ut de feodo die quo obiit castrum cum mane-
rio de Huntydon cum pertinentibus in predicta Marcbia Wallie per servitium
militare sed de quantitate servitii ignorant Et dicunt quod est ibidem quod-
dam castiTim proficens in se nullum ultra suatentacionem domorum Et sunt
ibidem una grangia una boveria et una bercaria et valent per annum iiijs.
Nulla sunt ibidem gardina neque columbaria Et sunt ibidem tria molendina
aquatica que ad vj libras affirmantur solvendas ad Festa Annunciationis
beate Marie et sancti Micbaelis equalibus porcionibus Et sunt ibidem alia
duo molendina aquatica Wollensia que ad Ixs. affirmantur per annum solven-
dam eodem modo ad eosdem terminos Et sunt ibidem cxxxvj acre terre ara-
bills et valent per ann' xxxii^s. per acram iijd. et non plus quia seminari
non possunt nisi xlv per annum pro debilitate Et sunt ibidem xiij acre prati
et valent per annum xxvj«. per acram ijs. Et sunt ibidem diverse parcelle
pasture seperalis et valent per annum ixs. Et est ibidem quidam parens
ccgus subboscus nuUus et pastura ^usdem ultra sustentacionem ferarum xl«.
Et sunt ibidem tres foresteri videl't Kingwode Bradnore et Brunleie qua-
rum pastura communis et subboscus nullus sed pannagium eorundem et
ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS. Ill
parci y&let per annum xzt. Et sunt ibidem duo paire haie bosci viilel't le
Haie et Snelleflore quamm pastura et subboscus valent per annum vjs. Et
est ibidem de redditu qui vocatur Warda militnm Ixvigs. vigd. solvenda ad
festum nativitatis Domini pro anno integro Et de redditu Sedan tie Angli-
cani Txs. per annum solvenda ad festum Annunciacionis beate Marie et
sancti Michaelia equalibus por^ionibus Et de redditu Seriantie Wallensis
per annum zxtj«. vi\jd. solvenda eodem modo ad eosdem terminos Et est
ibidem de redditu Woddewardi Wallensis xxrjs. vi^'d. solvenda eodem modo
ad eosdem terminos. Et est ibidem de redditu Anglicorum et Wallensium
xxyZi. iij8. xjd. que solvuntur eodem modo ad eosdem terminos Et est ibi-
dem de reddita farine avenarum Yj quarter vj bush' per quarter vs. et vaJet
per annum zzxi\J8. izd. solvenda ad natalem Domini Et est ibidem quedam
quarrera et valet per annam vvjs. Et est ibidem quedam custuma que voca-
tur Toln de Brunleie et valet per annum xs. Et sunt ibidem duo libro piperis
de certo assise et valent per ann' xyjd. solvenda ad festum Nativitatis Domini
pretium libre vi^d. Et una pars' caJcarie per annum et valet jd. solvenda
ad predioium festum sancti Micbaelis Et ii^ ferra equorum pretium ijd.
solvend' ad idem festum sancti Michaelis Et sunt ibidem zliig opera
arrure per annum videl't ad semen hemynale quadragesimale et warectam et
Talent per annum 2J«. pretium arrure iiijd. Et Iz opera ad serclandum bla^
dum et valent per annum ijs. vjd. pretium operis ob' Et sunt ibidem Ivi^
opera ad prata falcanda et valent per annum izs. viijd. pretium operis ijd.
Et ccccvj opera ad fenum leuandum et valent per annum v\js. ii\jd. pretium
operis jd. Et ccxiiij opera ad bladum metendum et valent per annum zzvj«.
ixd. pretium operis jd. Et est ibidem quedam consuetude que vocatur Treet
calemay' videl't quod omnes tenentes Wallenses ibidem solvere debent
domino quolibet tercio anno ad festum Invencionis sancti Crucis quatuor
▼accas cum vitulis pretium cujuslibet vacce cum vitulo vj«. et valet ilia con-
Buetudo per annum viijs. Et de pannagio porcorum quod vocatur Wormtak
ad festum sancti Martini vs. Et dicunt quod placita et perquisita Curie ibi-
dem valent per annum Item dicunt quod Humfridus de Bokun frater
^'usdem Comitis est propinquior heres ejusdem Comitis et fuit etatis zxvj
annorum ad festum beate Yirginis ultimo preterite In cigus rei testimonium
predicti Juratores huic Inquisitioni sigilla sua apposuerunt dato die loco et
anno supradiotis.
Summa lixli. zviijs. ii^d. ob.
Humphrey de Bohun^ the brother, died 15 Oct. 1362, without issue.
I March, 1363, 4, 37 Edw. III. — Inquisitio capta apud Hereford coram
Johanne de Lutteley eschaetore Domini Begis in comitatu Hereford ac Mar-
chia Wallie eidem comitatui a^jacente prime die Mart\j anno regni Beg^
> Parisia, prisa.
3 In the roll of fealty and attendances before Richard de Stafford and others,
on the caption of seisin of the Principality of Wales by the Black Prince
(17 Edw. Ill), the jurors of the lordship of Builth (Buelt) foreign, present
that the whole of the land of Builth is liable for treth kalammay, without
explanation of the nature of the tribute. Thus we arrive at the conclusion
that the words in this inquisition are a corruption of treth Calanmai, the May
Day tax.
iv ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS.
Edwardi tertij post conqaestum tricesimo eeptimo rirtute brevis Domini
Keg'ia huic Inquisitioni conjancti per Bacramentom Johannis ap Bees, Johan-
nis Bagon, Boberti Qrete, Bogeri Sirkelot, Thome Joce, Gilbert! Solyare,
Bogeri de la Sale, Willelmi ap Bees, Thome Aahford, Boberti Solera, Thome
Wyle et Bicardi atte Were qui dictint super sacramentum suum qnod Hwn-
fru8 de Bohun nuper Comes Hereford! et Essex defunctas tenuit die quo obiit
de domino Bege in capite quinque Hundreda in predicto oomitatu Hereford!
per servitium Baronie yidelicet Hundredum de Bodenham quod valet per
annum in omnibus ezitibus zld. et Hundredum de Magrui Cowarneqnod valet
per annum in omnibus exitibus vjs. viijd. et Hundredum de Kingeston quod
valet per annum in omnibus exitibus xld. et Hundredum de Burghull quod
valet per annum in omnibus exitibus ijs. et Hundredum de Stratford quod
valet per annum in omnibus exitibus xijd. Item dicunt quod predictus Hum-
frus nuper Comes Hereford et Essex defunctus tenuit die quo obijt de domino
Bege in capite per servitium Baronie in Marchia Wallie predicto comitatui
Hereford adjacente castrum Breconie cum membris que valent per annum in
omnibus exitibus ccccx marcas Item tenuit die quo obijt de domino Bege
in capite per servitium Baronie in predicta marchia Wallie castrum de Haia
cum membris que valent per annum in omnibus exitibus L{i. Item tenuit
die quo obijt de domino Bege in capite per servitium Baronie in predicta
Marchia Wallie castrum de Huntydon cum membris que valent per annum
in omnibus exitibus xl marcas Item tenuit die quo obijt de domino Bege in
capite per servitium Baronie in predicta Marchia Wallie castrum de Caldecot
et Newton cum membris que valent per annum in omnibus exitibus xl mar-
cas Item dicunt quod predictus Humfrus nuper Comes non tenuit aliquas
terras seu tenementa de aliquo alio quam de domino Bege die quo ob^jt in
comitatu et Marchia Wallie predictis Item dicunt quod predictus Humfrus
nuper Comes ob^t xv die Octobris anno regni Begis Edward! tertii post con-
qnestum tricesimo quinto Item dicunt quod Humfrus de Bohun oonsangui-
neus predict! Humfri nuper Comitis Hereford et Essex defunct! est propin-
quior heres ejus et erit plene etatis xxii^ die Marti! proximo futuro Et
dicunt quod Willelmus Abbas de Walden Nicholas de Newton canonicus
Hereford Thomas de Walmesford persona ecclesie de Eimbolton et Stepha-
nus atte Bode capellanus occupaverunt omnia predicta Hundreda et castra
cum membris et existus et proficia eorundem a tempore mortis predict!
Humfri nuper Comitii Hereford porrexerunt ex concessione domini Begis ac
certa firma duo Beg! reddenda In cujus re! testimonium predict! Juratorea
huic Inquisitioni sigilla sua apposuerunt.
He was succeeded by his nephew, Humphrey, son of William de Bohun,
Earl of Northampton, E.G., by Elizabeth, daughter of Bartholomew de Bad-
dlesmere.
20 April, 1373, 47Edw. III. — Inquisitio capta apud Hereford coram Johanne
ap Bes Eschaetore domini Begis in comitatu Hereford et Marchia Wallie
eidem comitatui a^jacente vicesimo die Aprilis anno regni Begis Edward!
tertii post conquestum quadra gesimo septimo per sacramentum Boberti de
Grute Bogeri Cirkelot Hugonis Plowfeld Hugonis de Bicardi de Kin-
ardesley Henrici de la Feld Johannis Water David! ap Howell Willelmi
Goodewall Nichol! Waryn Johannis Dunn et Walter! ap Beyes qui dicunt
per secramentum suum quod Humfrus de Bohun nuper Comes Hereford et
OEIGINAL DOCUMENTS. V
Essex et Northampton defxinotas tenait die quo obiit de domino Bege in
capite in dominioo sno ut de feodo nnum annoalem redditam zxlt. percipien-
dom annuatim de domino Bege in castro Hereford per manus Vicecomitis in
predicto oomitatu per servitiam Baronie Item dicunt quod predictus Hum-
frns tenait die quo obiit de domino Bege in capite in dominico euo qninque
Hundreda in comitatu predicto per servitium Baronie videl't Hundredum
de Bodenham qnod valet per annum in omnibus ezitibus ig«. iiijd. et Hun-
dredum de Magna Cowame quod valet per annum omnibus ezitibus Yjs. viijd.
et Hundredum de Kiiigeston quod valet per annum in omnibus ezitibus i\js.
iiijd. et Hundredum de Burghill quod valet per annum in omnibus ezitibus
iij«. ii\jd. et Hundredum de Stratford quod valet per annum in omnibus ez-
itibus zijd. Item dicunt quod predictus Humfrus tenuit die quo obiit de
domino Bege in capite ut in dominico suo per servitium Baronie in Marchia
Wallie predicto oomitatui Hereford adjacente castrum de Breehonne cum
membris quod valet per annum in omnibus ezitibus ococzl marcas Item
tenuit die quo obiit de domino Bege in capite et de feodo per servitium
Baronie in predicta Marchia Wallie castrum de Ha/ya cum membris quod
valet per annum in omnibus ezitibus ]jli. Item tenuit die quo obiit de
domino Bege in capite ut de feodo per servitium Baronie in predicta Marchia
Wallie castrum de Huntyngdon cum membris quod valet in omnibus ezitibus
zlij marcas Item tenuit die quo obiit de domino Bege in capite ut de feodo
per servitium Baronie castrum de Caldecote et Newton cum membris quod
valet per annum in omnibus ezitibus zl marcas Item dicunt quod predictus
Humfrus nuper Comes non tenuit aliquas terras nee tenementa de aliquo
alio quam de domino Bege in comitatu et Marchia Wallie predictis Item
dicunt quod predictus Humfrus nuper Comes obiit z^'to die Januarii anno
regpai Begis Edwardi tertii post conquestum quadragesimo sezto et quod
Elianora etatis seztem annorum et Maria etatis trium annorum predicti
Humfri propinquiores heredes sui sunt In cujus rei testimonium Juratores
p'dicti sigilla sua presentibus apposuerunt Data apud Hereford die et anno
Bupradictis.
Summa cccczizli. zvg«. vi\j.
He left by his wife, Joan, daughter of the Earl of Arundel, two daughters,
Elianore, who married Thomas of Woodstock, one of the sons of King Ed-
ward III, ultimately Duke of Gloucester; and Mary, who married Henry
Earl of Derby, afterwards Henry lY. Eleanore left issue, by the Duke of
Gloucester, an only daughter, Anne Plantagenet, who married successively
Thomas and Edmund, third and fifth Earls of Stafford. By the latter noble-
man, who was killed at the battle of Shrewsbury, on 21st July, 1403, she had
issue, Humphrey, sizth Earl of Stafford, who was created Duke of Bucking-
ham 14 Sept. 1444. He was killed at the battle of Northampton, July 10, 1460.
Inquisition post Mortem, 38, 39 Henry VI, No. 59, Membrane 23.
Writ of "Diem clausit extremum", after the Death ofHvmfrey Duke of Buck-
inghami, dated 27 July, 38 H. VI.
30 Oct. 1460, 38 H. YI. — Inquisic'o capta apud Hereford in com' Hereford
tricesimo die Octobr' anno regni regis Henrici sezti tricesimo nono coram
Simone Milbume Esc' D'ni Beg' in com' p'd'co ac March' Wall' eidem com'
a4j^ virtute br'is D'ni Beg' de diem claosit eztremu' eidem Esc' direct' et
VI ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS.
huic inqnisic'o'i consnt' p' sacr'in Thome ap Harry armigeri Bogeri Toden-
hain Henr* ap Thomas Thome Williams Joh'is Wynston Jacobi Hugo-
nis Wynston Jevan ap Jenkyn Will'i Wyston Tho'e Hille Joh'is OaunehiU
Joh'is Marsha de Kingeston Joh'is Seybon Mathei Bay ju'or Qai dicunt
sap' sacr'm sunm q'd Humfrua nup' Dux Buk' in b*re p'd'co no'iat obiit sei-
sit (ut de) feodo et jure
Et de castro Man'io et d'nio de Br^Jcnok cam membris et p'tin' snis in
March' Wall' com' p'd'c'o adjacent' et de castro manerio et d'nio de Haya
cam membris et p'tin' snis in eadem March' Et de castro Man'io et d'nio
de Huntyngdon cnm membris et p'tin' sais in eadem March' et dicant q'd
castram Man'iam et d'nium de Breknok cam membris et p'tin' sois tenentar
de D'no Bege p' servicium militare sed p' qaam quantitatem servio' militar'
iidem jar* ignorant. Et dicant q'd sunt ib'm qaoddam castram cam aula
oameris coquina grangiis et aliis domibus neceesariis que nichil valent p'
annum ob (defect u') rep'ac'o'is eor'dem Et sunt ib'm de redditu Assis div'sor*
lib'or' tenenc'ib'm zx\jli. xiiijs. ixd. solvend' ad festa S'c'i Andr* Ap'li Annunc'
b'e Marie Nativitatis S'c'i Joh'is Bap'ti et S'c'i Mich'is Arch'i p' equalee por-
c'o'es Et est ib'm quedam consuetudo sine custuma vocata Cowyeld quoli-
bet altero anno ad Kolend' Maii solvend' que valet cum accident Ivjli. viijs.
vijd. que custuma accidit ad Kalend' Maii ult' p't'it. Et sunt ib'm lxx:gs.
de novo redditu solvend' ad festa Annunc' b'e Marie et S'c'i Mich'is equaliter
p' certis ten' in manibus diversor' tenencium ib'm existent'. Et sunt ib'm de
annuis fermis diversor' ten' diversis tenent' ib'm dimissor' vjli. solvend' ad
eadem festa equaliter Et est ib'm quedam foresta voc' Magna foresta Bre-
con' cuj' herbagium cum aJiis proficiis eid'm cons' ib'm capiend' valet p' annu'
zUi. Et sunt in p'd'c'o d'nio de Breknok molendina aquatica que
valent per annum in om'ibus exit' ult'a repris' rxli. et avesagium poroor*
infra forestam p'd'c'am valet p' annum xlli, et piscar' in aquis de Neth et
Tawe ib'm valet p' annum yjs. viijd. Et est ib'm alia Foresta voc' Parva
Foresta Brecon cig' herbagium cum aliis p'ficiis in eadem foresta capiend'
valet p' annum vjli. Et sunt ib'm de feod' firma ville Brecon cum firma de
Lliwell cxxli. p'cipiend' de Burgensib' ville Brecon videl't ad festum Ap'lor*
Phi' et Jacobi xl mare' et ad festum S'c'ti Mich'is czl marc' Et placita et
p'quisita cur' una cum p'litis corone valent p' annum ult'a feod' et expens'
senesc' zz marc' Et est in eodem d'nio Brecon quoddam Man'ium voc' Mora
et Mota quod valet p' annum in om'ib' exit' cs, Et sunt in p'd'c'o Man'io
Brecon de terris pratis et pasturis d'nicalib' in Breknok BaJynglas Benny
Wit Wenttorth Est Wenttorth S'c'a Elvota Old Uske Bennerth Waketon
et Devynnok cccxi^' acr' terre quar' quel't acr* valet p* annum viyd. xliy
acr' prati quar* quel't acr' valet p' annum zxd. zx acr' pastur* quar* quel't
acra valet p' annum ii\jd. Et sunt ib'm de op'ib' div'sor' nativor* et native
tenencium in Waketon Benny et Llaninayst videl't arure herciature sercta-
co'is falcac'o'is levac'o'is et tassac'o'is feni et messionis blador* que valent
p' annum iiijlt. Et p'quisit Cur' Halymoti ib'm valent p' annum vj<. viijd.
Et sili't' die' iidem jur' q'd p'dict' castrum Man'ium et d'nium de Hay cum
membris et p'tin' suis tenent de D'no £ege p' Baroniam. Et est ib'm quod-
dam castrum ruinosum et dirutum p' rebell' Wall' quod nichil valet p' annum.
Et sunt ib'm de reddit' assis libror' tenencium xxi\jli. xiijs. ii\jd. ob' solvend'
ad festum Annunc' b'e Marie et S'c'i Mich'is equalit'. Et de reddit' tenen-
cium ad voluntatem ib'm oxii\j«. xd. solvend' ad eadem festa equalit' Et
sunt ib'm cix acre terre d'nical' quar' quel't acra valet p' annum xvi\jd.
ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS. vii
"viginti acre pasture quar* qael't acra valet p' annum yjd, Et snnt ib'm dao
molendina aquatica granor* et unum foUaticum qae valent p' annum ult'a
repiis jls. Et est ib'm quoddam columbar* cuj's p'ficium valet p' annum
yiijd. Et est ib'm quedam foresta ei^j's herbagium valet p' annum iig marc*
Et tolnetum mercati et nundinar* in Burgo de Hay valet p' w-T^n^iTp xls. Et
placita et p'quislta cur* ib'm valent p' annum ult'a feoda et expen'is Seneso*
iujU. Et est ib'm quedam custuma si^e cons' Wallen' voc' Cowyeld quol't
altero anno ad Ealend' Mali solvend' que valet cum acciderit xli. et accidit
ad Ealend' Mail p'x p'f it. Et sunt ib'm dlxxvj op'a meesionis blador*
p'cium cigusl't op'is jd. Et die' iidem jur* q'd p'd'ca castrum Man'ium et
d'nium de Huntyngton tenentur de D'no £ege in capite p' servicium militare
sed p' quam quantitatem iidem jur' ignorant Et est ib'm quoddam castrum
cum aliis edificiis quod nichil valet p' annum ult'a repris' Et sunt ib'm de
reddit' assis' lib'or* tenenc' ib'm zxvi\jZi. iij«. vd. q'a solvend' ad festa Natal'
B'ni Annunc' b'e Marie Nativitat' S'ci Joh'is et S'ci Mich'is p' equales por-
c'o'es et reddit' duar' librar* pip'is p'cium ijs. solvend' ad festum Natalis D'ni
annuatim et reddit' sex sumagior' et novem trugg farine avenar* solvend' ad
festum S'c'i Andree Ap'li que valent p' annum xb. Et terre et prata d'ni-
calia ib'm valent p' annum xlv\j«. Et sunt ib'm de novo reddit' div'or' tenen-
cium 2js. vi\jd. ob' solvend, ad festum Annunc' b'e Marie et S'ci Mich'is
equaliter Et sunt ib'm op'a nativor' et native tenendum videl't arure sar-
clac'o'is falcacionis feni sparsionis feni et messionis blador* quo valent p'
annum vijli. Et est ib'm quedam cons' sive custuma Wallen' voc' Cowyelde
quol't terdo anno ad festum Ap'lor* Phi' et Jacobi solvend' que valet cum
acciderit xxx«. et accidit ad festum Ap'lor* Phi' et Jacobi anno tricesimo sep-
timo regis p'd'c'i. Et sunt ib'm duo molendina aquatica que valent v marc'
et tolnetum nundinar* in Huntyngdon p'dict' et Kyngton que est p'cella
p'd'c'i d'nii de Huntyngdon valet p' annum lx«. Et p'quis' cur' ib'm valent
p' annum ult'a feod' et expens' Senesc' xlf. Et ulterius die' iidem jur* q'd
quidam Jacobus Berkeley D'n's de Berkeley Miles nup' fuit se'it in d'nico
suo ut de feodo de Man'io de Joneafeld et de d'nio de Talgarth cum p'tin' in
Marchia p'd'c'a et sic inde se'it p' quandam cartam suam indentat' jur*
p'd'c'is sup' cap'c'o'e hrg's inquis' ostens' dedit et concessit et carta ilia con-
firmavit p'fat' nup' Duci et Anne uxori ejus Bucisse Buk' p' no'ia HimiM
Comitis Stafford et Anne ux'is ejus Man'ium et d'nium cum p'tin'
p' q'd p'd'c'i nup' Dux et Anna fuer' se'it de Man'io et d'nio cum p'tin*
videl't p'd'c'us nup' Dux de t'li statu inde obiit se'it et p'd'c'a Anna ip'm
Bup'vixit et adhuc sup'stes et in plena vita existit et q'd eadem Man'ium et
d'nium non tenentur de D'no Bege sed de quo vel de quibus tenentur sen p'
que servic' iidem jur' ignorant Et q'd eadem Man'ium et d'nium valent p*
annum in om'ibus exit Et ulterius die' iidem jur' q'd p'd'c'us nup'
Dux nulla alia neque plura tenuit terras seu ten' in d'nico nee de
D'no Bege nee de aliquo alio in Com' p'd'c'o nee in Marchia p'dict' die quo
obiit Et q*d idem nup' Dux obiit decimo die Julii ult' p'tit Et q'd ifenr*
fil' Hun^ri fil' ^usdem nup' Ducis est heres ejusdem nup' Duois p'pinquior
et quarto die Septembris ult' preterit' fuit etatis qnatuor annor' In ccgus
rei. testimonium jur* p'd'c'i huic Inquisic'o'i sig^a sua apposuerunt die anno
et loco Bupradictis.
The Duke married the Lady Anne Neville, daughter of Balph Earl of West-
moreland, by whom he had Humfrey Earl of Stafford, killed at the battle of
viii ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS.
St. Albans ; ieaving by Margaret, daughter of Edmund Duke of Somerset, a
son Henry, who suoceeded his grandfather as second Duke, and was beheaded
at Salisbory in 1483. Being attainted, all his hononrs became forfeited. By
his wife, Catherine, daughter of Bichard Widville, Eail Bivers, he had issue
a son, who was restored to all his father's honours and estates, and created
Duke of Buckingham, Lord High Constable, and E.G. in 1486. He was
beheaded on 17 May, 151 1 ; and on his attainder, in the following year, for-
feiture ensued, and the title became extinct.
EXTRACTS OF MINISTERS* ACCOUNTS.
Exch. Q. R. V*. — Huntyngdon, Compotus Bogeri de Barton p'p*oi lyni Humfri
de Bohun Comitis Hereford Essex et Northf Manerij et Castri gui (Mich'as
45^^ Edw. HI, to Michaeltiuu foUowing), 1372, 3.
Exp'e nec'ce et cuatus bident'.— In p'cameno emp'p' rotul' et extract' cur^
scribend' p' a'm xviijd. In oblaco'ib* \j caruc' et j b'car' ad fa Nat' d'ni et
Pasch' ixd. cijg'lt eor* p' quo'lt die jd. ob' In j sacc' novo empt' cont' xvj
trug aven' ijs. In j cribo* p' sonde mundand' ijd. In j ridell' novo empt' ijd.
In j semile* novo empt' i^d. In ujlh. rubee petr' empt' p' bident' sign' In
▼iy claf cont' xv ped' in long' de novo fact' de mer' d'ni xyjd. In j lagen^
de terre empt' p' bident' nng' p' a'm viigd. In j lagen ping* empt' ad id'm
x\jd. In cccxv bident' lanand et condend' p' op'ar' conduc'co ad id'm xxi\jd.
ob' p' singl' XX8. jd. ob' In j bo'ie conduc'co ad plio'^ d'cam lanam iiijd. In
dice' lana cariand de hoc Man'io usq' Hayam iiijd.
S'ma xs. yi\jd. ob.
Custus Castri. — In commenc'oe Th'e le yrriah et Bob'ti Stanley latamor' p'
petris suffic' in p'co fodiend' p' j mure infer' et j mure exteriore et ponti trac-
tabil' Castri ac ij sydwalles erga d'c'm ponte' ac d'c'os muros de novo faciend'
ad tas* p' convene' sic fact' p' Sen' et Bee* in p'tem solut' iujli. vj«. vigd.
Ixxivlt. vi^'«. In calce ad id'm emp' ac pet's de quarr' in p'c'o tract* de s'rcilio
mentis usq' pedem q'usd'm diet' petr's cariand' de p'c'o usq'castrum et aren'
fodiend' ad id'm ut patet p'p'cell' huic anex ii\j2i. xs. jd. In j tegulat' con-
duc'co ad teguland' super aulam p' i\j sept' ijs. In c oombenaile emp' ad
id'm vjd. In j carpentar' conduce' ad fac' ij nov' levers ad d'c'm aulam cum
ii^ nov' schethin ad id'm ad t'as xijd. In ferro empto p' ij aztres ad id'm
fac' sit cum stipn* fabr' eor'd'm rep'and' xd. In vad' Joh'is Chester custod'
cast' et s'rvid' op'a castri a principio istius usq* vj decem Novembr' p' v sept'
xij«. Yjd. cap' p' sept y vjd. In vad' Joh'is Dogelas Cuat' castri et s'rvidend'
op'a Castri a vjto die Novembr' usque i » diem April' p' xx sept' et v dies
}J8, ixd. p' sept' \j«. vjd.
S'ma xxxviij«. iiyd.
Expen' Aud' et Sen'.— In expens' D'ni Ph'i de Mebeth et Ivonis Sandhurst
Audit' d'ni venient* hie mens' Novembr' p' castell et Man'io s'rvidend' xd.
In expens' Bici Serjant Sen* ven' hie p' cur* tenend' et op'a castri s'rvidend*
o'ib' comput' in denar' cum aven' app* ut patet p' rotul* cur' p' a'o jlja. vjd.
S'ma xl^'s. ii^d.
> Criblo-riddle. « Seed-hopper, « Boddle or ruddle. * Clathris, rails.
* Flagon. • Condand, collecting. 7 Wool-packer.
ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS. IX
Exeh. Q R. ^. — Compotua of Roger Barton from 17 January, 47 Edward III,
to 24 June, 48 Edward IIL
Uuntyngdon, I403, 4. — Compotua Will'i Attewode p'poaiti ib'm {Mich'aa
$th HenriH IV, to Miehaeimaa folloufing).
Kedditus Aasis.— £)d do czs. ii^d. ob. qnarta de redd' Wall' t' S'c'i Andr'o
Ap'li pref farine aven' onerat' mferias Et Ixzjs. iigd. de redd' Ward' milit'
t' Paoali d'ni n'rl non hie redd's quia in onere Ph'i Gam Ball'i Anglici ut
extra. Et de yili, xiz«. vd. de redd' tenent' Anglic' 't Annuno' b'e M're. Et
de yjli. zizs. vd. de redd' assiB tenent' Anglic' 't S'c'i Mich'is. Et xxj. de
redd' s'iant Anglic' t' Annunc' et Mich'is non redditas hie quia in onere ball*
Anglic' at ex' Et liijs. iigd. de redd' Wallens' p'pi et wodewarde t' p'd'c'is
non r's hie quia in onere Will'i ap Eynon Goagh ball'i et levan ap Gwillim
Wodewarde ut ex*. Et de ija. de redd'u ^ lb. piperis t' pacal' d'ni Et de
yjd. de redd' j pars calcar* ad e. t. Et de vjd. de redd' ii\jor ferr* equorum
cum xxjji da^ e. t. Et de yjd. de incr'o redd' Joh'is Wotton pro d's burg's
Joh'ig D'd ap Gwillim Et de zxxij«. iigd. per ann' de redd' burgens' in viU'
de Hunt' e. t. Et de xvs. ixd. de redd' divers' burgens' e. t. equaliter
xx\jli. ixd.
Cost' Castri. — Et in diversis cust's fact' circa coopturam alti turris in cas-
tro tarn in operibus plumbat' quam in posic'o'e shingul ut patet per parcell'
huio annex lxij«. yd. Et in sumpt' vertinell' cum clav' ad id'm pro mag^a
porta Castri de nov' fact' ex con' facto cum Ph'o Smyth ut patet per p'd'c'as
p'oell' Yvja, yjd. Et in diverslB caipent' cond' ad prost' meremium et fact'
palic's juxta vinarium Castri cum carriag' cond' ad idem ut patet per d'c'as
p'oell' xl^s. ixd. Et in dlversis oust' fc'is circa unius carriag' tegulat' cum
empt' calc' usti et day* cum stipend' carpent' rep'and' ij turres infra castrum
ut patet per d'c'as p'cell' annex xxr^s. vigd. Et in diversis oust' f c'is tam
drca paJic* quam circa posticam situata' juxta magnam grangiam cum day'
serur's yertinell' sumptibus pro posticis ib'm ut patet per d'c'as p'cell' ys. yd.
Et in diversis oust' f c'is tam circa noyam fossat' quam circa hirsciam super
eandem extend' a turre voc' Contesse usque finem magn' grang* ut patet per
d'c'as p'cell' iiyli. xvja. yd. — x\jW. i\J8. jd.
Stufftira Castri. — Et in j barrell' p' armata in castro mundand' e'm cum
sagittis et quarelis p' Joh'em Smert capitan de Joh'e Halle empt' ut per
d'c'as p'cell' x«.
Expen'se D'ni. — Et in expens' d'ni Will'i Boucer d'ni ib'm exist' hie cum
familia sua mense Octobr' hoc anno pro castro et dom's superyidend' una
cum denar's solutis p' conduc'o'e unius rote ad pistand' in yinario ib'm yigs.
yjd.!
Huntyngdon, 141 3, 4. — Compotua Johannia Sumpter prepoaiti iHdem
(Mich'cLa lat Henry $th to Mich* aa following).
CustuB Castri. — Et in denariis solut* pro iij quercubus sucoidend' in Kings -
wode pro somdul' inde faciend' pro cooptura turrium infra castrum per an-
^ This account is in the custody of the representatiyes of the late Mr. Cheese
of Huntington Court. The two next accounts, and those temp. H. VIII, are
in the custody of the representatives of Mr. Jas. Thomas Woodhouse of Leo-
minster.
VOL. I, 4th bkr. h
X ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS.
nam in grosso ixd. Et in stipendiis ij sarratoram pro i^ diebus Barraat'
predictas qnercus in truncos de long^ somdul' oapere inter se per diem ▼^]d.,
ij8. yiijd. Et in stipendiis xxi^ carp's quasi per unnm diem providend' et
faciend' cz somdul' de meremio predioto qnolibet capere iigd., vi^a. Et in
stipendiis \j carpentar' per ij dies saccident' et quadranon' mereminm in
King^wode pro postes inde habend' ad supponendam aulam et cameram in
boreali fine aule capere inter se per diem yigd., xvjs. Et in stipendiis sar-
rentar* per j diem dicti operantis ibidem circa idem opus \jd. capere nt sapra.
Et in \j plaustrariis ejusdem meremii et carriand' usqae oastrum xvjd, Et
in stipendiis y carpentariis per ij dies snpponend' aolam et cameram snpra-
dict' cam meremio predioto capere inter se per diem yi\j<i. Et in ii^ plaas-
trar* supradict' somdal' carriand' a Kiogswode usqae Gastram ij$, Tigd. Et
in stipendiis cegnlatoris per ij dies emendatur' domus defect' in cooptnra
aule oapere per diem iiigd., viiid. Et in clx lachenaill empf pro eodem
opere i^d.
Et in zvj percas pahs vento proetrat' per locos drca parcum hoc anno de
noTO erigend' et firmand' cum noyis postis et railles per vento proetrat' ii^f.
Et in uno plaustraco de Bailies de Kingswode pro eodem opere yi^d. Et
in stipendiis ij operar' pro iz dies firmac'o palis' yento proetrat' circa ean-
dem parcum capere inter se per diem vjd., mjg, yjd, Et in quadam sepe
clausura parci de Crabbetrez usque superiorem portam q'usdem Castri ampu-
tand' et pleshand' pro operariis ad idem conduc' pro anno in groaao y«.
Balliya Anglicana. — Compotus WiU'o Greneway ball'o Et quibus comp's
in stipendiis computantis per collec* redditus de Warda militia Et in ezp's
ipsius computantis equitantis usque Marffelde una yice hoc anno ao i^ equor*
pro denariis ibidem Thome Lawrence generali Bee' domini cum ezp's Et in
denariis diet' Joh'is Phelpp militi de ward scriptura unius I're ez p'te ipsius
domini Joh'is Dycie Bob'to Whittoney militi pro tenentibus jym xzd.
Balliya Hundri. — Compotus Simunis Bakere baUiyi ibidem de tempore quo
supra.
Adyocaria et chens'. — Et de iis. yi\jd. de adyocar' Matildis uz* Wyllym,
Walteri ap Howell, Eig^on ap Philip Yagh Bic'i Irlonde de Webbeley Bog'i
fll' persone de Whitney Hugo ap Bees Thome ap Bichard et Margie ap
Bouyn sic onerar hoc anno ut in anno p'ced'.
Huntyngdon, 141 5, 6. — Compotus Joh'is Sumpter p'pi ibidem et Phi' NieoU
p'pi ibidem (Mich'as 3rd Henry $th to Mich' as following).
Bedditus Assis.— Et de vjd. de precio unius paris calcar' de redd'u ibidem.
Et de vjd. de precio iig yaccarum pertinen' dequodam redditu yoc'commorth
de tenent' Wailens' voc' Clammay solyend' quol't tercio anno ad festum
Apostolorum Ph'i et Jacobi sic hoc anno accid' et onerat*.
Et in allocatione redd' et operum terre nup' Joh'is ap Eignon onerat ad
zvjd. per ann. prout constat per Botulos' et modo sibi Ubere concess' pro
il^jd. per ann' ad term' yite sue per literas patentee Edmundi nup' Com' Staff*
et confirmat per D'nam meam Annain Comitissam.
Custus reparac'o'ia domorum infra caatrum. — Et in stipendiis unius carpu'
removens yeteres somdul' \j turr'm infra Castrnm usque le Octagon et le
Beye tour et medietate coopture earundem turrium cum noyis somdul' de
staur* infra Castrum totaliter de noyo cooperiend' per con' in gross'
ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS. xi
per Will'm Ghrenewey Janitorem v«. Et in iz daua' vocat' borduayll' empt'
pro firmac'o'e somdol' p'dictam precium ii:^«. yjd. Et in emendao'o*e sdrru-
rarum dnoram p' posticam infra Caetram cum clavis empt' pro eisdem x^'d.
Et in stipendio anius ho'ia suocid' spinas in bosco d*ni de Snellesley et eos-
dem osque Castram carriand' et cum eisdem \j sepes jazta Castrum faciend'
qaomm onns a torre prisone usque fine Occident palicii stant juzta vinarium
et al' sepes a fine Occident ^angie usque fine palicii ad introitum manerii
per con' in grosso iiis. iiijd.
Et in quadam sepe dausnre a le Walrhey gate usque prata yill» pleshand'
et in parte amputand*.
Et in ^ planstrat' foni carriand' de partis d'ni usque castrum et expens'
equorum ndnistrorum d'ni ad suos adventus in anno p'terito ijs. Et in ex-
pens' divers' homin' mundacion' fontis infira Castrum pro extra.cio'e munde
aque de eodem fonte et aeisiam commoeanom (communem P) infra Castrum
per con' in grosso xijd.
Balliva Anglicana.--Compotus Will'i Grenewey. Et in expens' istius oom-
put's equitantis de isto d'nio usque London' post sessione' hoc anno cum
denariis d'm de mandate d'ni per Tram suam de Warr' dat' apud Apechild'
xziij MaJi anno Regis nunc ig sup' hunc comp'm libat' eundo morando et
redeundo pro x dies x«. Et in denariis eidem computant' alloc' pro j tog^a
per d'nm dat' per bill' sub signetto d'ni dat' xvj Junii ann' Regis nunc i\j,
xiijs. liiga.
Et in expens* Joh'is Bussell Joh'is del Brigge et Hugon ap Ivor justiciari-
orum d'ni et d'ne p' quadam sessione ibidem habend' et tenend'.
Quibus alloc' ei xxd. p' stipend' ij homin' noctant in Castro ibidem vigilant
pro salva custodia de mandate reverende d'ne mee Countesse usque ab ultimo
die Junii usque finem S'c'i Mich'is in clause hi^us comp't's in toto iiij^ zj
noctes.
Et eidem ii^«. p' expens' ipsius oomputant's et unius hominis equitantis
de Huntyngdon usque Thomby cum denariis ibidem solut' Thome Lawrence
general Bee'.
CHAPTER HOUSE. BAG OF MISCELLANEA, WALES, BAG 8, No. 2.
BRECON MINISTERS' ACCOUNT, 9 AND 10 HEN. VIL
Huntington, Ballivus Anglieanvis, — Compotus Johannis Vighann et Bicardi
Mirdall haXlivorum. (Mieh^as gth lien, VII to Mieh'cks following.)
Feoda et Vadia. — Et in feodo Walter! Vighann Armigeri cui Dominus
HenricuB nuper Dux Buckingham per Hteras suas patentes datas xvmo die
Febmarii anno igmo Regis Edwardi Illiti super compotum anni xixmi Regis
predicti oetensas et penes ipsum remanentes concessit officium Constabularii
Castri sui de Huntyngdon in Marchia Wallie habendum et occupandum offi-
cium illud per se vel per deputatum suum sufficientem ad terminum vite sue
cum omnibus vadiis proficuis et emolumentis eidem officio debitis et ab anti-
quo consuetis perdpiendum annuatim de exltu redditu proficuis et revencio-
nibuB dominii predicti per manus Receptoris firmarum baJlivi prepositi seu
' One of the manor houses in Essex, which Humphrey, sixth Earl, in 2 1
Edward HI, obtained a license to fortify and embattle. (Dngdale's Baronage.)
Xll ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS.
aliorum ministrorum sen occupatorum qnorumciinque ibidem pro tempore
existente sea per maniis aliciguB eorum qui pro tempore ftiit ad terminoe
Paschffi et sancti MichaelLs Archangeli equaliter proat in Uteris patentibug
predictis plenius continetar (videlicet) in persoluoione hijas feodi eui ad c«.
per annum prout htgas feodi allocatam fait Thome Vighann Constabulario
ibidem in anno xxzvi\jvo Regis Henrici VIti (scilicet) pro predictis terminis
Pasche et sancti Micbaelis infra dictam tempos hcgas compoti accidens per
literas domini Beg^s nanc patentes signeto et signo manuali sois signatas
datas ultimo die Novembris anno regni sui prime per manus Beceptoris fir-
marum baUivi tenencium et aliorum occupatorum domini de Huntington in
Marchia Wallie ac auditoris ibidem pro tempore existente directas super hunc
compotum ostensas et penes ipsum Walterum remanentes per quae idem
Bex Yoluit et mandavit tam prefato Beceptori firmarum tenentibus et aliis
occupatoribus domini ibidem quod ipsi solverent prefato Waltero de tempore
in tempus talia feoda et vadia sibi debita racione officii sui predicti et utri-
usque eorundem durante minore etate Edwardi nunc Dacis Buckingham
sive quamdiu dictam castrum et datum in manu sua remanere contigerint
quam predicto auditori quod ipsi de higus solucionis per ipsoa Beceptorem
firmarum tenentes et occupatores ibidem sic factam debitam facerent alloca-
cionem (videlicet) in persolucione hujus feodi sui ad cs. per annum prout
higus feodi allocatum fait Thome Vighann Constabulario ibidem in anno
xxxvi^mo Begis Henrici YIti scilicet per predicbum tempus hujus compoti c«.
Et in vadiis Bicardi Gardyn cui Bominus Henricus nuper Dux Bucking-
ham ac dominus ibidem per literas suae patentes datas zv'o die Februani
anno xj'mo Beg^ Edwardi Illiti super oompotum anni xix egusdem Begis
ostensas et penes Walterum Vighann remanentes concessit offioium parcarii
parci siii vocati HtmHrigton Parke infra dominium predictum habendum et
occupandum offlcium illud per se vel per sufficientem deputatum suum ad
terminum vite sue cum feodis vadiis proflcuis et emolumentis universis eidem
officio debitis et consaetis et percipiendum ad terminoe ibidem usuales de
exitu proficuis et revencionibus dominii predicti per manus propositi seu ali-
ci\jus ministri ibidem pro tempore existente prout in Uteris predictis plenius
continetar videlicet in persolucione hi\jus vadu sui per predictum tempus
hujus compoti ad ijd, per diem causa ofKcu sui prout higus vadia aUocaban-
tur Waltero ap Thomas Vighann parcario ibidem in anno xzxviyVo Begis
H. Vl'ti Et in inj'or sumagiis et ii\j'or truggis siliginis emptis pro libacione
ejusdem Bicardi parcarii parci ibidem capientis pro quaUbet septimana j
truggns, preciam truggi uijd. (videlicet) per tempus predictum xvy«. iiyd.
Et in iiij'or quarteriis v^ busheUis frumenti pro Ubatione predicti Johannis
et Bicardi computantis causa officiorum suorum per annum pretium bnshel-
lus hoc anno vi^d., xxvjs. Et in stipendiis ipsorum oomputancium balUvo-
rum ibidem ac coUlgentis redditus de warda miUtis per annum prout alloca-
tum est in compotis precedentibus ^s.
Summa vuj li. vi^d.
The roll from which the foregoing extract was made has come under my
notice too late for any remarks in the proper place. It appears that Thomas
Vychan, or Vaughan, the second son of Sir Boger Vaughan, of Bredwar-
dine^by Gladys, daughter of Sir David Gam, had a grant from King Henry VI,
on 30 Nov. 1422, of the office of constable of the Castle of Huntington during
the minority of Edward Duke of Buckingham. He was the owner of Hergest
Court, which is situate within the manor ; and was killed at the battle of
ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS. XIll
Banbury on 26 July, 1469. He and his wife, Ellen Gethin, are buried in
Eing^n Church. The marble monument to their memory still remains in a
ohapel added, as appears by the style of its archiiecture, about the same
period. Sir S. Rush Meyrick (Lewis Dwnn's Heraldie Visitation, i, p. Id4, n.
7) remarks : ** He is in armour, without any ooyering on his head, which
reclines on his tournament helmet with the crest, apparently a cumbent
bird, upon it. The style of his armour greatly resembles that of Lord Hun-
gerford at Salisbury. His lady's arms have been destroyed from below the
elbows.*' Both figures have since been carefully restored. The front and
west end of the tomb on which they recline are of alabaster, on which are
carved angels standing in canopied recesses, and bearing escutcheons on
which the arms of Vaughan were emblazoned. Walter Vaughan, who
appears to have been park-keeper and constable of the Castle, was their
fourth son.
A BOKE OF THE SURVEY OP THE LATE DUKE OF BUCK'
LANDES, &c. 13 HEN. VIIL
Chapter House Miscell, Books, Af , /. 626.
T'honob of Hebefobd.
Wallia,flbn^njfdon. — T}ie charge of the bailliship there,
called Hontingdon Ballivus Anglicanus, is in value xz3cvjZi. \js. vi^jd. ob.
The Lordeship of Kington called Kington Villa . Izxvs. iiijd.
The bailiship of the Hondreth of Hontingdon . . . zliigs. xd.
Hontingdon called Hontingdon WaUeno* . . . xli. zix«. ob q'a
Prima recognicio.— Prima reoognicio sol vend' in tribus
annis 4000
The Manrode. — The noumbre of the Manrode there 141.
The Towne of Huntingdon. — The towne of Huntingdon in manner is de-
caide.
The Castell of Huntingdon. — The Castell all decaide, except a tower for
keeping of prisoners.
Knightes Fees. — James Baskerville holdeth Erdisleigh and BoUinghuU by
of a knight's fee. Robert Whitney holdeth Whitney by of a
knight's fee. James Scutamor holdeth Mokkas by of a knight's fee.
William Mill holdeth Avenbury by of a knight's fee. The manor of Fenn
in the hands of our soveraigne Lord the King, by reason of the minoritie of
Nidiolas Walweyn. The heirs of Rowdon hoolde the manor of Rowdon by
of a knight's fee. James Vaughan holdeth the manor of Nether Her-
gest by of a knight's fee. Richarde Hergesto holdeth over Hergest by
of a knight's fee. James Vaughan Squler holdeth the manor of Brigge
Courte by of a knight's fee.
Wooddes. — Kingswood conteyning 200 acres, the acre, los. . J6100 o o
Haye wood conteyning by estimacionxx'ti acres, the acre at 209. 20 o o
Bradners wood conteyning by estimacion xx'ti acres, the acre
at Ts, . . . . . .500
The foreste by Hontingdon conteyneth 16 acres, the acre at los. 800
Rugbege H^de conteyning by estimacion 12 acres, the acre
at 5'* ........ o 60 o
BrillelB wood conteyneth byestimacon looacres, the acre, i38.4d. 66 13 4
S'ma cc^jli. xiijs. 4d. ^6202 13 4
XIV ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS.
S'ma Domini de Huntingdon pneter primam Becognic'onem
nt Bupra ligli. xz^'d.
The Parke and Foreste.— The foreste there is used as other be> the game
g^ing at large, and the King ansuerde booth of the herbage and pawnage.
The Parke ther is a goodly and parkely ground oonteyninge ^ myles about,
having o. Dere in the same, the keeper ther is Thomas Shirley lately admit-
ted the Kings servaunte as is said. Officers at the Kings pleasure. The fee
of the said parke is at IzxTiga. p' annum. The stewardship goeth with
Breknok.
There be assigned by Thos. Magnus and Will'am Walweyn to be leye-
tenants, James Yaughan gentleman usher and Sogier Vaughan his broder.
The office of fieceiver there occupied by the said Hugh Marven goeth with
Breknok. The office of Constable of the Castle is assigned to the said James
Vaughan and Bogier Yaughan his brother at c«. p' annum.
Compotus David Tyler hallivi. 20 and 21 H, VIII,
Dominium de Huntyngdon in Marchiis Wallie ac in Com' Hereford' de
novo 1544, 5. — Computatio omnium et singulorum ministrorum omnium
terr'm et tenementorum ibidem vocat Buckynghams lands in manerio domini
regis ezisten' et deven' recente forisfactur* Edwardi nuper dux Buckingham
de alta proditione dudum attinct (Mich'as 26 Henry YIII until Mich'as fol-
lowing).
NovuB BeddituB. — * * Et de s. viijd. de novo redd' cigusdam parcelle terre
vaste et bosci voc' Hayewoodd jacen' in longit' a terr* Bic'i Cradock ex uno
capite usque terr' Bic*i Dawe ex altero capite in longif vero a bosco p'dicti
Walteri Yaughan voc' Bylett ex una parte usque aquam curren' de bosco
domini ibidem voc* Hayewoodd ex altera parte sic dimiss' p'fato Waltero
Yaughan hered's et assignis suis in perpetuum a festo sancti Mich'is Arch'i
ut per chartam domini Will'i oomitis Hunt' * sic dim' ib'm dat' apud castrum
suum de Bagland x'mo die Julii anno \j'do nup' Begis signaf per signum
manuale d'c'i Comitis super comp'm ostens et penes p'fikf Walter rem' hoc
anno dimiss' ut in anno p'c'd*.
Exit' Terr' et Ten't'.— • • • Et de s. v«. ii^d. de herbag' unius prat' voc*
Archersmedowe sic dimiss' Jacobo Yaughan hoc anno cum ii^d. de increto
et non plus redd's quia magna pars cgusdem prati devastat' per rivulo de
WetheUi curren' per idem prat' • • • Sed item de s. xvjd. de firma herbag'
past' in Castelhilla in Kington et pastura circa motam ^usdem Castri sic
dimiss' Waltero Yong ad termin' x^' annorum preterit'. Et de s. xii^d. de
firma de fishepole cum firma unius pastur' circa castrum domini regis in
Kington ex antiquo p'tinens Janitori d'c'i Castri modo dimiss' per
audit' reddend' ^d. de incr'o ut supra.
1 William Herbert, second Earl of Pembroke, on 7 Sept. 1 Edward lY (he
bearing then the title of Sir William Herbert, Knt.) had a grant of the stew-
ardship of the Castle and lordship of Brecknock, and of all other the castles
and lands of Humphrey Duke of Buckingham in South Wales. At the
request of that King he resigned the title of Earl of Pembroke, and was
created Earl of Huntingdon. (Dugd., Baronage.)
ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS. XV
AUocatio BeddituB.— •* * * * Et in defecta redd's nnios p'celli terr* vast' in
Ohickwarden et Lnllewall yoc' Saislande nnp' in tcmnra Sic'i LuUewall pro
igs. ijd. per ann' nnde onerator snperiaB in titnlo redd's aesis p'd'ct' et in
titolo vendico op'am quia d'c'as Bic'as toflam et terr* p'd*ct' reliqait in
mann' d'ni pro eo qaod noloit occupare officiam p'positi quando friit elect' p'
tenenf 8 ib'm ultra iij«. inde levat' de Ph'o Llnellin hoo anno 8. ijd.
Beddit' Mobil*. — Et de zls. yjd. de p'cio anmag* et ix tragg farine aveni
de redd' WaUenc' eupradict' t' 8'c'i Andre Ap'li infra tempu8 hi\jiiBmodi
comp's quolibet anmag* oont' z^j tmgg pr* cajusUbet trugg Tjd. eiout ooncor-
daf est cum Eec'r ib'm.
Alloc* Bedd' cnm Ezpens' Comput's. — ^Et in allo'ne redd' cigaadam con-
suetud' WaUenc' voc' Dayngerous passage nnp' collect' per vias htgas domi-
nii illevabilis exist' quia per Act Parliam't fact' in anno xxv\j' mo Begis nunc
p'd'c'i d'c'a oonsnetudo remittitur. Quod inhabitan' patrie ib'm solucionem
hi^jusmodi penitus recusant ut satis constat' s. xyj*. vigd.
THE WILL OF FRANCIS PEEROT, SON OF RICHARD
PERROT.i
Extracted from the Principal Registry of Her Majesty* t Court of Probate.
IN THE PBEBOGATIVE COUBT OP CANTEBBUBY.
23rd of March, Ad Reg*n i^th of Charles,
King of England, ^c, ^c.
In the name of God Amen. Tliis three and twentieth day of March in the
thirteenth yeare of the raigne o'r Sovraigne Lord Charles by the Grace of
God Kinge of England Scotland Prance and Ireland Defend'r of the Fayth
Slc. 1, Francis Perrott, of London Gent, beinge in health of body and of
sounde and p'rfect minde and memory (praised bee Almighty God) but call-
inge to minde the frailtie and uncertainty of this mortall life Doe make and
declare my last Will and Testam't in manner and forme following (that is
to say) First and principally I commende my Soule into the hands of Almighty
God my most mercifull Father assuredly trustinge that through his mercy
and the death and meritts of Jesus Christ my only Savio'r and Bedeemer I
shall be freely pardoned all my sinnes And after the end of this transitory
life I shall romaine with him in glory for evermore And my body I remitt
to the earth to bee decently buried in Christian manner accordinge to the
discrecon of my Execut'rs hereafter named And touchinge such temporall
goods and substance as Gt>d of his mercy hath blessed mee with all in this
life I dispose thereof as followeth First my will and minde is that all debts
and funds of money as I shall owe of right or in conscience to any person or
pers'ns at the time of my decease shall be truly satissfyed and payd within
a short time after my death as conveniently may bee Item. I give and be-
queath unto my worthy Bev'rend Freinde Mr. Josias Shute parson of the
pish of S't. Mary Woolnoth in Lumbard Streete in London twenty pounds in
money to be paid to him at the ende of six months next after my decease
' See Third Series, vol. xii, p. 172.
XVI ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS.
(jl hee bee then lyringe). . Item I give to Mr. Beeve Parson of the Parish
of S't. Martyns in the Vintrey London (yf hee bee Incumbent there at my
decease ) Fortie shillings to make him a ringe Item I give and bequeath to
my neece Penelope Perrott eldest daughter, of my brother Robert Perrott
Foure hundred poundee in money to bee payd to her within two yeeres next
after my decease Item. I give and bequeath unto my nephewe James Per-
rott second sonnie of my saide Brother Bobert Perrott Two hundred pounds
in money to bee paide him at his age of twenty and five yeares And I give
unto my nephewe Francis Perrott the third sonne of my saide brother
Bobert flfty pounds to bee paide to him at his age of twenty and five yeares.
Item I give and bequeath to my neece Damaris youngest daughter of my
said brother. Bobert Perrott One hundred pounds in money to bee paid her
at her age of twenty and one yeeres or day of marriage which shall first
happen Item. I give unto my said brother Bobert Perrott Tenn pounds to
be payd him at the end of one yeere next after my decease (yf he bee then
livinge) And to my brother John Perrott Forty shillings to be paid him at
the end of one yeere next after my decease (yf hee bee then lyvinge) Item
I give and bequeath unto my lovinge Cosens Mr. Humfry Berrington and
Mr. Humfirey Tompkyns five pounds apeece to make them rings and to my
lovinge freinde Mr. Bobert Yalloppe five pounds to make him a ringe. Item.
I give to my Cosen Mr. David Gwynn of Haverford West five pounds to make
him a ringe. And to my Cosen Mr. Thomas Daveis and to his nowe wife
my sayd Cosen Gwynn's daughter and to theire daughter Martha to ev'ry
of them in token of my love three pounds five shillings and eight pence
apeece Item. I give and bequeath unto my lovinge and faithfuU freinde
Mr. John CoUoine of Derbie in remembrance of my love apeece of plate of
the value of six pounds thirteen shillings and foure pence And to my freinde
Edward Newton in token of my love three pounds six shillings and eight
pence Item. I remitte and forgive my freinde Mr. John Ward of Stenson
in the County of Derbie all such debts and sumes of money as hee shall owe
unto mee at the time of my decease And my will is that my executo'rs
shall clearly requitt and dischardge him of and for the same And I doe
alsoe give unto the saide John Ward the sume of tenn pounds in money
Item. I give and bequeath unto my lovinge Cosen James Clarke of Hereford
Esq*re a gold ringe of the value of forty shillings with a deathe's head thereon
to be engraven. Item I give to my freinde Mr. John Ball Marchant a gold
ringe of the value of fourty shillings Item I give to my freinde Mr. Christo-
pher Magnard my greate gold ringe with a deathe's head thereon. And to
my good freinde Mr. Bobert Farmery of Scotton in the County of Lincolne
my lesser gold ring with a deathe's head thereon Item I give and bequeath
unto the poore of the parish of All S'ts in the Citty of Hereford the sume of
six pounds thirteene shillings and foure pence to be distributed amongst
them by and at the discrecon of my saide Cosen Mr. James Clarke and my
saide brother Bobert Perrott and the survivo'r of them. Item I give and
bequeath unto the poore of Maston upon Lugge in the County of Hereford
the sam of three pounds to be distributed amongst them by and at the dis-
crecon of Mr. Peter Dounoer my saide brother Bobert and my nephewe Har-
bert Perrott and the survivo*rs of them. Item I give and bequeath unto
the poore of the aforesaid parish of S't Martin in the Vintrey London Three
pounds to be distributed amongst them by and at the discrecon of the par-
son and churchwardens of the same parish for the time beinge. Item I
PREPARING FOR PUBLICATION.
In I voL 8vo, cloth l^.
ESSAYS AND PAPERS
ON
LITERARY & HISTORICAL SUBJECTS.
BY
I
H. LONGUEVILLE JONES, M.A.,
Editor of the " Archaeologia Cambrensis,"
Correspondinic Member of the Comitft Historique des Arts et Monuments. ^
Collected principally firom periodical works to which they have been
contributed daring the last thirty years.
They will form a volume of about 500 pages, to be put to press
as soon as the names of 200 persons are received who will take
copies when completed. Price to Subscribers, los. 6d. ; to Non-
Subscribers, 15 s.
Publisher : Mr. J. RusSELL Smith, 36, Soho Square, London, W.
Persons desirous of patronizing this work are requested to fill up
the subjoined Form and to remit it to the Publisher.
ESSAYS AND PAPERS,
LITERARY AND HISTORICAL.
I desire to have my name inserted in the List of Subscribers
to Mr. LoNGUEViLLE Jones's volume of Essays and Papers,
Literary and Historical
Name \
and \
Address) .
Dated-
To
Mr. 7. RUSSELL SMITH,
36, Soho Square,
London, W.
J f -,
T '""111 ■
'. A
^ '
y '
« •
... ,
FOURTH SERIES.— No. II.
APRIL, 1870.
CATALOGUE OF THE HENGWRT MSS. AT
PENIAETH.
{Continued from p, 378, vol, mv,)
224. Various articles relating to the Marches of Wales,
and the court at Ludlow. This MS. contains, also, a
copy of Dodderidges "Discourse or relation of the
ancient and modeme estate of the PrincipaJitie of Wales,
Dutchy of Come wall, & Earledome of Chester." Much
of the volume is in the autograph of the antiquary,
Robert Vaughan. Folio, seventeenth century.
225. This MS. contains, — 1, The Itinerary of Wales,
by Giraldus Cambrensis ; 2, The Topography of Wales,
by the same author; 3, The History of England, by
Henry of Huntingdon; 4, "Liber historie Anglorum
contextse ab Henrico Huntendunensi Archidiacono"; 5,
"Descriptio Britanniae & Insularum adjacentium ex
antiquis auctoribus"; 6, *'Res gestae Rom. Imperatorum
in Britannia, a Jul. Caesaris tempore, usque ad finem
Imp. Theodosii Junioris"; 7, " Reges Brit, post defecti-
onem a Romano imperio"; 8, "De Rebus in Cambria
gestis et Regibus Cambr. praecipue a Maylgwyn Gwyn-
eth", which is continued to the year 1457, inclusive. I
am quite imable to discover by whom this most valuable
historical collection, which is all in Latin, was made. It is
mostly in one hand, and the whole of it of the sixteenth
century. In MS. No. 78, are a considerable number of
pedigrees of Carnarvonshire and Anglesey families, which
4tu beb., vol. I. 6
74 CATALOGUE OF HENGWRT MSS.
I believe to be in the same hand as the greater part of
this volume. FoKo.
226. This volume contains a religious poem, in Eng-
lish, known as " Liber Sapientise", or the Mirrour of
Life, by William of Nassington, translated from John
of Waldby s " Speculum Vitse"; and a religious treatise,
in English, entitled "Speculum Ecclesise", translated
from the French of Edmund Rich, Archbishop of Canter-
bury, afterwards canonized, and called of Pountney or
Pontigny, from his having retired there when in exile;
also three sets of English verses, on religious subjects,
and some medical receipts. Folio, vellum, fifteenth cen-
tury. On the last leaf of this book is written, in a hand
of the sixteenth or seventeenth century, " The book of
John Prichard V^ was bestowed on him by the right
wo" Mr. Robert Wynne of dyffryn Aled in the parisn".
227. Life of S. Cadoc, a MS. of the fourteenth cen-
tury, written in Latin, on vellum. One leaf, of a sort
of preface or introduction, is wanting ; but the life of
the saint is perfect. Folio. There is a copy of this MS.,
in the autograph of the antiquary, Robert Vaughan, in
No. 157.
228. A very valuable collection of tracts, mostly his-
torical, but which in parts is imperfect ; and it has been
sadly ill used, several of the leaves being misplaced and
dog-eared, and very carelessly sewn. Such of the con-
tents of this volume as are worthy of notice are, —
1, Ancient British and Welsh History, in English, to
about the year 1003; 2, a Treatise on tne ancient British
Laws, as compared with the English ; 3, a very valu-
able copy of the British History of Nennius (it is neaded
as *' Gesta Britann. a Gilda", but it is the work of Nen-
nius), entirely in the autograph of John David Rhys, the
Welsh grammarian. He describes his transcript as having
been made '* word for word (as they say verbatim), out
of a most auncient written exemplar on ould parchment";
and " the booke itself, where euer it is, can not now be
read, being faded in Letteres from worse to wors, and for
that it is not knowne what is become of it, it being filched
AT PENIARTH. 75
away by a wicked boy."^ At the end of his transcript,
the Welsh grammarian writes, ** Ego Joannes Dauides
Rhaesus, medicinee doctor, haec transcripsi, eaque Joanni
Ludouico, de Kinarsley, iiiris peritissimo meique aman-
tissimo, tradidi," This copy differs from the printed
one of Nennius (London, 8vo, 1841), edited by Dr. Giles.
4, a loose leaf of Triads; 5, " The Ecclesiastical History
of the Brittains"; 6, Life of St. Beuno; 7, " The oration
of Metazuma, king of Mexico, made befor Hernando
Cortes, in presens of all his nobilitie"; 8, Ancient British
and Welsh History ; 9, a fulsome dedication of his His-
tory, by John Lewis of Lynwem, to King James I. This
John Lewis appears to have been the author of much
of the historical contents of this volume, the greater
part of which are in his autograph. He was the person
for whom John David Rhys transcribed the British
History of Nennius (see above); 10, Pedigree of the
Herbert family down to Edward Earl of Worcester and
Sir William Herbert of Swansea ; 1 1 , a Pedigree of John
Lewis of Harpton. I have no doubt that this is the
John Lewes above referred to. Folio ; English, Latin,
and Welsh ; sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
229. This MS. is a dialogue in English verse, of the
fifteenth century. I beheve it to be a portion or frag-
ment of one of the " Mysteries" of the middle ages. At
the commencement is a heading, which, so far as it is
legible, is as foUows : " Incipit pagina xx de sallt. . .
Antechristi prime equitando incipiet Ant..." Folio.
230. A religious tract entitled " Cyssegir-lan fuched".
Quarto, end of sixteenth or beginning of seventeenth
century.
231. A small, thin quarto volume of French songs.
Eighteenth century.
232. This MS., though imperfect in parts of it, and
injured by rats, contains a very valuable collection,
mostly of Welsh poetry, mixed up with, here and there,
^ It appears that this MS. of Nennius was found, in the year 1543,
in the Priory of St. John the Evangelist, at Brecknock, and had
been brought there by a certain monk from the Abbey of Battel!.
6«
76 CATALOGUE OF HENGWRT MSS.
some pedigrees and heraldry. There is also a table with
the following heading, "Lljrma reol i adnabod yr arwydd
y bo y Uevod yn sefyll ynddo bob dydd byth drwy
ysbysrwydd Llytherennav yr egwyddor yn y Kalender
ar ol." Amongst the poets by whom there are composi-
tions in this volume, are Howel Davi, Hugh Arwystyll,
Lewis Morganwg, David Llwyd, leuan Gethin ap leuan
ap Lleison (an ode by him to Owen ap Meredyth ap
Tudor, grandfather to' King Henry VII), Howel ap
David ap leuan ap Rees (a poem by him on the death
of leuan ap Howel Swrdwal), Simwnt Vychan (a poem
in his autograph), Rees Cain (poems in nis autograph,
several of mem dated, and in the following years, 160 7,
1608, 1609, 1611), WiUiam Lleyn (a poem m his auto-
graph), Sion Cain (many poems in his autograph, some
dated). Notices of most of these poetical writers will
be found in Williams's "Biographical Dictionary of Emi-
nent Welshmen." Amongst the pedigrees in this MS.,
is that of Lewis Gwyn, " Constable of Tref Escob", who
died in 1552. Many of the poems in this collection are
written in honour of him, and there is the heading of
a pedigree in the autograph of Rees Caen, with the date
1603. Folio, nearly all in Welsh, sixteenth and seven-
teenth centuries.
233. A volume of Welsh heraldry in the hand of
Sion Caen ; but at the commencement are the pedigree
and arms of the native princes of Wales, in tne same
hand. This is followed by the armorial bearings of the
five royal tribes of Wales, and fifteen tribes of North
Wales ; then comes a large collection of Welsh arms.
The whole of the armorial bearings in this volume are
in colour. At the end is an index, in the autograph of
the antiquary, Robert Vaughan. Small quarto, seven-
teenth century.
234. " The Scripture Genealogy , beginning with Noah
and his Tliree Sons," &c., "by John Re3noolas, o{ Oswes-
try, Antiquarian." Printed at Chester in 1739. 4 to.
This, though a printed book, has always been kept with
the Hengwrt MSS. It is a work of very great rarity,
AT PENIARTH. *f7
but little intrinsic merit. 1 do not recollect to have seen
or heard of more than six or seven copies. One was sold
to Sir Thomas Phillipps, Bart, at the sale of William,
Lord Berwick, for £13. Though entitled "Scripture
Genealogy", it is a collection, nearly the virhole,of Welsh
pedigrees. The author, John Reynolds, was nephew to
John Da vies, the genealogist, author of a " Display of
Heraldry." Having obtained his uncle s manuscript col-
lections, Reynolds published this volume, which the
Rev. Robert Williams, in his *' Biographical Dictionary
of Eminent Welshmen," not unjustly describes as " a
confused medley, put together without any knowledge
of the subject". At the end of his work, Reynolds has
tacked on a " Display of Heraldry'', which is entirely a
plagiarism from his uncle s book. The present copy was
in an imperfect and mutilated state, out the missing
parts have been supplied in manuscript, by a person
employed by Mr. Hotten, the bookseller of Piccadilly,
and with such extraordinary skill, that were it not for
the cleaner and lighter coloured paper, it would be im-
possible to distinguish the manuscript from the old
print. Within the volume, but not belonging to it, is
a printed "Genealogy of Watkin Williams Wynne, Esq.,
of W3Tinstay," (afterwards Sir Watkin Williams Wynn,
Bart.), by the same person.
235. Boswells " Workes of Armorie," London, 1597,
4to. Though this is a printed book, it has always been
kept with uie Hengwrt MSS. The arms are coloured,
I believe, by John Cain, the herald, of Oswestry, to
whom the volume belonged. It is imperfect, and lament-
ably injured by damp; but by the purchase of another
imperfect copy, I have been enabled to make up one, all
but perfect.
235 (sic). " Coloured Shields of British Arms. 4to,
half an inch thick." Though I have marked this MS.
as foimd, in my copy of Mr. Aneurin Owen's printed
catalo^e, I have no recollection of it whatever, and sus-
pect that it is Boswells work, entered twice.
237. " Philosophers Stone, a Dialogue." Small 4to,
sixteenth century.
78 CATALOGUE OF HENGWRT MSS.
238. ''Y Llyfr byrr tew Gr. Hiraethog." By far the
greater part of this valuable genealogical MS. is in the
handwriting of the eminent Welsh genealogist and poet
Griffith Hiraethog. It has also been designated as
"Ubt G. H.", also as "Y Llyfr Cwtta Gr. Hiraethog
medd R' Caen, 95, llyfr byrr viii, 1, llyfr gh. ibid.", and
"llyfr G. h. 37, y bychan." It is marked by Robert
Vaiighan, the antiquary of Hengwrt, on the first blank
leaf, as "Llyfr G h b t." It is also referred to as by
Griffith Hiraethog, by Robert Vaughan, in Hengwrt
MS. 96, foUos 85, 131, 159. Hiraethog himself also
refers to it as *' Llyfr ache tew byr", at folio 37 of Hen-
gwrt MS. 365. The earlier part of it was written about
1540, the latest about 1565. Small 4to. This is the
same MS. as that referred to by Mr. Aneurin Owen, aa
No. 137, in his list of the MSS. missing from this col-
lection.
239. This MS. contains — 1, " The Secretum Secreto-
rum", attributed to Aristotle ; 2, " De WiUielmo Con-
questore", a biography of that king; 3, "Generatio Re-
gum Scotie"; 4, " Liber de miseria humane conditionis",
by Locharius Diaconus, afterwards Innocent III; 6,
"De Adam, & Eva uxore eius, quomodo Expulsi fuerant
de paradise propter peccatum suum"; 6, " De infancia
Cluisti"; 7, "De Asseneth filia Putipharis, & quo ordine
accepit earn Joseph in uxorem"; 8, "Versus"; 9, "De
Spe que sibi habent duo contraria, Desperacio & pre-
sumpcio." I am told by Sir Frederick Madden that
parts of this volume were written from about the year
1299 to 1300, other parts as late as the reign of Ed-
ward III. 8 vo, vellum. This is the same MS. as No. 151,
represented by Mr. Aneurin Owen, as missing.
240. Beautiful specimens of various ornamental alpha-
bets, written by John Jones of Gellilyfdy (see Williams's
" Biographical Dictionary of Eminent Welshmen"), in
1639. 4to.
241. *' Italian Publication on different Alphabets.
Printed at Rome, 1535." I cannot now find this work,
though I observe that I have marked it as found. Pro-
AT PENIARTH. 79
bably, as a printed book, it was not sent to me with the
MSS.
242. "Luckombe's History of Printing." This I have
never seen, and beKeve it to be " The History and Art
of Printing", by Philip Luckombe, printed in London in
1771.
243. "A Booke of Sundry Draughtes, principally
serving for GldsierSy And not Impertinent for Plasterers
and Gardiners : besides sundry other professions"; a
printed book, by Walter Gidde, published in London in
1615; much inj ured. 4 to.
244. Extracts from "Y Cwtta Cyfarwydd" (see No.
134), sacred poetry, and medical receipts, all in Welsh;
a fragment of the sixteenth century. 4to.
245. Notes from Camden's "Britannia", in the auto-
graph of the antiquary, Robert Vau^han. At folio 62
is a copy of the Roman inscription, formerly at Caergai
in Merionethshire. 4to, seventeenth century.
246. A volume of Welsh poetry, in which are compo-
sitions by the following writers, David ap Gwilym,
Howel Airdrem, David ap Edmund, Morus Mowddwy,
Bedo Brwynllys, Rees Nanney, Hugh Pennal, levan
Dyvi, Aron Hiam, Gutto or Glyn. Some of the pieces
at the beginning, and one at the end of the volume, are
imperfect. 4to, sixteenth century.
247. A volume, nearly the whole of it containing
Welsh poetry, amongst which are writings by the follow-
ing poets : Ithel ap Rhys, Guttun Owen (this composi-
tion is dated in 1573 : it mxist have been transcribed in
that year, as Gutton Owen was dead long previously),
Tudur Penllyn, Bedo Phelip (this poem also is dated in
1573, but the same remark will apply to it as to that
by Guttun Owen above), Simwnt Vychan (iu his auto-
graph, one composed by himself, and others by Lewis
Glyn Cothi, one of which is upon the battle of Danes-
more in 1462, during the Wars of the Roses), Gutto o'r
Glyn,GrijBfith Hiraethog, William Lleyn, David Gorlach,
lorwerth Fyngloid, Kynfrig ap David Goch, Lewis Mon.
At folio 55 are some prayers to the Blessed Virgin.
80 CATALOGUE OF HENGWRT MSS.
Some of the poems at the commencement of this volume,
are imperfect, as is one at the end. 4to, sixteenth cen-
tury.
248. Another volume of Welsh poetry, in which are
compositions by the following writers : Gutto'r Glyn,
Lewis Glyn Cothi, Guttun Owain, Lewis Morgannwg,
David Lloyd ap Llewelyn ap Griffith of Mathavam (an
elegy by mm upon the celebrated Sir Rees ap Thomas,
K.G.,who died in 1527),Gwilym ap Sefnyn,TudurAled,
Lewis Mon, levan Gethin ap levan ap Seissyllt (an elegy
by him upon Owen Tudor, grandfather to King Heniy
VII), Meredith ap Rees (an elegy by him on the death
of King Edward IV), John ap Howel, and David ap
Edmunt. The poem commencing "Dyn wyf ni chais bod
yn wych", is in the autograph of William Lleyn, and I
suspect that many other poems in this MS. are so. 4to,
sixteenth century.
249. "Liber Johannis Lewis." For a notice of this
John Lewis, see "Cambrian Register," vol. iii, p. 311.
This is a manuscript volume of Welsh poetry, and con-
tains compositions by the following writers : Morgan
Elvel, Trefnant, Thomas ab Einon, Thomas Teifi, levan
ap Hugh, Hugh Arwystli, etc. Some of these pieces
are imperfect. 4to, sixteenth century.
250. A collection of Welsh poetry, in 4to, sixteenth
century, containing poems by the following writers :
Hugh Arwystli, who died in 1583 (a large number by
him, and probably in his autograph), David Nant mor,
Sir levan. Hen Brydydd (lolo Goch), Lewis Mon, Tref-
nant, Tudur Aled, Griffith Llwyd ap David ap Sienkin,
lorwerth Fynglwyd, leuan Deidwyn, David ap Meredith
ap Tudur, Rhys Goch of Glyndyfrdwy, Gutto'r Glynn,
Ehys Nanmor, Owen Gwynedd (supposed to be in his
autograph). For notices of most of these poets, see
Wilhams's " Biographical Dictionary of Eminent Welsh-
men." Some few of the pieces are imperfect.
251. An imperfect MS. of the end of the fifteenth, or
beginning of the sixteenth century, containing some of
the wor£s attributed to Taliesin and Merddin, and
some poetry by Rhys Nanmor. Bound with No. 368.
AT PENIARTH. 81
252. A volume of Welsh poetry, in which are compo-
sitions by the following writers : Gutto'r Glyn, Howel
David ap levan ap Rhys, David Nanmor, lerwerth Vyn-
glwyd, lolo Goch, Rhys Nanmor, Lewis y Glyn, Howel
Swrdwal, Bedo Aurdrem, Lewis Morgan wg, Rhys Bry-
chan, Janky n Vynglwyd, Ryssiart Vynglwyd, David ap
Edmund, Rhys Brydydd, Gwilym Tew, Sir Rhys oGamo.
A leaf or two is wanting in the first poem. 4to, six-
teenth century. This MS. belonged to Rhys Cain.
253. A quarto volume of Welsh poetry, in the auto-
graph of the antiquary, Robert Vaughan. It contains
a large collection of the poems of Gutto' r Glyn. There
are ajfso compositions by levan Vychan ap levan ap Adda,
Meredith ap Rhys, David Lloyd ap Llewelyn ap Grif-
fith, Long Lewis, David Beintiwr, levan Tew Brydydd,
Sir Philip Emlyn. This MS. is slightly imperfect, at
the beginning and end.
253a. a torn and injured volume of Welsh poetry,
in 4to. It contains compositions by the following poets :
Griflfith Hiraethog (I suspect a part of this volume to
be in his hand), Lewis Mon, Simwnt Vychan (the poems
commencing " Duw a roes", and " Tegaingl kedwid'*, are
in his autograph), Gutto o'r Glyn, Howel ap David ap
levan ap Rhys, Sion Kerri, David Nanmor (a poem com-
mencing " Y Blaenaf o bobyl wynedd", addressed by
this bard to David ap levan ap Einion, the gallant de-
fender of Harlech Castle for King Henn^ VI, — see Pen-
nant's " Tour in Wales", and '' Life of Lord Herbert of
Chirbuiy), William Lleyn (a poem by him in this MS.
is dated in 1578), John Tudor (a poem bv him, I sus-
pect, is in his autograph), levan Llavar, Richard Philip
(one in his hand), David Llwyd, Howel Kilan, William
Alaw, lerwerth Fynglwyd, John ap Howel ap Llywelyn
Vychan, lolo Gocn (a poem to the four sons of Tudor
ap Grono of Penmynyad ; another to David ap Blethyn,
Bishop of St. Asaph from 1314 till some years after
1346), Hugh Kowrnwy,Hugh Penal, David ap Edmund,
levan ap Llewelyn Vychan, Bedo Ffylip, Deio ap levan
DdujTudurAled, Siankin Brydydd, Rhys Goch of Glyn-
82 CATALOGUE OF HENGWRT MSS.
dyfrdwy. Sixteenth century; tied up with 254 and
297.
254. A 4to volume of the sixteenth century, contain-
ing, for the most part, poetry, but some medical receipts.
In it are pieces by the following writers : John Tuaur,
Griflfith Hiraethog, Richard ap Howell, David Lloyd ap
Llewelyn ap Griffith, Madoc Benvras, Howel Reinallt,
Gutto 'r Glynn, Tudur Aled, Llewelyn ap y Moel o'r
Pantri, Doctor John Kent, Myglyn Brydydd Lloid, John
Brwynog, levan Llafar, levan Deulwyn, levan Tew,
Sion Philip, Gruffith ap David ap Howell, Simwnt Vycb-
an, Howel ap Sir Mathay, Lewis Daron, Huw Arwystl,
Gwylim ap levan Hen, Lewis Menai, Griffith Gryg, —
" Gryjff. ap Kynfrig ap Gryff. foel oedd yr hwn aelwid
Gryff. Gryg." At the end of this MS. are some chrono-
logical notes in verse, apparently by levan Owain and
David Nanmor. Some of the compositions in this volume
are imperfect. Tied up with 253a and 297.
255. A folio MS. of Welsh poetry, written between
the years 1667 and 1678, by, and in the autograph of,
Edward Morris (see Williams's " Biographical Dictionary
of Eminent Welshmen)." This volume is somewhat
torn and imperfect. Loose, within it, are some fragments
of poetical compositions, by David ap Gwilym, David
Nanmor, and John Tudur.
256. A small octavo MS. of Welsh genealogy, nearly
all in the autograph of Griffith Hiraethog, "Ghb." At
folio 110 ifl a copy of the curious inscription, in barba-
rous Latin, formerly at Diserth in Flintshire, in memory
of Einion, son of krid Flaidd, who was elain at thi
siege of Diserth Castle, about the year 1243. Sixteenth
century, bound up with No. 365.
257. British history, from Brute to Harold, appa-
rently much of it taken from the Brute Chronicle; " De
Nativitate Domini nostri Jhesu Christi"; a memoran-
dum that " Numa y® 2 Kynge of the Romans put Janu-
arie & Februari to y* beginninge of y® yeare circa anno
mundi 4555"; and brief notices of the Popes from St.
Peter to Benedict VII, 1322. Small 8vo; early seven-
teenth century.
AT PENIARTH. 83
258. A small 4to volume, mostly of Welsh poetry,
some of the compositions in which are injured and im-
perfect. It contains writings by the foUowing poets :
David ap Gwilim, Hugh Pennal, Sion y Kent, Sion
Phylip, Sion Tudur, Bedo Aerdrem, Gruflfyd ap Owen
apWUiam, Lewis Morganwg, levan Dyfi, Taliesin (poems
and triads attributed to him, — one of the poems, " Llyma
beth o hanes Taliesin"), levan Tew Brydydd, Master Hari
Kydweli, David ap Howell Swrdwal (a poem by him in
praise of David ap Howell ap Owen, Esq., of Llanbiyn-
mair), Rhys ap Hari. There are also, in this volume, a
" Bardnad'' upon Ellis ap Morris, Esq., of Clenenney in
Carnarvonshire ; some medical receipts, and a pedigree
of Thomas ap Humphrey ap David, grandson of David
ap Howell ap Owen, Esq. , above mentioned. Sixteenth
century. In the volume are signatures of "David Nan-
ney" and " Emanuel AnwiQ."
259. A small 4to volimae, imperfect in parts. It con-
tarns two grammatical treatises— the commencement of
one is wanting; a coUection of poems, nearly aQ anony-
mous, but one by Griffith Gryg. I observe also " Pedair
kamp ar vgainysydd ardeniodddvfnwal moelmud"); some
pedigrees ; a curious collection of drawings of carpenters'
tools, and other implements and objects; an incomplete
copy of a deed of 35 Henry VIII, relating to John Aimer
of Aimer and others ; and at the end is a long and
curious, but imperfect, poetical dialogue between "Yr
yffeiriad, v wraig, y Gwr kadam, ar Gwas, y gymdoges
ar osibes. ' Fifteenth, or very early in the sixteenth
century, and later in that century. One of the pages is
dated in 1543, another in 1569.
260. A small thick octavo volume of poetry, entirely
in the autograph of Bhys Cain (s^e Williams's " Diction-
ary of Eminent Welshmen"). Most of the poems are
composed by him, but there are some by levan ap Tudur
Penllyn, Gutto o'r Glynn, Llawdden, Davydd Nanmor,
Howel Kilan, GruflSth Hiraethog, Tudur Aled, Lewys
Mon. The poems by Rhys Cain are dated from 1573
to 1582. Some of the compositions in this MS. are
imperfect.
84 CATALOGUE OF HENGWRT M8S.
261. A small thin quarto volume of the fifteenth cen-
tury, containing Welsh poetry by the following writers :
David Heuyd, Madawc Benuras, Llewelyn Goch ap
Meiuio Hen, Gruffut Llwyt, Ding Moel, Y Poesnet,
Gutto ap Jankyn, leuan ap Grumrth Gwent, " levan
Bol ap levan ap Rys or Brysc y byddew", David ap
Gwilym, *^ Gutto", and " Syr Thomas". This is a very
valuable collection. Not one of the poems which it con-
tains, excepting that one by David ap GwUym, is to be
found in Moses WUliams's "Repertorium Poeticum",
and several of the writers are not in Mr. Williams's
valuable " Biographical Dictionary." This MS. is slightly
imperfect.
262. Another small quarto volume of Welsh poetry,
contaming writings by the following poets : David ap
Edmimd, Robin Ddu, Bedo.Ffylip, Howel ap ReinaJlt,
Gwilim ap leuan, David ap GwUim, leuan ap Llewelyn
Vychan,Llawdden, Gutto o rGlyn. Towards the end is a
pedigree of King Henry VII. This MS. is, in some
parts, injured and faded. It is of the latter end of the
fifteenth, or of the early part of the sixteenth century,
and later on in that centuiy.
263. This MS. is described, in Mr. Aneurin Owen's
catalogues, as containing " Prophetic Verses." I find
in it some of the compositions attributed to Taliesin and
Merddin, and a version of the " Coronawg Vaban." The
volume is torn and imperfect, in parts of it. Late in the
fifteenth, or early in the sixteenth century. Small 4to.
264. Another small qiiarto MS.; some of it, perhaps,
as early as the end of the fifteenth century, the re-
mainder, early, and later in the following century. It
contains some of the poems attributed to Taliesin and
Merddin, amongst them the " AvaUenau", imperfect ; a
composition which at the end has this description of it,
"Ac velly y tervyna diwedd y bateloedd"; a short pedi-
gree of Edmund Lloyd of Maesmawr, Esq.; and the
same of one John ap Teuan ap Ywain of Meyvod ; an
imperfect pedigree of some of tne branches of the feudal
house of Powis ; a tract to which there is the following
AT PENIARTH. 85
ending, " Llyma fal y diwedd y pyronosteicasion tyr
agywyddol o waith yr vrddol ystyronomeer erra patar
yr hwn oedd iddew allan or gyrysdynogaeth yngy wylad
* y twrk," " This ys the ende of thys Htel booke which
was the makinge of one erra pater." " Robert ap Rys
ys the true oner of thys" [book]. This MS. is the same
as No. 408. When I entered it imder that number I
had not identified it as 264.
265. Explanation of obsolete words, and some poetry,
by Howel Cae Llwyd, David Pennant, lolo Goch, Tudur
Aled, leuan ap Tudur Penllyn, Howel KUan ; also gene-
alogy and heraldry. Most of this volume is in the auto-
graph of Simwnt Vychan. Small 4to, sixteenth cen-
tury.
266. This is the same as 135, which I had not iden-
tified, when I entered it in this catalogue, as 266.
267. "North Wales Institutes of Poetry." 4to,
seventeenth century. With this MS. is a fragment on
the same subject, I think in the autograph of Dr. Davies
of Mallwyd.
268. "Volume containing Poetry by Llewelyn Pryd-
ydd y moch, Bleddin vardd, and some Cywyddau. 8vo."
This MS. is so catalogued by Mr. Aneurin Owen. He
had found it, though I never have, or never identified
it. I may yet do so, and find that, without knowing
it, I have entered it further on in the catalogue.
269. A small quarto volume of Welsh poetry, con-
taining compositions by the following writers : Howel
ap David ap leuan ap Rhys, David Epynt, le van Gethin,
Lewys Morgannwc, Rrys Namar (Rhys Nanmor), Llew-
elyn ap Rysiart, Rys Dy ap Llewelyn ap Kydygan,
Thomas Llawddyn, leuan Fab Howel Kae Llwyd, Rys
Brychan, Tudur Penllyn, leuan Llwyd, Robin Ddy;
also a calendar, and a tract written in a tabular form,
which thus commences;
" Mak a mwn hir
kkkk tttt k t k t kkkk tttt kkt kk
Alban Rudderch
k t kk t k ttt k tt k t kk''; also a short tract, which
86 CATALOGUE OF HENGWRT MSS.
commences thus, '* Llyma y gwahunnaeth yssvdd rrwng
y Uythreu yssydd ynny saesnek ar rrei yssvdd yny gym-
raec", etc. Sixteenth century, part, perhaps, as early
as the end of the fifteenth century. At the end of this
MS. is written, « liber Jonannis Lewis." For a notice
of this John Lewis, see " Cambrian Register," voL iii,
p. 310.
270. A small, thick quarto volume of Welsh poetry,
written, I think, late in the fifteenth, or early m the
sixteenth century, or both. ^ "Liber Johannis Lewis"
(see "Cambrian Register," iii, p. 311). This MS. con-
tains compositions by the following writers : David
Epynt, some of the poetry attributed to Taliesin and
Merddin, Howel Cae Llwyd (I suspect that a consider-
able part of the volume is in his autograph — at the end
of one of the poems occurs, " Dauith ap Gwilim ai cant,
Q** Howel Cae Llwydd"), Rys Dyfnwal, Howel ap David
ap leuan ap Rys, David ap leuan Du, Nant, and y
Nanta (a large collection of poems, in a most remark-
able hand, by this writer, I suspect him to be David,
or Rhys Nanmor), y Guttyn Kyriog, "Davyd Nant"
(query David Nanmor, see above ? — one poem appears to
be written by him, or "John ap Rhys"), David ap GwU-
ym (a large collection of his poems), Madoc Benvras,
Griffith ap yr Yngnad, " lohlo Goch", Howel " Surde-
val", Rys Brydydd o Dir larll, Llowdden, Lewis Glyn
Cotlii, Rys Vardd (a large collection by him). A few of
the pieces in this volume are slightly imperfect.
271. " Liber Johannis Lewis" (see "Cambrian Regis-
ter," iii, p. 311). This MS. is a small quarto, of about
the same date as the preceding one, some of it, perhaps,
a little later. It contains writings by the following
Welsh poets : Rys Brychan, Kae Llwyd, Gruffith Llwyd,
"Resiart Ttomas Dy", Thomas Terllys, Richard ap Rys
(father of the eminent poet, Lewis Morganwg, — see
Williams's " Biographical Dictionary"), David Epynt, Rys
Dyganwy , levan Rrayadr,Rys Dyfiiallt, WatkinVychan,
Lewis Glyn Cothi, leuan ap y Gutto, lorwerth Vyng-
Iwyd, Rys Bryan, Yvein lethon, Robin David, William
Egwad, Llywaroh Offeiriat, Llowdden, " Tew."
AT PENIARTH. 87
272. A thick folio volume, entirely in the autograph
of Mr. John Jones of GeUilyfdy (see Williams's "Bio-
graphical Dictionary"). This MS. was finished in 1635,
and contains " Dares Phrygius" in Welsh, and the "Brut
y Brenhinoedd." At the commencement, Mr. Wm. Mau-
rice of Ti1a.nRi1in has written " Guil. Mauricius Lansiliens.
libro huic operculum impertit orbo. 1660."
273. A thick quarto volume, entirely in the autograph
of Mr. Jones of Gellilyfdy , containing prophecies, bardic
histories, " Avallenau Merddin", poems attributed to Tali-
esin, poems by " y Bardd Bach", or Rhys Vardd, and ex-
tracts from the " Cwtta Cy varwydd", No. 34. It is stated
at the end of these extracts, that the *' Cwtta Cy var-
wydd" was written in 1445. At the commencement of
the present volume, the same note and date as in the
preceding MS., occurs, in the hand of Mr. Wm. Maurice
of Llansilin.
274. A thick folio volume, in the autograph of Mr.
Jones of GeUilyfdy, entitled " Llyfr Sion ap Wiliam ap
Sion, o hen Cowyddeu". Its contents are a vast nmnber
of transcripts, finished in the year 1621, of compositions
by Welsh poets. Amongst them is an elegy by Lewis
Mon,on the death of Ellis ap Griffith ap Einion of Rhag-
att, in 1489; a poem by David Jones, vicar of Llanvair
Dyffryn CI wyd, dated in 1589; one by Lewis ap Edward,
addressed to Rees Wynn, rector of Llangadvan from
1537 to 1568, to ask for a horse for Bees Wynn, vicar
of Nannerch from 1537 to 1589; an elegy by Edward
ap Ralph ap Robert, upon the death of Simon Thelwall
of Plas y Ward, co. Denbigh, Esq., dated in 1586; one
by the same person \ipon the death of Sir levan Lloyd,
of Bodidris in the same county, in 1585; a poem by
David Lloyd ap Llewelyn ap Gruflfydd, addressed to
David ap levan ap Einion, upon his holding, as Con-
stable of Harlech Castle, that Castle for the house of
Lancaster, about the year 1468; a poem by Tudur Pen-
Uyn, addressed to Grufifydd Vychan ap Gruflfydd ap
Einion of Corsygedol, brother to Ellis ap Gruflfydd ap
Einion above mentioned, " a wnaed ido yn y fann ar ol
88 CATALOGUE OP HENOWRT MSS.
myned Siasbar iarl Penvro or Bermo i flfrainc, ond ef a
vu Gruffyd faru kyn ei dyfod ef a harri druod"; an elegy
by William Lleyn, on the death of WiUiam Earl of Pem-
broke, in 1570.
275. A miflcellaneons collection entirely in the auto-
graph of Mr. Jones, of Gellilyfdy, above mentioned The
well known Mr. Edward Lhwyd, of the Ashmolean
Museum, thus describes the contents of this MS., in Hen-
fwrt MS. 351 : " Llyfr teg yn Uawn Llytherenau mawr
lodeuog yn Cynwys. 1. Chronologia eg am Owen
Glyndwr beth ; Hanes bedd mab Beli mab Benlli Gawr,
p. 29. Am faes Gannon, p. 31. Item am Ruddwyn,
a Myfyr, a Berwyn gawr, a oedd 3 brodyr p. 39. Item
hanes yr Eisteddfod yn Nghaerfyrddin dan Ruif ap
Nicolas; Item Chronologia excerpta ex Archivis." This
tract is headed, in the MS., as follows : ' Inter Recorda
domini Regis Caroli in Thesauro recepte Scaccarii sui
sub custodia domini Thesauriarii et Uamerarii ibidem
remanente videlicet in quadam baga intitulata Magna
ferula inter alia sic continetur ut sequitur. Scribitur
in dorso Rotuli, An auncient Role of Kings &c. et alia
notatu digna"; Item Trioedh Ynys Br. ; Item Chronic,
divers, mater.; headed in the MS., " De Chronicis diver-
sariarum materiarum'; It. Brut y Saeson; It. 24 o Fren-
hinoedd y Britanniaed .... Hanes Lin. ap ler. yn Llun-
dain a Chynfrig coch o drefri w ; It. Rhai o drigedd y
Br.; It. Uato Cymraeg; It. Breuddwyd Maxen; It.
Vita Elgari Lat. ; It. Donatio Llangors ex Lib. Land. ;
It. Hanes Gr. ap Kynan or hen Llyfr o Wydr, "cum
multis aliis futilibus* . Amongst the multa alia futilia
are some extracts from "Y Cwtta Cyfarwydd", No. 34
of these MSS. At the end of the present volume is
written, in the hand of Mr. William Maurice of Llan-
silin, "Finit. Julii 22, 1641, per Jo. Jones de Ysgeifiog,
transcript, per Guil. Mauricium 1662. Care bonis avi-
bus sine me Liber ibis in sBvum."
276. The Laws of Howel Dda and the Statute of
Rhuddlan in Wekh, a thick quarto, entirely in the auto-
graph of Mr. Jones of Gellilyfdy. At the end of the
AT PENIARTH. 89
index is written, in his hand, '*Ag fal hynn y terfyna y
byrddan yma o brif bynkie y Uyfr hwnn y 2 dydd o fis
mihefyn oet krist 1606. Deo gratias John Jones."
277. Foiu* quarto volumes of collections of words for
a dictionary ; five octavo volumes of collections of words
for a dictionary; three folio volumes of collections of
words for a dictionary ; five oblong volumes of collections
for ditto; one bound octavo volume of ditto; two duo-
decimo volumes of ditto; all in the hand of Mr. Jones
of GeUUyfdy. Seventeenth century. See No. 335.
292.^ Ancient Welsh poetry, in the autograph of
Mr. Jones of GeUUyfdy. FoUo, seventeenth century;
in parts injured and imperfect.
293. "Dares Phrvffius," in WeLsh; at the commence-
ment, a fra^ent of tlie ^me work, in Latin : aJl in the
autograph of Mr. Jones of GeUUyfdy. This MS., which
is tied up with No. 292, is in some places injured by
damp.
294. *'Llyvyr Sion ap WiUiam ap Sion" (Mr. Jones
of GeUUyfdy). A volume of Welsh poetry entirely in
his hand. It contains compositions, for the most part,
of the more ancient of the Welsh poets ; amongst them,
writings attributed to TaUesin, compositions by Cjn*
ddelw Brydydd Mawr, David ap GwUym, lolo Goch,
Llowarch Hen, Aneurin Gwawdiydd, "Mr. Roberts or
tu hwnt ir mor", Elaeth y Brydydd, Einion Offeiriad,
Lewis Glyn Cothi, Talai, Ealph ap Robert, leuan ap
Rhydderch (this is in English) ; Englynion, attributed to
the fabiUous times of Arthur; verses by David ddu o
Hiradduc, MeUir Brydydd, Bleiddin Fardd, Daniel Llos-
gwn Mew, Llowarch Brydydd y Moch, Gwydion ap Don,
Meugan.
295. This MS. is marked outside "135", which is cer-
tainly wrong. It would be difficult to identify Mr.
Aneurin Owen's "295". It may be the present volimie,
and I have placed it imder that number. The contents
are misceUaneous, for the most part genealogy and
poetry. At the commencement is a very interesting
^ This MS. is so numbered in Mr. Aneurin Owen's catalogues.
4th ser., vol. I. 7
90 CATALOGUE OP HENGWRT MSS.
redster of the marriage, and births of the children, of
John Wynn, of Tower, neax Mold ; and an obituary of
members of some of the principal families of North
Wales, — amongst them those of Grey Lord Powis, Han-
mer, and Trevor, of an ancestor of the Eytons of Lees-
wood, and of an ancestor of the Kyffins of Glascoed.
Then come pedigrees of the Welsh saints, and kings of
Britain, and native princes of Wales. Then comes
''Tair Beriach Gwynedd"; then a large collection of
poetry, amongst which are compositions by the following
writers : Lewis Glyn Cothi, a poem by him in praise of
Rinallt ap Gmffydd ap Bleddyn of Tower, near Mold ;
Howel KUan ; levan ap Tudur Penlljn, an elegy by him
upon David Lloyd of Abertanatt, and Einallt ap Gruff-
ydd ap Bleddyn ; Tudur Aled, by him, "Bamad Sion
Wynn ap levan ap Rhys", of Ystrad Alyn ; David Nan-
mor; David ap Edmund; levan Deulwyn; Gwilym ap
Sefnyn; David Llwyd ap Llewelyn ap Grifl&th; Lewis
M6n ; Robert ap David Lloyd ; Gutto r Glyn, an ode by
him to levan Vychan of Moeliwrch, near T<1a,nsi1in, in
the coimty of Denbigh, and Howel his son; Simwnt
Vychan, an elegy by him, written in 1589, upon the
death of Mr. John Wynn of Tower, near Mold; John
Tudiu-; Robert Evans, an elegy, by him, written in 1589 ;
Edward ap Ralph; Sir David Trevor; Lewis Powel;
* ' Master Rhys Thomas. " Towards the end of the volume
is a tract entitled "Compomid Manuel," 4 to, sixteenth
century.
296. A tract upon grammar, Latin, eighteenth century,
of little value.
297. This, I have little doubt, is the "Llyvyr bach o
gywydau Howel CUan", represented by Mr. Aneurin
Owen as missing. It contams an ode to Rhys ap Grif-
fith ap Aron of Peniarth, who was living in 1481. The
present MS. is imperfect at the beginning and end.
Thin 4 to, sixteenth century. Tied up with No. 253."
298. Volume of modem Welsh poetry. I cannot find
this MS., though I have marked it in my copy of Mr.
Aneurin Owen's printed catalogue, as found. Perhaps,
AT PENIARTH. 91
inadvertently, it was not sent to me after the death of
Sir Robert Williames Vaughan.
299. A quarto volume of Welsh poetry, imperfect at
the beginning and end. It contains compositions by the
following writers : Owen Gwynedd, — many of his poems,
one of them "i Masdr" Richard Pugh of Rhosygarreg,
Griffith Hafren, Matthe ap Llyweljm Goch, Sion Keri,
Sion Ifans, Gutto 'r Glyn, an ode by him to Sir Roger
Kynaston of Knockin, Sion Mowddwy, David ap David
Llwyd, an ode by him to John Hughes of Maesypandy,
O. G. (Owen Gwynedd), an ode by him to Griffith Pugh
of Rhosygarreg, William Lleyn, Thomas Penllyn, Rhys
Cain, Ifan Clywedog, Sion Kent, Moris Berwyn, Hugh
Machno, an elegy by him dated in 1607, Gwilym ap
levan H6n, Risiart Owen, Ifan Heiliarth, Sion Kain,
Huw Arwystl, lefan Llavar, Ro. Kyffin. Sixteenth
century.
300. A thin quarto volume of Welsh poetry, great
part of which I believe to be in the autograph of Gnffith
Hafren (see Williams's " Biographical Dictionary"). It
contains compositions by the writers following : Lewis
Dwnn, Owen Gwynedd, Moris Llwyd Wiliam, Bedo
Havesp, levan Tew, Hugh Arwystl (one by him '* i ofyn
raper a ffwniard dros risiart Moris o riw Y saeson Es-
gwier"), levan Heuliarth, James Dwn, Rhobert Dyvi,
Griffith Havren, Rhisiart Llwyd, Harri Gwyn, Richard
Philip, Griffith Philip, Edward Evans (an ode by him in
praise of Sir Edward Lloyd of Berthllwyd,dated inl632;
another, by John Kain, in praise of the same person,
dated in 1629). All the poems in this MS. are lauda-
tory of, or elegies upon, members of the family of Lloyd
of Berthllwyd, near Llanidloes.
301. A miscellaneous collection in the autograph of
Jones of Gellilyfdy ; small quarto, seventeenth century.
Amongst its contents are ; a Form of Absolution, in
Latin; a treatise upon Welsh Grammar, including part
of the Grammar of Edem Davod Aur; Poetical Ordi-
nances of Griffith ap Cynan and Bleddyn ap Cynvjn ;
Commission by King Henry VITI to hold an Eisteddfod
7»
tt
i
I
92 CATALOGUE OF HENGWRT MSS.
at Caerwys, in the fifteenth year of his reign (see Jones's
Musical and Poetical Relics of the Welda Bards/' 4to,
London, 1794, p. 46); "Araith lolo Goch"; a tract
headed " Tri thlws arddec Ynys Brydain a henwir fal
hynn"; a Vocabulary or collection of Welsh words, the
introduction to which is dated in 1639. At the com-
mencement of this MS. is written, in the hand of Mr.
Jones, "Johannes Jones me tenet Pa werth nef or ben-
thic byd."
302. A small octavo MS. of the sixteenth century,
containing entirely, with two exceptions, poems by the
celebrated David ap Gwilym. In it are lines which are
wanting in the printed copy of this poet's works. Most
of the poems in the present volume appear to have been
transcribed from ancient MSS. of David ap Gwilym s
poems. The two compositions not by him, are, one by
Madoc Benfras, and one by lolo Goch, — an elegy on the
death of David ap Gwilym. On the inside of the left
hand cover of this book, is written, " Sum Liber Ellysii
Price Anno Domini 1577." Query, if the celebrated
Dr. Ellis Price? (See Williams's "Biographical Diction-
ary.") The first leaf of this MS. is wanting.
303. Rules of Music and Poetry, mostly, if not all, in
the autograph of Sir Thomas ap William; and part
transcribed by him from a book of William Cjniwal, in
1582. I also find, on a page subsequent to the one on
which is that date, "transcripsi Banchori 1567, setatis
21, 26 Aprilis'', in Sir Thomas Williams's hand. Thin
8vo.
304. The Statute of Rhuddlan, a small, thin quarto,
of the fifteenth century, on velliun. I have little doubt
that this MS. is in the hand of Lewis Glyn Cothi, styled
also "Llewel3m y Glyn" (see Nos. 37 and 52). Several
leaves at the beginning are torn and imperfect.
305. Fragment of the " Brut y Brenhinoedd'', on
paper. Fifteenth century, 4to.
306. The whole of this MS. is in the autograph of
the learned physician, Sir Thomas ap William, frequently
before referred to, and contains four treatises : — l,"Elu-
AT PENIARTH. 93
cidarius" (pp. 70), written, according to date, in 1594.
It is a work on Divinity, and translated from the Latin.
The language is excellent, and this was one reason of
the Doctor s transcribing it into Welsh from an old copy
on vellimi. There is a copy of '*Elucidarius" in Hen-
gwrt MS. No. 350, with slight differences in the trans-
lation. 2,"YmborthyrEnaid"(FoodoftheSoul). This
is also a translation from the Latin, and the Doctor
notes, " I suppose this was translated by Davydd Dhu,
Athraw, for I found a portion of it attached to a Gram-
mar of Davydh Dhu of Hiradhuc, and both in the same
handwriting, 1596." There is a copy of this treatise in
No. 350, but they appear to differ. 3, "Cyfraith Arvau"
(Display of Heraldry), compilation by the Doctor, from
various authors. 4, "Epoptes, neu Doethineb Ysprytol"
(Spiritual Wisdom). This, too, is a translation from the
Latin, and is supposed to be a spiritual conversation held
with the Emperor Hadrian. There is a copy of this also
in No. 350, but the translation is different, and is there
called " Ipotis". At the end of this volume are several
fragments, in hands of the fifteenth century, and early
in the sixtenth: amongst them," Summa totalis omnium
Indulgenciarum xxiii. m. annonun et v. miUe vii c quad-
ragesimarum"; an historical fragment ending with the
coronation of Henry VII; a list of the kings of the
Britons and of the sovereigns of England, ending with
King Henry VII. 4to.
307. A large and valuable collection of poetry, con-
taining compositions by those of the Welsh poets whose
writings are usually found in such collections. Amongst
these poems are a great number by Gutto' r Glyn, and
Howel and Hugh Dafi. At folio 167 there is a poem
by Sion Brwynog, on the death of John Wynn ap Mere-
dith, of Gwydir, Esq., who died in 1559. At folio 282
is one by William Lleyn, to beg twelve mares from
twelve gentlemen of Merionethshire, who are named.
One of the poems by Hugh Dafi, is addressed to King
Henry VIII. Much of this MS. is in the autograph of
Dr. Davies of Mallwyd, and of William Salesbiny, editor
94 CATALOGUE OF HENGWRT MSS.
of the Welsh Testament printed in 1567 (see WiUiams's
" Biographical Dictionary"). At folio 284 is a tract by
WilUam Salesbury, headed " Wiliam Salbri yn danfon
annerch at Gruff. Hiraethog ac eraill o'i gelfyddyd."
There is a copious index to this volume. A very few of
the poems are imperfect. 4to, sixteenth and seventeenth
centuries.
308. The Book of Edward ap Roger. A large and
valuable collection of Welsh pedigrees by Edward ap
Koger, otherwise Eyton, of Bodylltyn, in the parish of
EJiuabon, a place now within the park wall of Wynn-
stay. He died 15th of May, 1587. This MS. is referred
to by Griffith Huuethog in Hengwrt MS. 436, folio 116,
and repeatedly, by the antiquary, Robert Vaughan, in his
large volume of pedigrees, No. 96 of this collection. Folio.
309. A small octavo volume, almost entirely in the
autograph of William Cynwal, and containing many of
his poems, written between 1569 and 1572 inclusive.
It also contains compositions by the following Welsh
poets : Simwnt Vychan, Tudiu: Aled (there is an elegy
by him upon Ho wel ap Rhys, of RAg in Merionethshire),
Gutto r Grlyn (there is by him, " Kowydd Maes y Mam-
bri," — Banbury), Griffith Hiraethog (there is an elegy
by him upon the death of Moris levan, of Penmorva, in
1563), Lewis Daron, Sion Brwynoc, Griffith Uwyd ap
David ap Einion, David Nanmor, David Alaw, Rhys
Pennardd (there is an elegy by him upon the death of
Rhys ap Howel ap Madoc of Evionedd), Gruffith Gryc,
lolo Goch, Lewis Mon, Kynric ap David Goch, Rhys
Goch of Eryri (there is an elegy by him upon Gwilym
ap Griffith, of Penrhjoi in Carnarvonshire), Gwilym ap
Sefnyn, Robert Leiaf, Howel Gethin of Celynnoc (there
is a poem by him addressed to the foin: sons of Rhys ap
Howel ap Madoc of Evionedd), levan Waed Du (there
is an ode by him addressed to levan ap Einion of Evion-
edd), Moris Dwyvech. The first composition in this
MS. is imperfect at the commencement.
310. This MS., labelled " Legendary Lives of Saints",
consists of 168 pages, small quarto, and proves to be a
AT PENIAKTH. 95
work of great importance. It is an " Ordinale", or
dramatic Mystery, written in the ancient Cornish lan-
guage. It is a little later in style and orthography than
the three dramas published by Mr. Edwin Norris, in
two volmnes (Oxford, 1859), from a MS. in the Bod-
leian Library, and of which there is also a MS. copy
among these MSS., as mentioned by Edward Lhuya.
The present MS. has the date 1504. It seems never to
have been alluded to by any writer, and its existence to
have been quite unknown. It commences thus : *' Hie
incipit ordinale de Vita Sancti Mereadoci Episcopi et
Corrfessoris." At the end is written, " ffinit p dftm Nad
Ton Ann° Dili m. v. iuj." It is quite perfect, and in
excellent preservation.
311. "Llyfr Teg." A very fine copy of the Laws of
Howel Dda. This MS. was made use of by Mr. Aneurin
Owen in compiling his edition of the Welsh Laws. He
describes it as " a very fine specimen, perfect, of the
middle of the fourteenth century." I doubt, however,
if it is quite perfect at the end. At the conunencement,
Mr. William Maurice, of LlansUin, has written, " Lib
T6g, vel, T6g yw Arwyddyn y llyfr hwnn yn Neddf-
grawn. Wm. M. Llyfr Prawf ynad Mad. ap Jorwerth
sydd yn dechreu, pag. iii. or Wjfr hwnn. Alpha & Jor.
nostrum, ad hunc Codicem emendatissimum, examinavi
ego W. M. 1662. Care, bonis avibus sine me Liber ibis
in aBviun/' 4 to, on vellimi.
312. Two copies of the Laws of Howel Dda, styled
"Beta" and "Bedu," somewhat imperfect; and a frag-
ment of the same Laws, styled " Frag." All these MSS.
were used by Mr. Aneurin Owen in compiling his edition
of the Welsh Laws. He describes the two former as of
the fourteenth century, the last is of the centuiy fol-
lowing. At the commencement of the first, there is the
fragment of a note by Mr. Wm. Maiuice, of Llansilin,
asft)Uows : " y Llyfr hwn W. M q.d ch.
Comparat. cum nostro B." On a fly-leaf at the com-
mencement of the second, he has written, " Bedu alias
Bed Lib. Bedu. yw arwyddyn y lljrfr hwn yn Nedd-
96 CATALOGUE OF HENGWRT MSS.
fgrawn W. M. Exam* ad Betam nostrum Bedu. q. d.
Lib. Beta du, canys yr un yw a Beta, neu B. 1663." In
like manner, to the last, he has written: "Frag, yw
anvyddyn y llyfrau hwn yn Neddfgrawn W. M. Exar-
miQat. ad nostrum Ass. aliqua transcribuntur ad finem
TBI." Small, thick 4 to, vellum and paper.
313. " Brud y Breninoedd," a quarto MS. of the four-
teenth century, on vellum, curiously illustrated in colours.
On a piece of vellum at the commencement is written,
in the autographs of Mr. Vaughan, the antiquary, and
Mr. Wm. Maurice, " Llyfr Robert Vaughan or Hengwrt
yn sir Feirionydd yw hwna, teste Guilielmo Mauricio
Llansiliensis." This MS. is slightly injured by rats.
314. "Brud y Breninoedd, vellinn, 4to, two inches
thick." I cannot find this MS., though I have noted it
as found in Mr. Aneurin Owen's printed catalogue. It
is probable that I may have done so before these MSS.
became mine, and that this one was mislaid before they
were sent to me. Perhaps it will yet be discovered.
315. Another copy of the " Brud y Breninoedd." This
is a small quarto MS., on vellum, the greater part of
which is of the thirteenth century, but a few leaver at
the end, which is imperfect, are later. On a fly-leaf,
Mr. Wm. Maurice, of LlansOin, has written, "Guil. Mau-
ricius Lansiliensis operculum huic MSS. impertit orbo
An. 1660"; and on another fly-leaf, in a hand of the
fifteenth, or very early in the sixteenth century, is writ-
ten, "Glyndwr Pan goronet Henry brenin y pedwaiydd
oet yr lessu mccco excepto duo Anno {sic) & y gwann-
wyn nessaf y llosget aber conwy . y vlwyddyn nessa i
kyvodes ywaia ap Gruff*, tridieu kyn gwyl vathev ar
gwyl vathev hwnno i Uosges ruthin Duw gwener nessa
ar hynny i bv y lladdva yn y vymwy. Anno M.ccccvj
ar dduw kalan mai i Uosges y sayson ysgopty llanelwy."
316. The British Histoiy, by Geoffrey of Monmouth,
in Latin. 4to, vellum, thirteenth century. At the end
of the volume, in the same hand, is a list of the Saxon
and Norman monarchs of England to the death of
Henry III, and it is continued, in a later hand, to the
end of the reign of Edward III.
AT PENIARTH. 97
317. Another copy of Geoflfrey of Monmouth's History,
in Latin. 8vo, on vellum, fifteenth century.
318. An imperfect copy of the "Brud yBrenhinoedd",
and commencement of the History of the Saxons. Vel-
lum, 4to, written in the year 1444, as appears by the
following note; " Llyma ual y teruyna ystoria y bren-
hinoedd brytaneit o brutus hyt Cadwalydyr vendigeit
yr hon a yscriuenawdd dauid ap meredith Clais : —
Llyma ual i dechreu ystoria brenhinedd y saesson a
yiichoelawdd y rac dj^ededic dauid o ladin yn gymraec
Get crist mil ccccxliiij**."
319. This MS. was written about the year 1587. It
contains entirely, history and chronology. Amongst the
more important of its contents are, a copy of the " Brud
y Tywysogion" (see No. 442); a Chronicle from Cad-
walader to Elizabeth, to which is the following heading,
" Y koronigl o gadwaladr vendigaid y brenhin diwaethaf
or brytaniad hyd at y frenhines Elssabeth." This Chro-
nicle ends in 1565; then follows a tract headed thus,
" llyma henwau y pedwar brenhin ar xx or brytaniaid a
farnwyd yn allvokaf yn gadamaf ac yn wrolaf i gwn-
kerio i adeilad ac i roi roddion ardderthawc"; after this
is a copy of the " Brud y Tywysogion''; and at the end
of the volume is a chronology, much of it being an almost
verbal copy of that in No. 8. I believe the whole of
this volume to be in the autograph of Griffith Hiraethog.
The two last tracts are injured by rats. 4to.
320. This is another copy of *' The Brute Chronicle''
(see Nos. 115, 429). It appears nearly to agree with
115, but to differ more from 429. Folio, fifteenth cen-
tury, very imperfect.
321. A valuable collection of transcripts of ancient
extents, ministers' accounts, coroners' rolls, and other
records, nearly all relating to the counties of Carnarvon,
Anglesey, and Merioneth; and nearly the whole in the
autograph of the antiquary, Robert Vaughan. They
embrace a very long period, commencing in the reign
of Edward III. At the end of the volume is a long list
of those of the county of Anglesey who were indicted
and fined, or outlawed, for their participation in the
98 CATALOGUE OF HENGWBT MSS.
rebellion of Owen Glyndwr. With these records is an
original account, between Sir John Salusbury, Knt., and
Lewis Owen, Esq., his deputy, well known as "the
Baron", for the year ending at Michaelmas 1 and 2 Philip
and Mary. It is dated at Lleweny, 2 Oct. 1555. Folio,
sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
322. This MS. is described in Mr. Aneurin Owen's
printed catalogue, aa containing "poetry, some of the
middle ages, the rest Cywyddau by various authors." I
have never seen, or never been able to identify it; which,
if there is no number upon it, is not improbable, from
Mr. Owen's description. Perhaps it may be amongst the
many MSS. in the Hengwrt Library, which are omitted
in his catalogue, but which will be added to this one.
323. Heraldry (see No. 413).
324. Avery large and valuable collection of pedigrees,
mostly a transcript of No. 96, but with many additions.
The greater part of it is in a hand very like that of the
antiquary, Robert Vaughan, but I believe it to be an
autograph of one of the Nanneys of Narmey, in Meri-
onethshire. Some of the additions have been made
later, in the last century. Large folio, seventeenth and
eighteenth centuries. This volume was given to the late
Lieut. -Colonel Vaughan, by his friend, the Rev. Robert
Owen, of Waenfach in the parish of Llanegryn.
326. The earlier part of this MS., which is injinred
and torn, was written by a Richard Owen between the
years 1550 and 1559 inclusive. Amongst the contents
worthy of notice are, — Advice to Yoimg Women, from
the Latin of Ludovicus Vives; the Prophecy of Sibli
ddoeth; " Henwau Arglwydd"; some pedigrees, amongst
them that of the Princes of Wales ; pedigrees of Welsh
saints, some imperfect ; charters relating to Chirk, and
confinnation of them by Edmund Earl of Arundel ; Pro-
phecy of Merlin; a letter from "John Ley'*, dated at
*' Bud worth, 18 Dec. 1632", upon subjects of religious
controversy ; proclamation of King James I relating to
preaching ; forms for funeral processions and precedency;
medical receipts. Folio, in Welsh, sixteenth and seven-
teenth centuries.
AT PENIARTH. 99
327. I have never seen, or never identified, this MS.,
which is described in Mr. Aneurin Owen s catalogues as
*' De rebus in Cambria gestis, precipue a Maelgwn Gwyn-
edd, by Mr. Robert Vaughan." Folio, one inch and a
half thick.
328. This MS. is incorrectly described by Mr. Aneurin
Owen, and on a label outside it, as " The Flammbe of
the Mountaigne Etthena." It is a fragment of Chaucer's
translation of " Boethius de Consolatione Philosophie.'*
Folio, upon vellum, fifteenth century.
329. Extracts from Camden s "Britannia, "beautifully
written by the antiquary, Robert Vaughan, with nume-
rous drawings of coins and copies of ancient inscriptions,
also by him. FoUo, Latin, seventeenth century.
330. This is a miscellaneous collection of transcripts,
all in Welsh, made by Jones of GellUyfdy, between the
years 1609 and 1612 mclusive. It contains the Destruc-
tion of Jerusalem by Titus, and Death of Pilate, a drama,
wherein the actors are — Hell personified, Satan, Christ,
the Saints, David, Esaias, Adam, Death, Devils, Habak-
kuk, Michael; Story of the Blessed OU; the Fifteen
Signs before the Day of Judgment; the Sufferings of
Christ, from the Gospel of St. Mathew(old translation);
account how " Elen' found the blessed Cross concealed
by the Jews ; the five Things that Christ did upon the
Cross ; four Ways in which Men resemble Angels ; the
seven Occin:rences to Man in dying ; the nine Ranks of
the Soul of Man ; Description of the Day of Judgment ;
the Purgatory of Patrick; the Pains of the Purga-
tory of Patrick, and Pleasures of the earthly Pai-adise ;
Dispute between the Soul and Body, translated from
the Latin by lolo Goch (see Williams's " Biographical
Dictionary;" Description of Humility. The last tract is,
in some parts, torn and imperfect. 4to.
331. The whole of this MS., in 4 to, is in the auto-
graph of Mr. John Jones, so often before mentioned. It
contains several tracts, in prose and verse, by Sion Tu-
dur, of Wigfair, Registrar of the Ecclesiastical Court of
St. A saph ; also his Perpetual Almanack, and the Travels
of Sir John Mandeville in verse ; the whole in Welsh,
100 CATALOGUE OF HENGWRT MSS.
and transcribed between the years 1605 and 1610, The
first and last tracts are imperfect. This Sion Tudyr
graduated ss " dysgybl pencerddiaid", in the great Eis-
teddvod held at Caerwys, May 26, 1568 (see Williams's
" Biographical Dictionary").
332. Another copy of the "Brud y Tywysogion."
This transcript is entirely in the hand of Jones of Gelli-
lyfdy. 4to, seventeenth century. Several leaves at the
beginning and end, and two in the middle, are injured,
or wanting. This MS. is referred to in the preface to
the ''Brut y Tywysogion" (8vo, London, I860, p. xlii).
See Nos. 16 and 57.
333. Lives of Apostles and Saints, in Welsh, entirely
in the hand of Jones of Gellilyfdy. These transcripts
were made by him between the years 1608 and 1611,
inclusive. At the end of the Life of St. Martin is the
following note : " Sion Trefor a droes y vuchedd honn
or Llading yn Cymraec a Guttun Owain ai hysgrifen-
nodd pan oedd oed Krist 1488: yn amser Harri 7, nid
amgen, y 3 vlwyddyn o goronedigaeth yr vn harri ; ac
wrth gopi yr vn Guttun yr ysgrifenwyd hwnn (medd
Rosier Morys) Anno Domini 1582, et 25 regni Elizabe-
the &c., a miiinau ai had ysgrifennais o law Roessier
Morys y 30 o fis Tachwedd oed Krist 1609." 4to.
334. History of Britain from various authors ; the
Destiniction of the Monastery of Bangor Iscoed; of
Arthur, King of the Britons ; Princes of North Wales ;
the Cities of Ancient Britain ; the first Session held at
Denbigh ; Five Visits of the Plague in Britain ; Scrip-
ture Genealogies ; Mythology ; Drudwas devoured by
his Birds, called "Adar Llwch Gwyn"; Severus Sulpe-
tius ; the whole in Welsh, and in the autograph of Jones
of GellUyfdy. At the end of one of the chronicles in
this volume (p. 137) is thfe following note: "Ag velly y
tervvna hyn, o kronikl a ysgrifennis i aUan o lyfr Tho-
ap Kys ap Howel ap levan Vychan (ar ddigwyl vair
gynta y 15 o Aust y vlwyddyn o oedran Krist 1604), yr
hwn a ysgrivenesed yn oedran Krist 1517." 4to.
(To he continued.)
101
CHRISTIAN INSCRIPTIONS IN THE IRISH
LANGUAGE.
The inscriptions of Ireland anterior to the English in-
vasion, have never yet been fuUy described or published.
The largest collection of such in existence was formed
by Dr. Petrie ; and it is the desire of his friends that his
drawings should now be published, in facsimile, with
such additions to the collection as have been made since
his death.
In the year 1822, Dr. Petrie first visited Clonmac-
nois, when he made drawings of a hundred and forty-
three inscriptions ; of which there are now but eighty-
six remaining, the rest having been broken up and lost,
or perhaps stolen by tourists. He made from ninety to
a hundred drawings of such inscriptions, in his visits to
other ecclesiastical establishments of Ireland, as St. Bre-
can's, of Aranmore. Some few of these are mere notes,
or unfinished sketches of the stones, and fresh drawings
will be required. In order to make this collection as
complete as possible, all such inscriptions as are found
on reliquaries, croziers, etc., such as those on the Soiscel
Molaise, the Cathach of Columcille, the Cross of Cong,
the Shrine of St. Patrick's BeU, and the Lismore Crozier,
will be added : making in aU about two hundred and
fifty inscriptions.
In his evidence before the Parliamentary Commission
of Inquiry into the Ordnance Survey of Ireland, Dr.
Petrie speaks of the deep impression made upon his
mind on the occasion of his first visit to Clonmacnois,
by the sight of the moniunenlal inscriptions then exist-
ing in that place, which was the cemetery of many of
the kings, bishops, and other distinguished men in Ire-
land^ from the sixth to the twelfth century; and he
adds, 'Hhose inscriptions which had never been previ-
102 CHRISTIAN INSCRIPTIONS
oiisly noticed, or at least explamed, I found, from re-
ference to books which I had with me at the place,
presented the names of some of the most distinguished
people, during that period, that figured in Irish, and
some of them even in British, history. For instance,
one of the first inscriptions that I copied was that of
Suibhne Mac Maelhumaei, an ecclesiastic who was the
most celebrated for his learning in Ireland in the ninth
century, and had been invited over to England by Alfred
the Great, where he obtained so much fame that his
death was recorded in all the English, Saxon, and Welsh
chronicles." Also, in a letter addressed to Sir Bernard
Burke, on the genealogy of the O'Melaghlins, Dr. Petrie
remarks — " Clonmacnois was the lona of Ireland, or
rather, lona was the Clonmacnois of Scotland — ^namely,
the place of sepulture of most of the royal families of the
country, as the O'Melaghlins, hereditary kings of Meath,
and in alternate succession with the northern O'NeiUs,
kings of Ireland ; the O'Conors, kings of Coimaught ;
the Macarthys, of Desmond, or South Munster ; the
O'Kellys, of Hymanie; the MacDermota, of Moylurg,
etc., etc. ; of whom all those I have enumerated, with
several others, had erected churches, or mortuary chapels,
within the cemetery, which bore the family name, and
within which none but the members of those families,
respectively, were formerly allowed to be interred."
One great element of interest in this collection of the
inscriptions at Clonmacnois is that we have here upwards
of a hundred and seventy stones, which, being more or
less arranged in sequence, form a complete series, rang-
ing from the seventh down to the twelfth century, show-
ing the gradual development and progress of the art of
palaeography and of sculpture in Ireland, and which may
thus serve as a key to the approximate date of such
works elsewhere in the British Islands. Many of these
stones seem to have been identified, and this identificar
tion rendered more or less certain by bringing three
forms of evidence to bear on each stone; first, the
identification of the name in the Annals ; second, the
IN THE IRISH LANGUAGE. 103
study of the palaeograpHcal and philological fonns and
peculiarities observable in the inscriptions themselves ;
thirdly, the amount of artistic power displayed, and the
growth and development of certain designs at certain
periods.
Having, then, this series to start from, we can form
some estimate of the date of other examples of sculpture
in Ireland, always allowing for the superior skill in art
which would naturally be exhibited in so central a school
of learning as that of Clonmacnois, when compared with
the wild and lonely regions of Kerry, or the desert rocks
of the islands of the Atlantic.
In the first place it must be stated that this work
consists merely of those inscriptions which are written
in the localised Roman, or, as it is popularly called, the
Irish character, all of which obviously belong to the
Christian Age ; therefore, those which are in the Ogham
or occult characters, and which have such a peculiar inte-
rest from the uncertainty which as yet attends their
history, will have no place in this volume, excepting
where they occiu- in company with the Roman letter.
One example of such has been found at Clonmacnois on
the stone marked Caiman hocht, the latter word, which
means poor, being in the Ogham character. Another
is that at Kilfountain, near Dingle, in Kerry, the stone
of Finten, who founded the church in that district a.d.
683. However, the most interesting of these particular
stones is that discovered by the Rev. Mr. Shearman at
Killeen Cormac, in the County of Wicklow, the inscrip-
tion, in Roman characters, on which is iweri drvides;
and the Ogham has been read "Duftanos Saei Sahattos,"
meaning " Duftan Chief Sage." So that it is supposed
to be the tomb of the chief Druid of King Laery
(Laeghaire) Duftach, whose conversion by St. Patrick,
A.D. 455, is described in the ancient life of that Saint by
Muirchu Maccumachtheni, written towards the close of
the seventh century.
In two of these mscriptions the form of the lettering
is that of the Roman uncial, the letter s being in the
104 CHRISTIAN INSCRIPTIONS
form of the figure 8. As we advance towards the eighth
century we have more varieties, particularly in the let-
ters A, D, N, and o. These may all be classed imder two
terms, angular, or roimd, the rudeness or perfection of
the roimding seeming to vary more with the degree of
skill in the artist than with the period, whether early
or late, of the stone. N is sometimes shaped like h or u.
The lozenge-shaped o on the Roscommon inscription, and
on the stone of Cholumbon, a.d. 652, as well as on the
Ardagh chalice, is characteristic of seventh century work
in Anglo-Saxon art. It occurs in the RuthweU cross in
the word adoramus.
The letters A and u are so often formed alike that
mistakes have occurred in consequence in the reading of
certain inscriptions where these letters are used. Bonait
has been read Bonuit, and Cathail has been read Cathuil
on the stone of Corpre MacAthaQ at Glendalough. This
accident has occurred from the partial erasing of the
top line of the A in many instances. In the same way
s and F may be often confused, from the disappearance
or indistinctness of the central cross stroke of the F.
1. — ALPHABET OP THE SEVENTH CBUTUBT.
hiL7iiiyc>fC|
f'^i'c^y'^Z.
2.*-ALPHABET OP THE ELEVENTH CENTURY.
TnriQp
[Lsr^cuv
IN THE IRISH LANGUAGE. 105
As we advance from the ninth to the twelfth centuries
no very important change in the actual form of the letters
takes place, but their gradual growth in grace and dig-
nity is very striking. The beautiful heart-shaped D, so
often seen in the book of Kells, first appears on the
stones of the early part of the tenth century, whUe the o
is long and graceful, and pointed at the bottom. A com-
parison between the forms of the letters on the Abece-
darium stone at Kilmalkedar, and the stone of Joseph
at Roscommon (see alphabet 1), with the noble forms of
those in the twelfth century of Maehnighel and Mael-
iohn eps, a.d. 1172 (see alphabet 2), wm at once bear
testimony to the progress, not only in execution, but in
dignity and refinement of feehng, which waa being car-
riSi on up to that period. ^ ^
While the various shapes of the letters thus illustrate
the history of writing in this coimtry, the philologist
may discover some interesting declensional forms in the
inscriptions, simple, and in but few words, as they are.
O'Donovan, in his grammar, and the editor of Cormac's
Glossary y in his notes to that work, quote some of these
Irish inscriptions as ofiering the most correct examples
of certain philological forms, such as the aspiration of
certain letters, a grammatical pecuHarity, the general
use of which distinguishes the Irish Gaelic, and other
cognate dialects, from all modem languages; or such a
singular form as that found in the very ancient inscrip-
tion before mentioned at Roscommon, where we have an
instance of what O'Donovan terms '^eclipsis", or "the
suppression of the sounds of certain radical consonants
by prefixing others of the same organ"; but which Zeuss
{Gra/m. CeTt., i, p. 200) more correctly describes as a
change in the first letters of words following pronouns,
prepositions, or particles, terminating with the letter n.
The various forms of the symbol of the cross which
appear on these Irish tombstones, and the gradual de-
velopment of artistic feeling shown in the senes from the
seventh to the eleventh century, is the next point of inte-
rest in the collection. Of the earUer Christian symbols
4th 8EB. VOL. I. 8
106 CHRISTIAN INSCRIPTIONS
found in the cataxx,mb8 we have 8ca«3ely any example in
this countiT. The anchor, symbol of Hope, — ^the dove, of
the Holy Spirit, the paJin leaf, emblem of Peace, are
never foimd engraved on the Irish stones, while the
ship, emblematic of the Church of Christ, has only been
found carved in the soffit of a window in the Round
Tower at Roscrea ; and the fish, symbol both of Christ
and the Christian — ^which De Rossi tells us never appears
as a symbol in Christian art in Italy after the fiftn cen-
tury — occurs but once in this country, on a stone pro-
bably of the eighth century, that of Oidacan, at Fuerty,
in the County of Roscommon. The cross, Dr. Northcote
tells us, is neither the earUest nor the most common of
Christian symbols, and the Abbe Martigny adds that no
monument of certain date presents us with either a
Greek or a Latin cross before the fifth century. It is
possible that, in the first and the persecuted period of
the Church, this sign could not be fireely exposed to
pubHc gaze, and one of the first places in which we
meet with it is in a loculus in the lowest floor of the
crypt of St. Lucina, where a simple Greek cross appears,
with an inscription; and, in bas-reliefs, on the early
Christian sarcophagi representing the miracle of the
loaves and fishes, the bread is inscribed with this mark
of the cross within the circle, which is also seen on a
cake represented in one of the great illuminated pages
of the Book of KeUs. It seems, in fact, to have been a
baker s mark of great antiquity, such as is found to have
been put on the ancient Egyptian bread.
When it is remembered that Christianity was intro-
duced into Ireland between the fourth and fifth cen-
turies, and that the first monuments of Christian art
date from the sixth and seventh centuries, it is an
interesting fact that this cross within the circle is that
which is found on the oldest stones in Ireland, and we
have one authentic example of such a cross being carved
on a rock in St. Patrick's time. This interesting me-
morial is near the Church of Kilmore, in the County of
Mayo, at a place called Lia na Manach. The creation
of this cross is described in the Acts of Patrick by Tire-
m THE IRISH LANGUAGE.
107
ehan preserved in the Book of Armagh, folio 1 5 ; and
its situation is dearly pointed out in the Tripartite life
of that saint. Among the earUest and rudest looking
of oiu* inscribed stones are those of Kilmalkedar, Gal-
larus, KiLfountain, and. Reask, which are all decorated
with the cross within the circle. So also with one of
the oldest stones in Aran, " Sancti Brecani,'' but that in
this one, which appears to be of later date, a further de-
velopment is seen in the introduction of a smaller circle
in the centre, where the cross-lines intersect.
2
3
JLD. 400 to 500.
500 to 600.
600.
M
Jtw
A.D. 600 to 700.
An ornamental design of much interest in the history
of Celtic art is found on the Abecedarium stone in Kerry.
It is a spiral ornament at the ends of the shaft and
* 6 arms of the cross, which seems
to have been a common form iq
the north of Italy, a few exam-
ples of which may be seen on
monuments in Ravenna, Tor-
cello, and San Ambrogio at Milan.
The first dated example of this
design which we have in Ireland is in the stone of
Temohc Macceran, at Kilnasaggart, who died a.d. 716,
but many crosses are still standing in Aran, Innismiuray,
Inniscealtra, and Limerick, which are thus decorated.
In No. 6, the cross on the tomb of Forces, about the
beginning of the eighth centmy, we see a curious modi-
fication of the form of the cross with the circle, shewing
a transition fi:om the Greek to the Irish cross, which
latter form seems almost the only one in use in the
eighth century. Many new crosses appear to have been
iutroduced between the years 800 and 900, some of
which are mere geometrical patterns, evidently soon
8»
108
CHRISTIAN INSCRIPTIONS
rejected, as they deserved to be, for their want of beauty
in design, such as Nos. 7 and 8, the stones of Orthanach,
who died a.d. 809; and Blaithmac, who died 891; and
Jerome (No. 9), which last is more interesting than the
former, since it would seem to symbolise at once the
doctrine of the Unity and Trinity with that of the cross ;
the drcle. the cross, aixd the triangle, being aJl therein
combmed,
6
A curious variety, which seems to belong to this period,
is found very often in the islands off the west coast of
Ireland. It has two, and sometimes three arms ; the
widest being at the top, instead of the bottom as in the
10
11
18
4
C
(^-^
3
papal cross and the patriarchal cross of the Holy Sepul-
chre. This example (No. 10) comes from the tomb of
Tighemac in Aran. The plain Latin cross ia also
sometimes seen on stones of the ninth century, such as
IN THE IRISH LANGUAGE. 109
those of Finnachtu (No. 11), King of Leinster, who died
A.D. 848, and Cen[nedig] (No. 12). This form first
appears in Italy, on a coin issued by Galla Placidia, in
the year 451. A great stride forward seems to have
been made in sculpture from the end of the ninth to the
eleventh century, and the increase of grace and beauty
of form in the crosses themselves was equal to that of
the letters and ornamental design in the work which
accompanied them. One glance at the outline of the
crosses of Maelphatric, Maelfinnia (abbot of Clonmao-
nois), and Odran hua Eolais (scribe of Clonmacnois),
who all died in the tenth century, will shew at once
that such work may, indeed, belong to the same period
of art-development as the great crosses of Clonmacnois
and Monasterboice, erected at that time.
A few words may now be added on the different forms
of ornamental designs found upon these stones.
With the exception of the zigzag or chevron, and the
trumpet-pattern, no design found on the carved stones
oi pagan Ireland bears the least resemblance to the
ornamental work of Christian Ireland in the ninth cen-
tury ; and even in the case of these two exceptions, the
resemblance is little more than in name, as few could
see much similarity between the chevron design in Nor-
man architecture and the rude zigzags on the stones in
the interior of New Grange. So also with the trumpet-
pattern. There seem to be two distinct developments of
this de8ign,-one pagan, such as is seen on our ancient
bronze utensils; and the other Christian, as in the
divergent spirals of the illuminated MSS. of the seventh
and eighth centuries, and the oldest of our shrines or
other ecclesiastical relics, as well as on the sculptured
stones of the ninth and tenth centuries.
The next ornamental design which occurs about this
period seems to be of foreign extraction. It is the so-
called Greek fret, or gammadion, two examples of which
are here given (Nos. 13, 14) from the stones of Findan
and Maelan, who, if rightly identified with similar names
occurring in the annals, died A.D. 800, 848. This latter
110
CHRISTIAN INSCRIPTIONS
design, which is of common occxirrence in our illuminated
MSS. and other monuments of our ancient art, cannot
be said to be in any particular way characteristic of this
art. It is found, at a very early period, in various
countries and among various races, from Yucatan, China,
and Egypt, down to the Byzantine period in Europe.
13
16
16
Bl {fBl[!glplBg||fBl&si
14
865 to 950.
But the art-instinct of the Celtic people gave birth to
varieties and modifications of this design which are met
with in the work of no other people ; and by throwing
the lines diagonally, which in the original are at right
angles, they made that beautiful pattern so common in
its various changes and singular forms on all our ancient
monuments. Tne first example of this design, in this
collection, is seen on the stone of Fechtnach, who died
A.D. 866 (see figs. 15, 16, 17, 18).
17
18
To this period also belong those stones which shew
the first examples of the use of animal forms in sculp-
19
20
&^^
ture. ^ On the stone of Cobthac, abbot of Clonmacnois,
who died a.d. 807, that curious, lizard-like animal (fig. 1 9)
IN THE IKISH LANGUAGE. HI
is three times represented, whicli was such a favourite
among ovir old scribes, who never ceased to delight in
curling and plaiting its long 21
tail. The dog s head (%. 20)
is foimd on a small fragment
lately discovered by the Rev.
James Graves at the Nun-
nery Church, Clonmacnois;
and the fish (fig. 21) is seen
on the stone 01 Oidacan, at Fuerty ia the coimty of
Roscommon.
The use of the fish among the early Christians of Italy
as a sign of the name of Christ began to die out in Italy
in the third centiu-y, and ceased altogether in the fifth,
-when we must suppose it found its way into Ireland. It
occurs more or less frequently in the Books of Kells and
of Armagh, and Mr. Stuart tells* us it is on eleven of the
stones of Scotland, so that we may naturally feel sinrprise
at finding it on only one stone in this collection. Indeed
the use of symbols as such, and unconnected with orna-
mental design, never seems to have been in favoxu* in
Ireland, and no examples of those forms, so common in
Scotland, of the spectacle ornament, the elephant, the
mirror, etc., are found ia our art.
From the tenth to the twelfth century the Irish seem
to have excelled ia the art of stone sculpture, and the
date of the crosses of Clonmacnois, and Monasterboice,
and Tuam, having been fixed by Dr. Petrie as belonging
to the years 916, 923, and 1128, it is natural to suppose
that crosses of a similar character, scattered through
Ireland, belong to the same period. Of the ornamental
designs most commonly found on these crosses, the ex-
amples figs. 22 to 28 are among the most interesting.
The triquetra, as this form of knot is called, is doubtless
symbolical of the Trinity (figs. 22 a, &), and in such
a design as the latter, where we find a circle enclosing
four triquetras interlaced, and forming a cross, occurring,
as it does, on monuments of pictorial and metaUurgic
art of the period between the years 900 and 950,, and
1
112 CHRISTIAN INSCRIPTIONS
on tombstones still lying in the burial ground of Clon-
macnois, such as that of Maelfinnia, who died a.d. 991,
or Odran hu Eolais, the scribe of Clonmacnois, who died
in the year 994, and at Glendalough on the stone of Diar-
mait at Glendalough, a.d. 955, we may conclude that
such other examples as occur on stones which cannot be
identified, belong to about the same period.
It now remains to be seen whether the conclusions as
to date, arrived at by the study of the gradations in the
forms of the letters and of the crosses, correspond with
the period to be assigned to these stones by the identifi-
cation of the names inscribed with persons mentioned in
the Annals as connected with Clonmacnois.
The extreme simplicity of form in these inscriptions,
although beautiful from its harmony with the unosten-
tatious and humble piety of the early Christian Church,
being, as in almost all cases, merely the request for a
prayer or a blessing on the soul of the being who sleeps
beneath, yet prevents their being of the same historic
value as if they contained a more detailed account of
those whose names they commemorate ; and though
Clonmacnois is more fortunate than many of the reli-
gious houses of Ireland, in leaving preserved a list, more
or less perfect, of its abbots, yet, unfortunately, the
brevity of our early annals is such that, in addition to
their names, parentage, and race, we seldom learn any-
thing further than the years in which they died.
However, the fact of the mere identification of the !
names of a certain number of the abbots, scribes, and \
bishops, which identification is supported by the testi- /
mony brought to bear on the question of their date by
palaeographical and artistic observation, is an important
one, and a still fuller historic interest may be found to
exist in some instances.
Two of the finest and most perfectly ornamented stones
at Clonmacnois are those of celebrated scribes, Odran
hu a Eolais, and Suibhne Mac Maelhumaei. This epi-
thet of scribe. Dr. Petrie tells us, is not to be under-
stood in the simple literal sense, as signifying a writer
IN THE IRISH LANGUAGE. 113
or transcriber, in which it was first used, but in that
wider meaning of both writer and author which grew
out of the frequent union of these characters in the same
individual.
These stones, along with the great standing crosses,
are works of a period when Clonmacnois seemed to
enjoy unwonted peace and security, when her ancient
edifices were restored, and some of her new ones created
— ^from the last devastations and robberies of the Danes
under Turgesius, in the beginning of the ninth centuiy,
up to the renewed invasion of the barbarians in the com-
mencement of the tenth.
In the eleventh century we have the stone of Fecht-
na^h, a learned reader and priest of Cluain, abbot of Hy,
and afterwards abbot of all Ireland. This stone may
have been raised to his memory, as he died in Rome,
A.D. 1024, whither he had gone on a pilgrimage.
At this period the family of Conn na-mbocht, or
"Conn, the mther of the poor," and head of the Hospital
of Clonmacnois, held distinguished places in the estab-
lishment of Clonmacnois. Conn was descended from
Gorman, abbot of Louth, who, in the year 753, came to
f)erform pilgrimage at Clonmacnois; and who, having
easted on bread and water at St. Finnen's Well for a
whole year, died and was interred there.
Seven tombstones were found by Dr. Petrie at Clon-
macnois, the names inscribed on which are identical with
those of members of this family, and six of which are
marked by the same form of cross, with identically the
same ornamental design carved in the central circle, fi-om
which the shaft and arms of the cross spring. The first
of this series is the stone of Dunadach, lector of Clon-
macnois, its anmchara, or soul-friend (the beautiful Irish
name for father confessor), and afterwards the head of
its rule and history. He died a.d. 953, and was named
the senior of the race of Conn na-mbocht. The next
stone is inscribed "Or' do Chunn" (pray for Conn), and
is marked with the same cross which follows in the
whole series. The third bears the name of Maelfinnia,
114 CHRISTIAN INSCRIPTIONS
the son of Conn "of the poor/' who was bishop of Clon-
macnois, and died in the year 1056. The fourth stone
marks the grave of another son, Maelciaran, who was
Airchinnech, or steward, of the hospital of St. Ciaran in
1072; he was called *' the principal saint of Cluain, and
head of the religion of all Ireland in his time." The
fifth stone is that of Maelmaire, who was the author of
the Annals of Cluain, the compiler or transcriber of the
Leabhar na-huidre, in which he is mentioned as the son
of Conn na-mbocht (O'Curry's Lectures, p. 138). The
sixth stone is that of Gillachiist, son of Conn na-mbocht,
called in the Annals the best ecclesiastical student that
was in Ireland in his time, the glory and ornament of
Clonmacnois. He died in the year 1085.
Arid the last name belonging to this family, which we
we can hope to identify, is that of the Bishop Thomas
O'Cuin, who died in 1279. He was a Franciscan friar,
confirmed by King Henry III on the 20th of February,
1252 — English style. He filled the episcopal chair for
twenty-seven years. The see was afterwards vacant
two years. During the next two centuries, the period
of the Anglo-Norman invasion, Clonmacnois was gradu-
ally shorn of her ancient splendour and renown.
However, it may be said, in conclusion, that the prin-
cipal merit of this collection is that, when taken together,
they are found to form a weU marked national class in
the great collection of Christian inscriptions, and the art
which accompanies them is essentially Irish. Much has
been said and written to prove the identity of the schools
which produced the Scotch, the so-called Anglo-Saxon,
the Manx, and the Welsh sculptured stones, with the
Irish. In all, we do indeed find the same ornamental
material used, interlacings, trumpet patterns, diagonal
patterns, serpents, etc. ; but this similarity in detail
proves nothing further than inter-communication. So
total a dissimilarity of spirit and feeling for art exists in
the works of these different countries, that it becomes
impossible to conceive their productions as belonging to
the same school. It would be difficult to find two works
-f^
s \
IN THE IRISH LANGUAGE. 115
of art more different in character than the simple and
chaste form of the cross to Maelfinnia, and the rude and
barbarous extravagance of the Scotch slab at Halkirk
in Caithness.^ Something more than archaeology is re-
quired to perceive this. To the mere archsBologian an-
tiquity is eveiything, and art nothing, but the mind of
the great man who formed this collection was one of
wider grasp, and such a mind as hjs is required to per-
ceive the qualities which form the essential elements
and the individuality of Irish art. It is not in the
quantity, it is not even in the nature of ornamental de-
tail, that true merit lies, it is in its use, and in that in-
definable quality which, for want of a better word, we
term feeling. It is unreasonable to call sculpture, how-
ever perfect, which is merely encrusted on an object,
ornament.^ Decoration is beautiful only when foimd in
its right place, when adding to the effect of the funda-
mental form to be adorned ; and when held in subordi-
nation and subjection to the primary idea, a noble re-
serve of power is felt to exist, which comes forth at the
right time, and in the right place, to aid in the expres-
sion of the essential elements of the subject, emphasising
its important points, and adding clearness to the beauty
of its outline.
These qualities in the mind of the Irish artist, visible
more in the smaller initial letters of the Book of Kells
than in the greater illuminated pages, more in these
simple sepulchral slabs than in the greater crosses, of a
just appreciation of the right application of ornament,
of a temperate and wisely governed delight in it, united
to delicate and tender execution, were remarked by Mr.
Ruskin, in his late visit to Dublin, as strikingly promi-
nent in many of the architectural works in the present
day in Ireland.
In conclusion. Dr. Petrie draws our attention to the
form in which these inscriptions are worded, and the
^ See Sculptured Stones of Scotland (Stuart), vol. ii, pi. 79, p. 40«
^ See " Treatment of Ornament," The Stones of Venice^ vol. i, pp.
230, 261.
116 CHRISTIAN INSCRIPTIONS, ETC.
amount of interest that belongs to them, as evidence of
the widespread faith that has left its mark on the very
rocks and stones yet lying on " the green hills of holy
Ireland," and also of the peculiar phase of Christian feel-
ing, of which our art, taken as a whole, is expressive,
as diflfering in its tone from that of the catacombs. In
the infancy of the Christian Church all other thoughts
seemed lost in the new assurance of faith in a happy
resurrection; the first "great joy" with which we are
told the disciples returned to Jerusalem when they had
seen their Lord carried up into heaven had not yet sub-
sided, and so all the symbols that spoke of this faith, all
the art that sprang from it, told only of hope, of peace,
of rest, and even of rejoicing, in the thougnt of death.
The emblems of the passion and the crucifixion were as
yet unknown, but aa time passed on, as was observed by
a late writer on art in the Quarterly Review^ other seed
was sown, and began to bear fruit in solemn forms and
strange meanings, which tell of the changes in kingdoms,
and the infusion of new races. The mysticism of a
mythology engendered imder ruder skies, seemed, as it
were, to give birth to other forms in axt. among the
northern races, and other and sadder phases of Christian
feeling, and so a decorative art also arose, which is thus
described by one of the Benedictine authors of the
Nouveau Traite Diplomatique, " Les omements des let-
tres grises Anglo-saxonnes semblent n'^tre le fruit que
d imaginations atroces et m^lancoliques, janlais d id6es
riantes, tout se ressent de la durete du chmat." Designs
that seem an effort to express, as to create, a sense of
diflSculty, and a something incomprehensible, though
not confused, in their entangled coils and in fi nite wind-
ings, in their strange knottings and network, forming,
indeed, fit symbols of the inexplicable mystery of our
faith and of our life. And in their sepulchral art, not
the palm-leaf, or the dove, or the anchor, with the
words requiescit in pace, or dormivit, are to be seen, but
the cross, and the sadder, though still faithful, prayer
for intercession.
I
\
\
117
AVENUE AND CAENS ABOUT ARTHUE'S STONE
IN GOWER.
i {C<mcluded.)
V In an interesting paper by the Rev. E. L. Barnwell,
1 in the Archceologia Cambrensis of April, 1869, he
J observes that certain kinds of monuments are found in
some countries, which are rare or wanting in others;
and his remarks are well worthy of consideration. He
also states that "alignments" of stone are "extremely"
rare in Wales, and "are unknown in these islands except
on a small and irregular scale/' When, however, this
term "alignments" is applied not to a single line of
stones, but also to avenues, or double lines, it must be
admitted that Dartmoor presents a greater number of
I them than any other part of the country. There, too, is
i a rare instance, in England at least, of a double avenue,
of three parallel lines of stones, on Chillacombe Down ;
and the accidental circumstance of the avenues on Dart-
moor being small, compared to the larger ones in France,
in no way affects the purpose for which they were in-
tended, nor the interest that attaches to them. And,
indeed, Mr. Barnwell agrees with Mr. Stuart, and cites
his very high authority to show that "as there is no
reason why the nature and use of the smallest circle
should be considered different from that of the largest,
so such humble alignments as we possess probably differ
\ only in extent, and the number of lines, from the largest
ones of Camac." This remark is perfectly just; and he
notices the singular fact that while circles, so numerous
here, are "almost entirely wanting" in Britanny, another
class of monuments, avenues, is abundantly represented
in that country, where they are conspicuous for their
length, and for the many lines of large stones which
compose them. But, though smaller than in Britanny,
the double line is, in reality, folly represented in
118 AVENUES.
England : and as it is admitted that in their nature and
use the smallest are similar to the largest; the two
avenues of Abiny or Avebury, that of Stanton Drew^,
and that of Snap, according to Stukely, 70 feet
broad/ and the eight of smaller stones on Dartmoor' (two
near Merivale Bridge; one at Throwlsworthy; two at
Hayter Tor; and three at Castor, respectively 382,
554, and 690 ft. in length) suffice to proclaim a common
custom in both coimtries. They also show their con-
nexion with cams, small circles, and long upright stones,
all which are sepulchral objects in England, as well as
in France. And though so smaU, they give great in-
sight into the general character of avenues, from the
variety in their arrangement in connection with other
monuments. Thev consist of two lines, and a single
"alignment" is of very rare occurrence. There are,
however, two single lines near the avenues at Castor;*
and I have heard of one in Cornwall, near St. Colonab.
The real object of avenues is not easily ascertained.
It may be questioned if, when connected with tombs,
they were generally intended for processions, or with
funeral ceremonies in honour of the deceased; and this
doubt seems to be confirmed by the narrowness of some
on Dartmoor, in which two men could not walk abreast ;
and by their being frequently closed in the middle by a
circle or a cam. They appear rather to be honorary
adjuncts to the tomb, whether it be a cam, a circle, or
other monument : sometimes on one, sometimes on
two sides ; and instances are found where, besides the
avenue in front, a line of stones is placed on each of the
^ At Stanton Drew I traced, on one of the stones of the small
circle, what appeared to be a ring with a round dot in the centre,
but differing from the concentric rings of Northumberland and of
Long Meg in Cumberland.
^ He supposes it had two hundred stones on each side.
^ The plans I made of these avenues have been given, on a reduced
scale, in the Journal of the British Archffiological Association, vols,
xvi and xviii. For a full account of Dartmoor, see that very satis-
factory book, Ter ambulations of Dartmoor^ by Rev. Samuel Rowe.
* See my plan of the avenues of Castor in the Journal of the
British ArchsBological Association, vol. xvi, Plate 6.
AVENUES. 119
other three sides, leading up to the circle in the centre,
as at Classemich or Callemich; thus explaining the
accidental resemblance they bear to a cross, and oppos-
ing the idea of their being avenues in the real sense of
that wori Some, indeed, resemble roads. But those
connected with large circles (as at Abury and Stanton
Drew, which were not buried under tumuU) may have
been used for processions, even though such circles may
also prove to be sepulchral.
On the opinion I have here expressed respecting the
connexion of avenues with tombs, Mr. Barnwell has very
obligingly sent me the following remarks : " This view
is still further confirmed by the examples existing in
the modem Algeria, where are combinations of several
parallel lines of stones forming rectangular parallelo-
gratos, or almost squares, and in this respect much more
dosely resembling some of the Camac groups than the
more ordinary avenues of two or three rows. Plans of
some of these monuments will be found in the eighth
volume of the Hemce Arch^ologiquey on reference to
which it will be seen that they are undoubtedly con-
nected with burial-places. In less degree, but still to
some extent, the same view is supported by Olaus Mag-
nus, who wrote a wonderful account of the country of
the Goths and Swedes. This worthy archbishop of
Upsal tells iLs that when these large obelisks of stone
are set up in square fasliion, they mark, or are connected
with, the graves of warriors as distinguished from the
burial-places of private families, which were surrounded
with stones set in circular form. A Ithough this distinc-
tion cannot, of course, be admitted, yet this statement
of the stones being merely a kind of sepulchral memo-
rial is one that does seem to support your view of these
lines of stones being a kind of adjunct to graves,
although the exact character and particular use of them
cannot at the present time be considered finally deter-
mined."
Several avenues are mentioned in South Wales, but
I have not met with them ; and some, like that of Meinau
120 AVENUE IN PEMBROKESHIRE.
Gwr^ (mentioned by Camden), have been destroyed. I
was, however, more fortunate, through the kindness of
Mr. and Mrs. Lort Phillips of Laurenny, in seeing one
which has not, I believe, been described. It is in l^em-
brokeshire, not far from Benton Castle, and part of it
runs towards the village of Benton.* It is one of the
largest and most important in these islands ; for though
it is not so broad as those at Abury(one of which appears
to have been 25 ft., with stones 14 to 15 ft. high, 12 ft.
6 ins. long, and 3 ft. 9 ins. thick; the other, 43 ft. wide),
nor as the Stanton Drew avenue (about 32 ft. wide), yet
it is much larger than those of Dartmoor,^ being 10ft.
6 ins. wide, or 14 ft. 6 ins. to the outside of uie two
lines. Some of the stones are from 3 ft. 10 ins. to 4 ft.
2 ins. high, by 2 ft. 10 ins. broad, with an average
height of 2 ft. 2 ins.; and the total length of this wind-
ing avenue measures, as far as its course continues im-
interruptedly, 2,250 ft. It is even probable that it
continued to the south-east, in the direction of Benton
Castle, which would give to its principal branch a length
of more than a mile, exclusive of the part leading towards
Benton village. The stones are not placed very far
from each omer, and in a distance of 500 ft. I counted
fifty-three ; but the spaces between them vary, as does
the size of the stones; and many of them have been
taken away for fences and other purposes.
In that part below the high rocks, where it turns
to the northward, and descends to the wood in the
vaUey below, the stones are placed close together, not
upright, but on their sides, — a change which was pro-
bably made in later times to adapt them for a fence ;
and at the point where it enters the wood, some blocks
seem to indicate another bend, to east-south-east, unless
they have been placed there at a later time as part of
the fence.
1 Or Meini Gwyr. See my " Cromlechs and Remains in Pem-
brokeshire," in the Collectanea Archoeologica, p. 225, 1869.
^ I have here given the rongh plan I made of it in 1862.
* One of those on Dartmoor is only 2 ft. 5 ins. in width, with
stones varying from 1 ft. to 1 ft. 7 ins. in height.
1
i
J
I
I
« »
KOBTBBBM AXD BOUTHBBM CBOKLKBa OF RsAmILI DOWX.
1S« p. St of ^relwelofla Cambmhi, llli S«r.. No. I.)
AVENUE IN PEMBROKESHIRE. 121
To the westward from the rocks it took another direc-
tion; but two stones alone remain to indipate its former
course in that part.
In the field about 500 ft. north-east of these rocks is
an upright stone, 5 ft. 3 ins. high, by 2 ft. 3 ins. and
2 ft^ thick; and in the open space, nearly 400 ft. from
the point where the avenue turns off to the south,
towards Benton village, is a stone, lately fallen, which
measures 7 ft. 6 ins. to 8 ft. 6 ins. in length by 5 ft.
8 ins. and 2 in thickness ; supposed to have belonged
to a cromlech, though there is nothing to verify this
conjecture. Many other large blocks are still standing
to the south-east, below Benton, towards the road to
Williamston; and two miles from that village is a crom-
lech which I could not visit ; and, indeed, I regret not
having been able to return to this neighbourhood, and
examine it more thoroughly. I have, however, seen
sufficient to claim for South Wales the possession of an
avenue of unusual length and importance.
Gardner Wilrinsok
Biynfield Honse, Qower,
QIamorgan.
122
ALABASTER EELIQUARY FOUND IN CALDEY
ISLAND, PEMBROKESHIEE,
WITH NOTICES OF AN OBJECT OF THE. LIKE DESCEIPTION
EXISTING IN ANGLESEY.
{Reprinted, by permission, from the ArchceologicaZ Journal
of the Royal Archceological Institute.)
The coasts of South Wales, the island -refuges also with
which its rocky sea-board is so thickly margined, abound
in vestiges of the earliest times when Christianity was
introduced into that remote district of Cambria. It has
been observed by the historian of Pembrokeshire, in
noticing the conventual establishments of Tenby and its
vicinity, and the ancient reputation of that town for
sanctity, that every insulated rock oflf the coast had its
cell and its anchorite.^ If we survey the rugged shores
from St. Bride s Bay and the site of the Roman Menevia,
we cannot fail to notice the frequent occurrence of sites
hallowed by ancient tradition, — Ramsey Island, the
resting-place of the missionary Devanus in the second
century; the ruined chapels of St. Nun and St. Justi-
nian; Capell y Pistill at Porthclais, the birth-place of
St. David, and the Holy Well in which he received
baptism ; St. Ishmael's, the reputed refuge of the ancho- I
rite Caradoc; the curious hermitage also and healing |
Well of St. Go van ; with numerous other sites renowned j
in the legends of Welsh hagiography.
As we approach the picturesque old town of Tenby,
the precipitous insulated rock presents itself, on which
traces may be discerned of the chapel of St. Catherine ;
to the southward are the islands of Caldey and St. Mar-
garet's, or Little Caldey, about a mile from the shore.
On the latter still exist remains of a chapel of consider-
able size (?) ; whilst in Caldey, an island stUl fertile in
corn, and containing a population of thirty families,
there are ruins of a conventual church and establishment
^ Fenton, Hist. Tour through PemhroTceshire, p. 437.
RELIQUARIES IN SOUTH WALES AND ANGLESEY. 123
of some importance, — the square tower with a spire of
stone, the nave, chancel, and other portions of the de-
vastated fabric are to be seen, forming a picturesque
object; with the vaulted refectory, as supposed, and
venerable relics of a structure that appears to have been,
doubtless for security on so perilous a coast, semi-
castellated and embattled. The greater part was con-
sidered by Mr. Fenton to be of the age of the first
monastic pile. The church, I regret to state, has been
used in recent times as a brewhouse. There is also, near
the road of approach from the beach, an ancient chapel,
probably the same noticed in 1478 by William of Wor-
cester, as dedicated to St. Mary ; and in which, as stated
by Mr. Fenton, there stood, not long before his visit to
the spot with Sir Richard Colt Hoare, a baptismal font.^
The Priory of Caldey was a cell to the Abbey of St.
Dogmael in Pembrokeshire, a monastery of the order of
Tiron, or reformed Benedictines, instituted by St. Ber-
nard early in the twelfth century. The first foundation
has been attributed to Martin de Tuiribus, by whom
the country of Cemaes was subdued about the time of
the Conqueror. It was endowed by his son, Robert
Fitz Martin, whose charter was confirmed by Henry I
and his queen Adeliza, and is recited in the confirmation
by Edward III.^ Amongst possessions enumerated by
1 Ihid,, p. 459. The notice of Caldey in the Itinerary of William
of Worcester, edit, Nasmith, p. 155, is as follows : ** Insula Caldey
seqmtnr proxima Shepey-iland'* (described as near Scopeholm in
Milford Haven) " coram villa Tynbye per anum miliare ; continet in
longitndine i. miliare, fit in latitndine dimidinm miliaris, et est circa
zxx. domes popnlatas, et nnam tnrrim, et cum capella sanctaB Manas
saper maris litns ac ecclesia prioratns de Caldey fundata cam
amasia sua." Abont 1600, in the time of George Owen, the Pem-
brokeshire antiquary, lord of Cemaes, the inhabitants had decreased,
and were eight or ten households only. (Owen's Hist, of Pembroke-
shire, Camb. Beg., vol. ii, p. 127.) They durst not keep oxen for fear
of pirates.
^ " Carta 5 Edw. Ill per Inspex.," printed in Dugdale, Ifon., i^,
edit. Caley, p. 130. Leland states that "the chauntor {precentor)
of St. David's tolde me that one Martinus de Turribus, a Norman,
wan the country of Kemmeys in Wales, about the time of King
William the Conqueror, and that this Martinus foundid the Abbay
92
124 RELIQUARIES FOUND
Robert Fite Martin occurs the following : " Dedit deni-
que eisdem monachis mater mea insulam Pyr, quae alio
nomine Caldea nuncupatur, quam a domino meo rege
michi datam matri mese dederam, quod utique libens
concedo." (Dugdale, Mon, Aug. iv, p. 128, edit. Caley.)
This ancient name of Caldey , it may here be observed,
has been traced to Pyrrus, possibly a king of Britain,
successor of Sawl Benuchel, according to the Welsh
genealogists.^ Giraldus Cambrensis,who was bom about
1146, at the Castle of Manorbeer, thus notices his birth-
place: "Distat a Penbrochise castro quasi milliaribus
tribus castellum quod MaenorPyrVy id est mansio Pyrri,
dicitur ; qui et insulam Chaldei habebat, quam Cambri
Ynys Pyrr^ id est insulam Pyrri vocant."^ Sir Richard
Colt Hoare observed, in his notes on Giraldus : " Our
author has given a very classical and, I think, far-fetched
etymology to this castle and the adjoining island, in
calling them the mansion and Island of Jryrrhus : a
much more natural and congenial conjecture may be
made in supposing Maenor Jryrr to be derived from
maenor, a manor, and pyrr, the plural ofpor, a lord, —
the manor of the lords ; and consequently Inys Pyrr,
the island of the lords. ''^ It has been likewise men-
tioned by Jjcland as follows : " Mainopir, i e. Mansio
Pirrhi, is now commonly cawUed Manober, a towne of
howsbondry." The mines oiPirrhus Castel there, many
walles yet standyng hole, do openly appere and
agaynst this Towne, or betwixt yt and Tijiby, lyith /w-
ispivy i. e. Insula Pirrhi , alias Caldey ^^
I proceed to notice an object of Somewhat unusual
fashion, an alabaster reliquary, found some years ago
in the Isle of Caldey under remarkable circumstances,
of St. Dogmael in Kernels, and that he Ijith bnried in the qnier
there.*' (/fo»., iv, p. 28 ; Collect.^ i, p. 96 ; see also Fenton in his
notices of St. Dogmaers.) The cell in Caldey is mentioned bj Leland
as " now suppressid.*' (Jtin., v, p. 14)
1 Myv. Arch.y ii, p. 165.
' liin. Cambr.y lib. i, c. xii, edit. Camden, Angllcay etc., p. 851.
3 Giraldus Cambr., i, pp. 201, 204.
^ Leland, Itin.^ v, f. 26. See also f. 75.
IN SOUTH WALES AND ANGLESEY. 125
and brought before the Archaeological Institute, through
the friendly suggestion of the Rev. J. Bathurst Deane,
by Mr. Edward Kynaston Bridger, the present pos-
sessor of the island, and to whom the object in question
belongs. I am indebted to him for the following par-
ticulars regarding the discovery. He was not, how-
ever, present on the occasion, but received the account
from nis cousin, the late Mr. Corbet Kynaston. That
gentleman, formerly proprietor of Caldey, was hunting a
wild cat that took refuge in a cavern in the face of the
cliff overhanging the sea, on the side of the island which
faces Tenby, not such a cavity as could possibly have
served as an anchorite's cell, but merely a large hole in
the rock. He proceeded to diff out the animal, and in
this operation he threw out with the loose soil the little
reliquary. When thus found it was in the damaged
condition in which it is now seen, but there was much
colour remaining on the surface; this decoration was
unfortunately washed off, some years subsequently, by
an over zealous housemaid. On the death of Mr.
Kynaston, in 1867, this curious relic came into the pos-
session of his cousin. The cavern where it had been
concealed has long since disappeared, the cliff at that
spot having been quarried to procure the limestone of
which it is composed.
There can be little doubt that the sculptured object
thus foxmd in the cavern on the coast of. Caldey nad
been originally connected with some hallowed use, and
that it may have appertained either to the church of the
Tironian monks, or to one of the chapels that existed in
the little island. It is probable that at the suppression
of monasteries, or on the peremptory abolition of all
church appliances designated superstitious, this ala-
baster shrine had been concealed in the hiding-hole
whence, by so singular a chance, it was at length brought
again to light. ^
^ Caldey now abounds with rabbits. The wild cat and sundiy
like vermin seem in former days to have multiplied in the islands
along the shores of the Principality. William of Worcester, writing
126 RELIQUARIES POUND
It is remarkable that, in so small an island, there
were no less than three places devoted to Christian
worship. Besides the more important fabric, the con-
ventual church, there was the chapel, to which Mr.
Fenton has alluded, situated, as I am informed by Mr.
Bridger, about half way between the beach and the
monastery. The walls only remained in the time of
the late owner, by whom they were employed in the
erection of a chapel and schoolroom for the use of the
inhabitants. Mr. Bridger remarks that the original
building, in which, as Mr. Fenton informs us, a font
formerly was to be seen, may possibly have been a
baptismal chapel, as suggested by that circumstance.
There is, however, no spring of water near it, the only
spring being that in the monastery in the centre of the
island. The groimd surroimding the little structure
had been used for sepulture, human remains being
abundantly found there. The site of another chapel,
according to the same obliging information, is found on
the south-eastern extremity of the island, where the
lighthouse now stands.
The design of the alabaster object now in possession
of Mr. Kynaston Bridger appears, as will be seen by
the accompanying representation, for which we are in-
debted to the kindness and the skilful pencil of Mr.
Blore, to have been suggested by the fashion of the
mediaeval table-tomb and recumbent effigy.^ The base,
or tomb, consists of an irregular four-sided piece of ala-
baster, the ends being beveled off so as to present a
three-sided front, divided into four panels or compart-
ments by upright mouldings partly worked with spiral
ornament ; each compartment is pierced with tracery of
somewhat flamboyant character. There are traces of
of the " Insala de Mealx*' (the Monse Islands on the north side of
Anglesey), mentions also the ''Insala Lastydewale" as overran bj
sach doleful creatares: "Non est popalata nisi silvestres herbas,
aves vocate mewys, kermerertes, et katones,et mascs8,id est mowses/*
(Itin.y edit. Nasmith, p. 154.)
^ This object had been exhibited by Mrs. Gwynne at the annoal
Meeting at Tenby in 1851. {Arch, Camb.^ New Series, ii, p. 340.)
IN SOUTH WALES AND ANGLESEY. 127
yellow colour or gilding on the spiral mouldings or
shafts that separate these compartments. The date
may be assigned approximately to the latter half of the
fifteenth century. The dimensions of the base were,
"v
V.
/
/
/
/
/
f
/
/
/
/
/
PUn of Alabaster Bellquary found In Galdey Tsland. Orig. length, when
perfect, 8^ Ins. ; breadth, 2^ ins.
in its perfect state, about 8 in. by 2^ in height and
breadth ; some portions, one end especially, have been
cut and broken away. Within the thickness of this
base there are three cavities roughly cut ; that in the
centre measures about 3 1 in. by five-eighths, the depth
of the cavity being 2 J in. The other two cavities, one
at each end of the base, are much smaller. The pierced
openings already described open into these iuterior re-
ceptacles, as if to aflford means of inspecting some relic
or other object therein enclosed. For such a purpose,
however, the small size of the openings through the
thick front of the object seems ill adapted. Upon a
separate piece of alabaster, that serves as a covering or
hd to this base, is sculptured a recumbent effigy, ap-
parently of a female ; in its present defaced and im-
perfect condition it is scarcely possible to ascertain what
may have been the action of tne figure, the position of
the hands, and other details of the design ; the head
has suffered much, the hands and feet are wholly lost ;
the right knee is raised ; the intention seems to have
been to represent a person reclining on her left side, or
slightly turning outwards, that is towards the spectator.
It is probable that there was a kerchief or hood thrown
128 RELIQUARIES FOUND
over the head, and here traces of red and of green
colour may be discerned. The loosely draped robe,
with wide sleeves, is girt low, just above the nips ; the
mantle is shown on each side, its colouring has been
effaced ; some indications of its green lining diapered
with cinquefoiled flowers may be seen, the latter ex-
pressed by dots of red and yellow. The back and
under side of this reliquary are roughly dressed ; it m
evident that it was intended to be placed against a
wall, possibly in a niche ; in the back is inserted a
strong iron pin, shown in the woodcut plan, by which
it may have oeen firmly fixed in its place. The inten-
tion of such a miniature reproduction of a sepulchral
tomb and effigy, according to the familiar mediaeval
fashion, is by no means obvious. I am not aware that
any of the minor appliances of sacred use amongst the
varied forms of the reliquary, have been noticed, of such
a type, especially accompanied by the mortuary adjimct
of the recumbent effigy. The shrine, moreover — ^the
lipsanotheca, or depository of hallowed relics, was com-
monly portable, not affixed to a wall, or the like ; it
was in fact a feretory, for the most part intended to be
borne in processions, or on other solemn occasions, and
as such was one of the customary requisites for the
furniture and ornaments of churches. The type of a
feretrum is doubtless a coffin, those of most ancient
form being simply the cistula or capsa, with a ridged
top like a roof. In the present instance, the introduc-
=-tion of a recumbent effigy, as upon a tomb, in lieu of the
usual ridged and crestel covering of a shrine, is perhaps
not material. It must be observed that the object, al-
though it may be supposed to have been associated with
some hallowed purpose, presents no distinctive indica-
tion of a sacred character ; the figure is unaccompanied
by any saintly symbol ; it affords no clue to determine
who may have been the person pourtrayed. The female
costume and general aspect of the little effigy preclude
the supposition that it may have had any connexion
with tne only sainted personage, St. Dogmael, known
IN SOUTH WALES AND ANGLESEY. 129
as connected with the locality.^ In default of any clue
to its appropriation, the conjecture may appear by no
means improbable that it may have been a memorial of
the wife of the first Norman lord of Cemaes, Martin de
Turribus, founder of St. Dogmaers Abbey. ^ By her
gift, as we learn from the charter of her son to the
monks of that reUgious house, before cited, they had
been endowed with the Island of Pyr, otherwise named
Caldey. It has been suggested, not without probability,
that the e&gy may have been placed by the monks in
much later times as a diminutive portraiture and me-
morial of the foundress. It may, moreover, deserve
consideration that in several instances where the re-
mains of persons eminent or venerated in their lifetime
have been severed and distributed amongst monasteries
and churches that they had endowed, or with which
they had been specially associated, such partial deposits
are often accompanied by memorials and eflSgies of di-
minutive proportions.
I have sought in vain for any other reliquary of pre-
cisely similar description, particularly as regards the in-
cumbent efl&gy and obvious assimilation to the monu-
mental memorials of the period. In the old church,
however, of Llanidan, in Anglesey, there exists a little
reUquary of stone that presents considerable analogy with
that found in Caldey. It has been traditionally known
843 the Shrine of St. Nidan, or Aidan. Rowlands, the
historian of Mona, who was Vicar of Llanidan, thus re-
cords its discovery there, in his Collections for the Ps^-
1 St. Dogmael, Dogfael, or Docmael, in Brittany called St. Toel,
lived in Pembrokeshire, according to the legends, in the sixth cen-
tury. He was the son of Ithel ab Caredig, and has been acconnted
patron of several churches in Pembrokeshire, also of Llanddogwel
in Anglesey. See Bees, Welsh Saints, p. 211 ; Butler, under June 14.
* The remains of the abbey on the banks of the Teify, opposite
Cardigan, are inconsiderable ; they appear to show that the fabric
was highly decorated, and spacious. In the north transept there
are two canopied recesses, in which, as appears by additions to Leland
from Edward Llwyd's MSS., were formerly the effigies of the founder
and of his son. See Fenton's account of the abbey, Tour in Petri'
hrokeshire^ p. $12. [We hope to publish an account of it. — Ei>. Arch.
Cainh,'\
130 RELIQUARIES FOUND
rochial Antiquities of the island : — " Sub altari hie non
ita pridem capsula lapidea reliquiis sacris onusta, cum
aptato operculo ejusdem lapidis, cumque tribus ad latus
ostioHs, desuper fornicatis, e cotariae genere, blande et
concinne formata, eruebatur, quae jam omnibus visenda
sue loco deposita est."^ Pennant, who visited Llanidan
about 1 780, thus describes this object : — '* In the church
is a reliquary, made neither of gold nor silver, nor yet
ornamented with precious stones, but of very ordinary
gritstone, with a roof-like cover. Whether it contained
any reliques of the patron saint, a St. Aidan, of whom
the venerable Bede makes such honourable mention, I
cannot say. The church of Durham possessed his cross,
three of his teeth, his head, and two griffin's egg^"*
This stone capsula has been noticed by the Kev. H.
Longueville Jones in his valuable series of memoirs pub-
lished in the Archoeologia Camhreiisis, entitled " Mona
MedicBva ;" it has also been figured on a very small scale
from a drawing supplied by the late Lord Boston, patron
of the Living, a zealous local antiquary.* I am indebted
to the skilful pencil of the Rev. W. Wynn Williams, of
Menaifron, wnose knowledge of ancient remains in
Anglesey has so frequently aided my inquiries, for the
^ The Latin origiaal of this valaable Sapplement to his Mona has
been published, with an English translation, in the Arch, Camh.
from the MS. in possession of the late Rev. John Jones of Llanlljini,
Caernarvonshire. The account of Llanidan may be foand, Arch.
Gamh.y iii, p. 297. See also Angharad Llwyd's Hist, of Anglesey^
p. 287: it is there stated, from Edward Llwjd's notice in the Sebright
MSS. that the small osteotheca found in Llanidan Church, in Bow-
lands' time, lay about two feet under the ground under the altar.
It conteuned some pieces of bone.
8 Tour in Wales, ii, p. 228.
8 Arch, Camh,, i, p. 429, Third Series, ix, p. 260. During the
annual Meeting at Bangor, in 1860, the ruined remains of the old
church of Llanidan were visited, and they were then in a very
neglected state : the curious font lay in a dark corner ; in another
was the reliquary above noticed, broken, and exposed to further
injuries. (^Arch. Camh,, Third Series, vi, p. 366.) It is satisfactory
to be assured by Mr. Longueville Jones, that through the care and
good taste of Lord Boston these remains are now protected in a more
suitable manner.
IN SOUTH WALES AND ANGLESEY, 131
careful drawing reproduced in illustration of this me-
moir, and also for tne following particulars, with a plan
or section of the capsula. The dimensions are 26 in. in
length ; the height to the ridge of the lid is, on the left-
hand end, 17 in., on the other end, 18j in. ; the breadth
is 1 4 in. The bottom of the little cheat measures 3i^ in. in
thickness; the Kd, a solid piece of stone, flat on its under
side, is moveable ; it fits closely to the lower portion,
but the mouldings of the front, with the exception of
the two outer ones on the left side, do not coincide, or
rather they do not seem to have been continued upon
the front of the lid, which appears as if it had not been
finished. It is difiicult indeed to determine the arrange-
ment of the upper part ; the muUions may have been
carried up square to their junction with the lid. On
the left end, or gable, there is a moulding at the angle,
but none at the other end. The material is a fine-
grained sandstone of rather bright yellow colour.
Plu oft SioDe R<llqui7, IJiQidm, Ang^leiajr. Orl(, langth, 9e lui.;
It will be noticed that, in the two reliquaries which
have been described, the general type is the same, each
presenting a certain assimilation to a tomb, in one in-
stance accompanied by an effigy, whilst the other has
the customary coped covering commonly designated d
dos d'dne. In each also the front is pierced with open-
132 RELIQUARIES FOUKD
ings, through which possibly the contents of the little
chamber withiii might be discerned. This arrangement,
it may be here observed, is of rare occurrence in the
sepulchral depositories of the Middle Ages that re-
semble these reliquaries, with the exception, for the
most part, of their larger dimensions. A remarkable
example has recently been described by Mr. Hewitt,
namely, an altar-tomb at Newington-street in Kent,
the side of which is formed with an arcade of four
panels with trefoiled heads, one of these arched panels
being open through the entire width of the tomb.^ I
may mention also an altar-tomb in Salisbury Cathedral,
the sides of which are perforated by a series of oval
apertures, so that on either side the space beneath the
covering slab is open. These are very exceptional ex-
amples, and the latter may possibly be regarded as a
variety only of the open table-tomb, of which many
exist, having for the most part a nude or skeleton
figure on the lower stage, and the fully clad effigy re-
cumbent above.
The Llanidan reliquary had doubtless been concealed
under the altar in the sixteenth century, when so many
church ornaments and appliances were proscribed, and de-
posited in any available hiding-place. Edward Llwyd's
MSS., in the Sebright Collection, contain the answers
that he received from Rowlands regarding Llanidan and
some other parishes.^ It appears that the learned topo-
grapher of Mona considered this " osteotheca " to be a
" creirgist," a chest to hold relics, pieces of bone having
been found in it. It lay at a depth of two feet. He
supposed that it had belonged either to Llanidan, to
Clunnog, or to Llanddwyn, parishes in Anglesey.^
Mr. H. Longueville Jones has given a description of
the old church of Llanidan in his series of papers in the
Archceologia CambrensiSy before cited, entitled " Mona
^ It is figured in ArchaoL Journal^ xxiv, p. 160.
^ A considerable nnmber of these answers are preserved in mann-
script in the portfolios of E. Llwjd's papers in the Bodleian Library,
Oxford. — Ed. Arch. Gamh.
3 Extracts cited by Angharad Llwyd, Hiei. of Anglesey^ p. 287.
IN SOUTH WALES AND ANGLESEY. 133
MedioBvaJ'^ It was one of the most important churches
in the island, interesting from its architectmral features
and the traditions connected with it. " In an evil hour,"
however, as that zealous antiquary informs us, it was
ruthlessly condemned. In 1844 the demolition of the
church, a small portion excepted, was carried out. Thus
imfortunately has been almost wholly destroyed the
venerable fabric, of which the Historian of Mona, for
many years incumbent of the parish, wrote so pleasantly :
" Ecclesia Sancti Aidani in loco maxime amoeno prope
mare sedct ; fabrica quidem, proe antique construendi
ritu, nee parca nee inelegans ; cui nova, ducentis plus
minus elapsis annis, ecclesia veteri intercolumniis imita
adjectaest."^
It has been supposed by Pennant that the saint,
under whose invoStiou the church of Llanidaa was
dedicated, may have been the Bishop of Lindisfame,
St. Aidan or iEdan, sent to King Oswald in the seventh
century, as related by Bede,^ to preach the faith amongst
the Anglo-Saxons of Northumberland. The Cambrian
hagiographers, however, attribute the foimdation of the
church in Anglesey to St. Nidan, in the seventh century.
He was Confessor to the College of Penmon in that
island, and was commemorated on September 30.* Nidan
1 Arch. Camh., i, p. 430. The disco very of the reliquary is noticed
at p. 433 ; and in a supplementary memoir {ibid.^ Third Series, ix,
p. 260), where it is figured on a very reduced scale, and somewhat
inaccurately. The western portion of the church still stands, serv-
ing as a kind of mortuary chapel, in which may be found the Nor-
man font, the reliquary, with other objects. The cover of the curious
little chest has been broken, probably through careless removal.
The neglected condition of these remains, when visited by the Cam-
brian archaeologists during their Bangor Meeting in 1860, is related
ArcJi, Camb.j Third Series, vi, p. 368.
^ Rowlands' Antiquitates ParochialeSy Arch, Oamh., iii, p. 296.
8 Bede, HisL, lib. iii, " De Vita Cuthb.," c. 4 ; Butler's Uves of
Saints^ under Aug. 31. There was also a St. Aidan, bishop of Mayo,
occurring in the Irish calendar under Oct. 21. He died a.d. 768.
* Williams, Bto(/. Diet, of Eminent WeUhmen, p. 357; B^eeSfEssaij
on the Welsh Saints, p. 295. He was son of Gwrvy w, the son of Pas-
gen, son of Urien Dwynoel. Pedigrees in B>ees' Lives of the Gamhro-
British Saints; Welsh MSS. Soc, p. 596.
134 RELIQUAKIES FOUND
was grandson of the celebrated warrior Urien, who ex-
pelled the Gwyddelians in the latter part of the fifth
century, and whose heroic deeds are celebrated by
Llywarch H&n and Taliesin.^ The reliquary may,
doubtless, have been the depository of certain bones of
the founder of the church ; but there is obviously no
clue to the original intention of the object, which does
not appear to bear the stamp of any very remote an-
tiquity.
The parish of Llanidan contained an unusual number
of early remains of remarkable " Druidical" character,
that have been described by Rowlands.^ Some of them
still exist, somewhat impaired by time and neglect. Of
a few of the most interestiQg of these vestiges notices
and representations may be found in the ArchoBologia
Cambrensis. There was formerly also in the church a
singular obiect, associated with mysterious traditions.
This was the " Maen Morddwyd " — the Thigh Stone.
It is first mentioned by Giraldus de Barri, in the Itine-
rary of his Journey through Wales with Archbishop
Baldwin, A.D. 1188. In the notice of their visit to
Anglesey he states that at a certain place there existed
a stone resembling a human thigh, preserving this in-
nate virtue, that when transported to any distance it
returned of its own accord. He adds that when Hugh
Lupus invaded North Wales, he attached this loco-
motive stone by chains to one of larger size, and flung it
into the sea ; but next morning it reappeared in its
place ; whereupon the Earl made proclamation that no
one should presume again to remove it. Some sceptical
rustic, moreover, tested the " Maen Morddwyd," by
fastening it to his own thigh, which forthwith became
putrid, and the miraculous stone quickly made its
escape. The relation given by Giraldus of this strange
popular tradition is as foUows : — " Quoniam in hac in-
sula digna memoratu multa reperies, qusedam ex his ex-
cerpere et hie interserere non superfluum duxL Est
^ Williams, ut supra, p. 504 ; Alyv. Arch, ; Nenniiis,
2 JMona Antiqua, p. 87 ; see also Pennant, Tour^ ii, p. 229.
IN SOUTH WALES AND ANGLESEY. 135
imtur hie lapis humano femori fere conformis, cui in-
sita virtus hoc habet, ut spacio quantolibet aspoitatiis
proxima per se nocte revertatur, sicut ab accoKs pluries
est compertum. Unde et Hugo comes Cestrensis, qui
tempore Regis Henrici primi tam insulam istam, quam
terras adjacentes viriliter occupaverat, audita hujus
lapidifl virtute, ipsum alii lapidis longe majori ferreis
cathems fortiter ligatum probandi causa procul in mari
projici fecit : qui tamen summo diluculo cum multorum
admiratione pristine more suo in loco repertus est. Cujus
rei occasione publico comitis edicto prohibitum est, ne
quis de cetero lapidem a loco movere presumat. Con-
tigit aliquando rusticum quemdam experiendi gratia ad
femur suum lapidem ligasse, sed putrefacto statim femore
ad locum pristinum lapis evasit."^
The learned author of Mona, who, as before stated,
was vicar of Llanidan about 1710, informs us that the
"Maen Morddwyd" had .been recently carried off by
some unknown Papist, its ancient virtue having appa-
rently become exhausted and extinct. In the Antiqui-
tates ParochialeSy recently published from Rowlands'
MSS., the stone shrine or capsula^ as already noticed,
is described; and we find also the singular folk-lore
regarding the " thigh-stone" that had been preserved at
the same place. Rowlands thus notices the latter : —
" Hie etiam ille lapis lumbi, vulgo Maen Morddwyd, a
Giraldo Cambrensi mire et copiose decantatus, in hujus
caemiterii vallo locum sibi a retro tempore obtinuit, ex-
indeque his nuperis annis quo nescio papicola vel qua
inscia manu (nulla ut olim renitente virtute quae tunc
penitus elanguit aut vetustate evaporavit) nullo sane
loci dispendio, nee illi qui eripuit emolumento, ereptus
et deportatus fuit.''^
^ Gir. Cambr., liin. Camh.^ lib. ii, c. vii; Camden, Anglica, etc.,
p. 867 ; transl. by Sir R. C. Hoare, ii, p. 103.
^ Bowlands' Antiq. Paroch., Arch. Camb., iii, p. 296. This valu-
able supplemenc to the Mona is, as has been already stated, in pos-
session of the Rev. John Jones of Llanllyfni, Caernarvonshire {ibid.,
i, p. 126.) The " thigh stone" is noticed also by the Rev. H. Longuc-
136 RELIQUARIES FOUND
Camden, in his notes on the Itinerary of Giraldns,
remarks that William Salisbury, who was well acquainted
with Welsh antiquities, states that the stone to which
the foregoing passage relates, was to be seen in his time,
namely in 1554, in the wall of the churchyard "eccle-
sisB D. iEdani in Mona insula." That learned writer
and linguist was a native of Llanrwst; and, as Camden
truly observes, " Cambriae antiquitatibus egregie versa-
tus et de patria sua optime meritus." He translated
the New Testanient into Welsh in 1563.
In the report of the visit of the Cambrian archaBolo-
gists, on occasion of their visit to Anglesey during the
meeting held at Bangor in 1860, it is asserted that the
" Maen Morddwyd" is said to be at present fixed in a
wall at Porthamel, on the shore of the Menai Straits,
the supposed scene of the landing of the Romans under
Suetonius, a.d. 61.^ Angharad Llwyd likewise assures
us that it " is now well secured in the wall of the church"
at that place.^ I regret to state that, according to recent
information from the Rev. W. Wynn Williams, it is no
longer to be found.
It may here deserve mention, that in certain instances
cists or small depositories have been foimd in the walls
of churches of Wales, without any external indications,
as customary, of a tomb. Mr. Wakeman relates also that
in 1847 the old church of Trevethin, Monmouthshire,
was demolished in course of "restorations". In the
centre of the south wall a coffer or chest was found
about 8 ft. above the floor, divided horizontally into two
parts, each enclosing bones. In the western gable also
of Risca church, in the same county, similar deposits
occurred, buUt into the wall, without any indication
ville Jones in his account of Llanidan (ibid., p. 429). One of the
marvels of the Isle of Man was a stoue that, when removed or cast
into the sea, returned at night to a certain vallej. Irish version of
Nennius, cited Arch, Ca/mh., Third Series, zii, p. 141 ; see a like tra-
dition. Bosquet, Normandie Bomanesque, p. 173.
^ Arch, Gamb,, Third Ser., vi, p. 367.
* Hist, of Anglesey^ p. 290. This is an error ; there is no church
there.
IN SOUTH WALES AND ANGLESEY. 137
outside. On either side of the tower there were cists
containing bones, in one instance with twenty or thirty
beads of jet or cannel coal. These receptacles measured
about 4 ft. by 2 ft., and were about 4 ft. above the
floor.^
In concluding these notices of certain remarkable
objects connected with the Principality, and especially
of the reliquaries of unusual description brought to light
in Caldey and in Anglesey, it may be observed that
several other medisBval reUcs might be enumerated
which have been brought to light from time to time in
the Principality, havmg doubtless been displaced or
hastily concealed during the iconoclastic fervour of the
sixteenth century. At the annual meeting at Llandeilo
Fawr, in 1855, the late Mr. Walter Philipps, of Aber-
flasney, contributed to the local museinn a ** carved
tent of alabaster representing an angel kneeling
andf offering up a small box, apparently a pix.''^ It had
been found in Llanllwny Church, Uaermarthenshire.
Another remarkable object brought to light under similar
circumstances is a plaque of enameled metal, of thir-
teenth century champlevS work, found in the conventual
chiuxjh of Penmon Priory, Anglesey. The subject is a
demi-We of our Lord. Lving a red cruciform nimbus,
the right hand upraised in benediction, a book in the
left. This production, possibly of the artists of Limoges,
had doubtless been attached to a shrine, a processional
cross, the binding of a Textus, or the like. Enamels of
this kind have been brought to this country in abun-
dance of late years ; few specimens, however, have oc-
curred in England or Wales that had probably been in
use before the Reformation.^
In connexion with the subject of this memoir, more
especially in regard to the curious object first described,
it may be desirable to notice also a remarkable inscription
^ Hist, of Anglesey, p. 811. * Arch, Gamh.y Third Ser., i, p. 311.
' Ihid.y p. 42, where this enamel is figured. It was also exhibited
at one of the meetings of the ArchaBoIogical Institute in 1855, and
was described ArchceoL Jcyuriuil, xii, p. 97.
4th see., vol. I. 10
138 RELIQUARIES FOUND
found some years since in the ruins of the Priory at
Caldey, and of which Professor Westwood pubUshed an
excellent facsimile in the ArchcBologia Cambrensis. It
cannot fail to be viewed with special interest by the
readers of the present observations, and it has accord-
ingly been here reproduced, for the benefit of those who
may not possess the volumes of the previous series. This
inscription had been briefly mentioned by Mr. Fenton,
who states that in 1 8 1 it was lying in Mr. Kynaston's
garden ; the inscription in rude characters, and much
effaced ; he could read the name plainly, and concluded
that it had been the memorial of one of the early priors
named Cadwgan ; the stone, he adds, after its removal
from its first position, had served the purpose of the
lintel of a window ; in such a position it had been last
found. ^ It will be seen that from palseographical evi-
dence, althoufifh it has not been practicable to ascertain
who was the person commemorated, the inscription must
be assigned to a date much anterior to the foundation
of the Prioiy in the twelfth century ; it is of special
value as evidence of Christian occupation of the Isle of
Caldey at an earlier period. The memorial must, more-
over, be regarded with interest in connection with the
foregoing notices of the iTisula Pirrhi. It is a valuable
addition to the series of "Early Inscribed Stones in
Wales," given by Professor Westwood in this Journal.
He is of opinion that it may be ascribed to the ninth, or
even possibly to the seventh centiuy.
Professor Westwood points out the prevalent custom
among the early Christians, to which I have already
adverted, of establishing their communities upon small
islands adjoining the coast; free from sudden attack,
they could there pursue the objects of their existence
unmolested. The great establishment of Lindisfame
^ Arch. Gamb., Third Ser., i, p. 258. The rubbing from which the
slab is figured by Mr. Westwood had been supplied by Mr. Mason
of Tenby. No allusion is made to the notice of the relic by the his-
torian of Pembrokeshire.
* Fenton's Tour, p. 458.
■I?!»-OEO
nuburGB
iftasur
UdCQHI
IN SOUTH WALES AND ANGLESEY. 139
on the Northumbrian coast, — ^the religious institutions
on the Great Isle of Aran, — on Ireland's Eye, the
Skelleg, and other islands on the Irish shores, may be
cited as instances of this practice ; Bardsey, also, — the
'^ Isle of Saints," — ^the Chapel Island of St. Tecla at the
mouth of the Wye, Barry Island, with many others,
have been celebrated in Wales for the religious establish-
ments that existed upon them. In the inscribed me-
morial here figured with Professor Westwood's skilful
care, we have proof of Christian occupation of Caldey
long before the period indicated by the architectural
features of the existing ruins. The slab measures 5 ft.
9 in. by 16 in. ; it is of red sandstone ; of the upper
portion three feet are occupied by the incised cross and
inscription, leaving the remainder of the stone plain,
apparently for the purpose of being fixed in the earth.
The inscription is thus read by Professor Westwood, —
" Et singno [^igrw^?] crucis in illam fingsi [JiTiod] rogo omni-
bus ammulantibus ibi exorent pro anima Catuoconi-"
The request to passers-by (amhutantihus) for prayers for
the soul of the deceased is an early instance of such a
formula. It is constantly foimd on early memorials in
Ireland ; on the crosses with Runes in the Isle of Man
it never occurs, as stated by the late Rev. J. G. Gum-
ming.^ Catuoconus has not been identified ; the name
may be a Latinised form of Cathan ; a Cambrian saint
of that name was known in Caermarthenshire.
I must refer to the Professor s highly interesting
memoir for full particulars in regard to the palseo-
graphical and other peculiarities of this remarkable
monument in the Isle of Caldey. He describes the in-
scription as " in that curious mixture of minuscule and
uncial letters transformed into capitals, that became
general soon after the departure of the Romans, and
which is found in all the oldest native inscriptions and
manuscripts, both in Great Britain and Ireland.^ There
^ Arch. Camb,, Third Ser., xii, p. 253.
• ' Ibid.y ut supra, p. 261. At the meeting of the Cambrian arcbsB-
ologists at Truro, in 1862, fifty-five facsimiles of inscriptions, crosses,
140 RELIQUARIES FOUND, ETC.
may be noticed, near the upper lefHiand comer, certain
marginal incisions that bear resemblance to Oghams ;
several examples of that cryptic writing have now oc-
curred in Wales. The slab has been removed and fixed
in the wall of the chapel, on the suggestion of an archse-
ologist, by whom its value would be truly appreciated,
the Rev. James Graves : the letters are, however, it is
said becoming giaduaJly impaired through exposure to
weather.
The scorings to which I have alluded have been
recognised as Oghams by Mr. H. Longueville Jones,
who has devoted special attention to early inscriptions
in Wales ; he has not, however, in this instance sug-
gested any interpretation.^ We owe to the researches
and sagacity of Professor Westwood and Mr. Longue-
ville Jones many valuable notices of these curious relics.
A single specimen has been recorded in England,
namely, at Fardel, Devon, to which attention was first
called in 1 861 by Mr. Smirke, and which is now preserved
in the British Museum. The description of this stone,
with correct delineations, wiU be foxmd in the Arch.
CaTnh. of 1866. Mr. Richard R. Brash has recently
given a summary accoimt of all the Ogham inscriptions
that exist in the Principality.*
Albert Way.
etc., were exhibited by Prof. Westwood, showing the gradual chauge
from pare Boman. capitals to Hibemo-Saxon or Hibemo-British
minuscnles. A list is given, Arch, Gamh.y Third Series, viii, p. 862.
^ See his notice of a Roman altar bearing Oghams at Longhor,
Glamorganshire (Arch. Comb,, Third Ser., xv, p. 262).
^ Arch. Oamb.y Third Ser., xv, p. 148.
141
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Oirituarg.
Two good friends of our Association have lately been taken away
from us, each at a tolerably advanced age, and after having well
deserved of their country, both in public and private life. We allude
to Lord Dtneyob and Lord Boston. The former of these noble-
men, as will be well remembered, was President of our Association at
the meeting of Llandeilo fawr in 1855 ; and the extreme courtesy
displayed by him on that occasion, as well as the active interest which
he took in our proceedings, must be fresh in the recollection of all who
were present at that memorable meeting. His Lordship, aided by the
late Earl of Cawdor, discharged the duties of President most effectively,
and there was a degree of cheerfulness and animation shown in all that
we did at Llandeilo, which has never been surpassed, successful and
agreeable as our meetings have generally been. We hope that the
new owner of that glorious old estate of Dynevor Castle will duly
value what is now in his possession, and indeed we cannot allow our-
selves to doubt of it. In the same way Golden Grove, the other great
estate of the lovely Vale of Towy, has passed into the hands of one
who is fully worthy of his ancestral position ; and we may reasonably
look forward to the due preservation of the great remains, castellated
and monastic, which are under the guardianship of these two noble-
men.
Lord Boston has already honoured us by contributing to our pages,
and by aiding the Association and its Journal in various ways. His
love for and knowledge of archaeology have long been known, and his
loss will be felt by other societies besides our own. It is to be hoped,
however, that the Isle of Anglesey will still have its antiquities properly
cared for, and that the researches of our local secretaries, which have
already produced such valuable results, will still be promoted and
encouraged by the owner of Porthamel.
No antiquarian society can afford to lose friends and patrons,
especially in times such as these, and least of all in Wales. The
decease of these noblemen will be sensibly felt, and they will be sin-
cerely regretted by all who had the honour of being known to them.
The Ret. Rowland Williams, D.D. — Another good and learned
man has been taken away from us in the person of Dr. Rowland
Williams, Vicar of Broadchalke, near Salisbury. He was a dis-
tinguished scholar, well known at Cambridge ; a good Welsh Anti-
quary ; and for some time Vice-Principal of St. David's College, Lam-
peter. He was formerly a member of our own Association, took part
in several of our annual meetings, and contributed papers to the
ArcktBologia Camhrensis. Of late years he became known to the
polemical world by his Christianity and Hinduism^ and by his review
OBITUARY. 143
of a work of Bansen's in the volume of JBBsayt and Reviews, leading
to an action in the Ecclesiastical Courts ; out of which, however, he
ultimately came successfully. Indeed few divines have by their works
more prominently divided the British religious public of late than has
Dr. Rowland Williams. We borrow, from the North Wales CTironicle,
the following particulars concerning the father of Dr. Rowland Wil-
liams, himself a learned and remarkable man :
<* Among the many Welsh worthies whom Merionethshire can claim as her
own, Mr. Rowland Williams, of Tsceifiog, will always ooenpy a distinguished
place. A native of Mallwyd, he graduated at Oxford, and was appointed in
1803 to the second mastership of Friars school, Bangor. Here he attracted
the notice of Bishop Cleaver, who made him his examining chaplain. At
this time Mr. Williams married Jane Wynne, daughter of the Rev. Hugh
Wynne Jones, of Treiorwerth, Anglesey, and Prebendary of Penmynydd.
So highly did the bishop, himself a scholar and theologian of reputation,
appreciate Mr. Williams, that, on exchanging the see of Bangor for that of
St. Asaph, he preferred him to the Rectory of Oilcain, and afterwards to that
of Halkin, in Flintshire, thus securing for his newly-adopted diocese the
benefit of Mr. Williams's counsel and earnestness. He was again chaplain
to Bishop Luxmoore, who gave him the more eligible living of Meifod. The
rectory of Ysceifiog and a Residentiary Canonry at St. Asaph, betokened the
high esteem with which Bishop Carey also regarded him. Dying in the
seventy-sixth year of his age, he was buried in the churchyard of Ysceifiog,
where a recumbent cross now marks the resting-place of a good and learned
man.
The account of the last moments of Dr. Rowland Williams is told
so feelingly, we had almost said so poetically, in onr able contempo-
rary, the North Wales Chronicle, that we are tempted to depart from
our usual practice, and to quote its words at some length : —
^' Dr. Williams's illness lasted for only a few days. He had taken cold in
overlooking the distribution of coal among his poor parishioners, but neither
he nor his friends felt any alarm. On Thursday, however, the 13th of
January, acute bronchitis appeared, which rapicUy developed itself into
pneumonia. All that medical skill, or the untiring affection of his wife
could do to arrest the inflammation was in vain. On the following Monday
he expressed a wish to see the proof-sheets of Owain Olyndwr — a poem he
had just written ; these were handed to him, but he was already in the
valley ' of the shadow of death ;' and after a vain effort he returned the
sheets, simply saying ' I cannot see.* Through the night he continued re-
peating passages of sermons, occasionally speaking in what to the Enelish
relatives around the bed seemed Hebrew, but which we with reason believe
to have been the fond language of fatherland — yr hen iaith Oymraeg. His
strength could only be kept up by strong stimulants ; he took them, mildly
expostulating, ' I have been a temperate man all mv days, why force these
things upon me ?' The end was now at hand, and he repeated thrice the
Lord's Prayer, and the great article of the Apostles' Creed — * I believe in the
resurrection of the b<Sy and the life everlasting.' Just as the light of
Tuesday morning was dawning across the Wiltshire Downs, and the birds
were beginning to sing, he passed away to his rest. The news of his death
spread rapidly through the village, moving the practical self-contained
Wiltshire farmers and peasants to tears. * He belonged to us,' they said,
*he helped us in sickness and sorrow, he preached Christ to us, and we
reverenced him for his goodness.' "
144
Correspontience*
THE TUDOES OF PENMTNYDD.
TO THB EDITOR OF THE ABCH. CAMB.
Sib, — In my paper on this subject (which, as you are aware, passed
through the press without my personal correction, from circumstances
which were unavoidable) I have stated that the blood of the Tudors of
Penmynydd ended with Francis Bulkeley. I should have been moire
accurate had I named him as the last of that blood at Penmynydd in
in his own right. It is quite possible there may be many people, of
various names, in Anglesey and elsewhere, who have some Tudor
blood in them^-descendants, for instance, of William Owen Bold,
mentioned in the pedigree, or of later offshoots ; but an inquiry extend-
ing over several years did not bring me in contact with any of them.
Neither have I ever known an Anglesey " Tudor."
The present Mr. Owen, of Trefeilir, who long occupied Penmynydd,
may probably trace a connection with the Tudors, as well as his rela-
tion the Squire of Qadlys, and all branches of his family ; but these
ramifications I did not intend to treat of in my paper, which is, as it
stands, quite diffuse enough.
I am informed that in the north-west of Anglesey there lives a descen-
dant of the Tudors of Penmynydd, Mrs. Owens by name, whose great-
great-grandfather was Robert Tudor ; and that one of the brothers of
this Robert emigrated to America, and his descendant was alive not
long ago, probably is still living, an old man, whose surname is Tudor.
I am, Sir, yours truly, J. W.
CARMARTHENSHIRE BOUNDARIES.
TO THB EDITOB OF THB ABCH. CAMB.
Sib, — On looking again at the accurate description of the boundaries
of Carmarthenshire by Mr. T. O. Morgan, in vol. 4, iii, p. 368, I ob-
serve that large stones, or meini hirion, are mentioned as standing at
several spots on the boundary line ; and this circumstance appears to
me of interest, inasmuch as similar stones may be found marking the
limits of other counties in Wales. Not that I suppose the stones to
have been put in their actual places in order to mark the boundary,
but that the boundary was determined by the fact of the previous
position of the stones. At any rate the tracing of this boundary line
in Carmarthenshire leads to the observation of several of these ancient
monuments, for so they may be called without any great stretch of
archseological fancy ; and it would be desirable if views of those stones
could be taken, and published in our Journal.
CORRESPONDENCE. 145
The boandaries of Cannarthenshire run through some of the least
visited parts of South Wales, but still through districts of much inte-
rest, and well worthy of a visit from the antiquary. All ancient time-
honoured marks are at present in danger of removal or annihilation in
Wales, and the verification of their existence is a work not unworthy
of the vigilance of our Association.
Feb. 1, 1870. I am, etc., An Antiquabt.
THE MAENHIE at LE MANS IN FRANCR
TO THE EDITOR OF THE ABCH. CAMS.
Sib, — The stone alluded to p. 63 of the first number of this series
still exists, supported against the wall of the Cathedral. It can hardly
be said to be built in, and still less incorporated with the building, as
stated by Murray. At least, such was my impression when I saw it a
short time ago. As to its real character, no one who has ever examined
this class of stone monuments (still by some called Druidic) can enter-
tain the least doubt that it is a veritable maen hir of the earliest
character, and of really elegant proportions, for even meini hirion can
have some outlines of beauty. It stands about nine feet high, and has
probably been placed in its present position not so much for security
as from some religious motive. For, as many of these early stones are
still the object of strange superstitions, more of Pagan than Christian
character, this may have, at some early period, been one of this class,
and been brought to its present resting place against the church, as a
kind of quasi consecration, or so as to remove more completely aU
traces of Pagan traditions or practices.
I am, Sir, yours obediently, An Old Membeb.
ROMAN COINS, FLINTSHIRE.
TO THE EDITOB OF THE ABCH. CAMB.
Sib, — In the latter part of 1868 some men engaged in making the
railway from Prestatyn Station to the foot of Cwm mountain came on
about twenty silver and one gold coin, said to be Roman. The work-
men disposed of them as soon as they could, but to whom is not known.
Little also is known about the actual spot and circumstances of finding.
The Local Secretary for Flintshire would confer a favour on the As-
sociation if he would ascertain what the coins really were, and the
history of their discovery. The owner of the coins would probably
furnish particulars as to their date, especially whether of Roman type.
They are of the upper and lower empire.
I am, Sir, yours obediently, Sobutatob.
146 MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES.
ifttscellaneous Notices.
Cambriait Akch^ological AssooiATioK.-^The place of meeting
for this year is fixed at Holyhead, and August 15 is the day at present
settled for its commencement. The Venerable Archdeacon Wynne
Jones of Treiorwerth will preside. The Local Committee, the pro-
gramme of proposed proceedings, and other usual particulars, will be
announced in our next number.
Bavoob Cathedral. — We are glad to see by the local papers that
the works at this Cathedral, under G. Gilbert Scott, £sq., F.S.A., are
proceeding rapidly and successfully. The foundations of an earlier
choir, with a polygonal or else a circular east end, have been found
under the present one, besides various remains of thirteenth century
work, and two stone coffins. The sum of £2000 has been added to the
restoration fund by Lord Penrhyn ; but it is much to be wished that
some personage of wealth connected with the county would put down
the remainder of the money wanted, and have the work finished off
hand. To repair a Welsh Cathedral at the present day is a work of
courage, and testifies to good feeling on the part of all concerned in it.
Bangor Cathedral Library. — It has given us great satisfaction
to learn that the Dean and Chapter of Bangor are re-arranging their
library, and that a catalogue of the books will ultimately be published.
This circumstance has caused us, we might almost call it, a thrill of
parental affection. At the same time we are sorry to learn that some
of the most valuable volumes are missing from the collection, caused,
no doubt, by forgetfulness in returning them. Among these are Dttg*
dale*8 Monasticon, vols. 1, 2, of the early edition, the loss of which
would be serious, though not irreparable. Another volume, Psalierium
DavidtSt 1476, is also not to be found; and a third book — we have not
heard the name — was lately picked up at a book-stall in London, but
very properly restored by its purchaser to the Cathedral library.
We should hope that the mention of these books will induce gentle-
men in the diocese of Bangor — for the books are allowed to be taken
out and used (on a bad system, we think,) by the clergy — ^to make care-
ful search among their own shelves for the missing volumes. It is
very easy to mislay a book in a country house, and difficult to find
it again; but it is to be hoped that the Dean and Chapter will
adopt stricter regulations for the future.
REVIEWS. 147
Tbaces of Histokt in the Names of Places. By Flatell
Edmunds. Longmans, 1869.
This is another work on what may almost be caHed the '' philology
of history," one of the most favourite subjects of the day. It has the
merit, evidently, at first sight, of not being too long, inasmuch as it
just clears 300 pages; and it bears ample traces, all through, of care-
ful research on the part of the author. His account of it in the pre-
face contains the following :
" In this book, the result of many years' reading and study, I have aimed
to do, for names of places in England and Wales, something like what has
been done for the ordinary words of our language by the Archbishop of Dub-
lin and other writers. In defence of my choice of this neglected branch of
antiquarian lore, I feel that nothing in the way of apology is necessary, —
a knowledge of place-names seems to me to be essential to a right under-
standing of the history, topography, and antiquities of a country. The
place-names of any land are the footmarks of the races which have inhabited
it, and are numerous and important in proportion to the length of the stay
and the numerical strength of each race. Thus the map supplies a clue to
the history, and the history explains and confirms the hints of the map.
While the latter gives us dates and details, leading incidents and sketches
of character, the former gives localities, preserves names of persons and for-
gotten episodes, and sometimes explains obscure allusions. Each is thus
incomplete without the other, and together they form an essential part of
a good education. In some cases important gaps in history are thus sup-
plied, while in a still greater number the statements of historians receive
valuable corroboration. It is certain that the nomenclature of a country
reflects the fortunes of the people , and in this work I have taken pains to
show that it not only preserves distinct records of the successive immigra-
tions of races, but reveals with unerring accuracy the order in which they
occurred, and the extent of the influence exercised by each upon the pro-
cess of building up the people as we now find them
*' The terminology used in the subsequent pages is open to differences of
opinion ; but is, I think, justifiable on historical grounds. The word British,
for example, I have used invariably to designate the people whom the
Eomans found in this country, without attempting to discriminate the Pict-
ish, Qwyddelian, and Belgic elements, — an inquiry into which would have
been beyond the range of the subject. So, too, with the terms Norse and
Old Danish, between which I see no diversity worth mention in this inquiry.
I have, indeed, used the latter term chiefiy in a negative sense ; i. «., to
mark the fact that certain words are not part of the present Danske tongue,
although certainly used by the Danes who conquered a part of England at
the close of the tenth century.
'*0n the 'vexed question' as to the proper word to apply to the speech of
the people in the four centuries preceding the Danish conquest, I have
accepted the conclusion of Sir Francis Palgrave, and have given at some
length the reasons which seem to me to justify that conclusion. It is cer-
tain that the Teutonic invaders were of three stocks, all speaking the same
language, and forming part of the same great migratory horde, but distin-
guished to us according to the parts of Europe from which they came to
148 REVIEWS.
this country. Of these the Angles seem to have been by &r the most nume-
rous as well as the earliest in their arrival, as shown by the fact that the
country finally received its name from them. The Jutes were next in order
of time, but fewest in number, and were soon swallowed up in the streams
of immigrants from the Saxon part of Europe. The Saxons, however, pre-
vious to the commencement of the ninth century held only the three king-
doms of Essex, Sussex, and Wessex, including altogether not more than
one fourth part of England. After that time they gradually advanced in
political importance until, in the first half of the tenth century, they became
supreme. We find the terms * Seaxnaland* and ' Saxony* in the writers of
those times ; but they are always applied to the Saxon kingdoms proper,
and never to the whole country. The term first used to designate the whole
people living east of the Dee, the Severn, and Devonshire, is ' English,* and
the earliest designation of the country which they occupied is ' England.*
In writing of the people of the pre- Danish era I have discriminated them
as Angles, or Saxons, or Jutes, according to the evidence in each case ; and
their language I have styled ' old English,' as being a nearer approach to
historical accuracy than either of the terms usually employed. ' Saxon* is
objectionable, as ignoring two out of the three bodies of immigrants ;
'Anglo-Saxon* is historically incorrect, as implying that the Angles were
the later in arrival, and were predominant over the Saxons, which is the
exact reverse of the truth ; while, as I have shown, neither term was ever
applied by the people to themselves.**
There is a great deal in this book to interest the Welsh antiquary,
and also abundant room for disquisition as to the correctness of ety-
mologies given by the author. On few points is the real Welsh anti-
quary so ready to show fight as upon that of derivations ; and though
we desire to eschew it ourselves, we can promise our readers that
their curiosity will be worthily rewarded if they will consult the author's
pages. In the chapter on early traces of Christianity as connected
with names of localities, we find the following :
'* Our idea of a martyr is somewhat rudely disturbed when we learn that
Oswald died in battle against the heathen King Penda ; but the Christians
of his age, at least those of British race, saw no incongruity in the union of
the two characters in the same person. They were, in truth, somewhat too
combative at all times ; and when Roman Christianity and Saxon Paganism
combined to harass and slaughter them, the provocation seems to have
become too strong for the Britons* Christian principles. The old warlike
spirit of the race blazed out again, — ' Even in their ashes lived the wonted
fires.* This combative spirit is curiously exemplified in the fondness of the
Britons for the name of Af ichael, the warrior archangel. Of all the so-called
saints* names, which are not those of British men and women, this is the
most frequent in its occurrence. Under the form of Jihangel it occurs in the
names of thirty-seven parishes in the thirteen Welsh counties, while there
are no Llanfihangels in any other part of the kingdom. In two cases in
Herefordshire the name is translated, and appears as Michaelchurch ; but
both are near the Welsh border.
" Of places in Britain, named from the Virgin Mary, there are only twenty,
one of which (Llanfairwaterdin) is in Salop, three are in Monmouthshire,
and the rest in Wales. It would seem that the Ronuin doctrine in reference
to the Mother of our Lord did not reach Wales very early.**
Under the head of bilingual names the author observes :
" The tendency of invaders, and indeed of settlers in a strange land gene-
REVIEWS. 149
rally, to keep as near as possible to each other for mutual protection, is
eyiaent in the grouping of names from one language in the midst of those
which belong to another. Thus in the Forest of Bean, which is divided by
the Wye from the British districts of Irging and Gwent (now parts of Here-
fordshire and Monmouthshire), thirty out of thirty-six place-names are old
English, while the rest are British names Anglicised. In Lydan-ey (now
Lydney) and Lydbrook, the root is the British lyd (country) ; in Buardean
we see the rhiw-ar, or sloping path field held by Britons, adjoining the dene
or hollow in the possession of the English; and in Longhope we see the
two races united, the hwpp^ or sloping plain between hills so fully Angli-
cised as to be distinguished from all others by the English adjective Long
prefixed, instead of the British word hir added to the root-word.
''A parallel fact is the group of bilingual names around the junction of
the Munnow and the Wye. The modem name of the district on the north
side of the junction, Archenfield, means the field of Irging, the British name
of part of it ; and the same mingling of races is shown in the words Mon-
mouth (the mouth of the Munnow) ; Mitchel-tref-y (now Mitcheltroy), the
greater village by the Wye, or water ; Wyesham (the home on the Wye) ;
and Osbaston (the tun or farm of Osbald). Such names show the English
settling down in a group among the Britons, seizing their lands, and Augli-
cising their names at will."
Rather more than half the book, the latter portion, is taken up with
a Vocabulary of names of places and their derivations. It includes,
of course, a great many places in Wales, and herein any disputatious
reader might disport himself to his heart's content. Even we our-
selves find our feathers rutfied ever and anon as we go through it,
though we find much more to amuse us and to instruct. We append
an instance or two :
*' Cblli, Gblli B. the hazel-tree. Ex. : Pencelli (Brec), hazel hill ; Tre-
gelli, now Hay (Brec), hazel town.*'
*' Oluv B. perhaps from celtfn, the holly. Ex.: Colun, now Clun (Salop);
Clun-ga-ffordd, now Glungunford (Salop), the station on the road near the
Clun river.
** Clwtd B. from Utoyd^ brown ; or from Clwyd, son of Cunedda Wledig,
who conquered the Gwyddel, or Irish settlers in North Wales, and gave
name to the river and vale of Glwyd.
*' Oltdach, Gltdawg, Gltdet, Cltdoo B. a warm or sheltered place ; or
from St. Olydawc, a son of King Brychan Brycheiniwg. Ex. : Olydach
(Brec); Clydey (Pemb.), etc"
'^ Dtfan B. St. Dyfan, the first baptizer of the Gymry, a.d. 154. Ex. :
Merthyr Dyfan (Glam.), the martyr Dyfan*s church."
" Ely E, from ed and ey, Ex. : Ely (Gamb.), the island of eels."
We do not agree.
" Fair, Maib B, the Virgin Mary. Ex. : fourteen places, all in Wales
and Mon., except Llan-fair-gadrdin (Salop), now Llanfairwaterdin, St.
Mary*s church at the camp, seat, or station. Ex. : Llan-fair-ar*y-bryn (Gar-
mar.), St. Mary's church on the hill."
*' PowYS B. perhaps a corruption of Pwyth, * the purchased place,' or PwU-
ys, ^ below the pool,' the capital being situated lower down the Severn than
Pwll, now called Welshpool. The place where Julius Gsesar landed is said
to have been known to the Britons as Pwyth Mein-las, * the green place of
the purchase.' Ex. : Powys (Salop and Kent)."
150 REVIEWS.
But it is time to leave this pleasant book in our reader's hands, and
to take our leave of the author with a hearty slap on the shoulder and
'* Bachgen !"
Eably England and the Saxon English. By the
Rev. W. Baknes, B.D. London: J. Russell Smith.
This is one of the most original books of the year, full of learned
research and much curious observation. Some of the author's state-
ments and conclusions may lead to disputatious criticism, into which
we have no desire, nori indeed, the space, to enter; but the whole
book — ^and it is not a long one, of only 178 pages — ^invites careful
perusal. The author gives lucid summaries of historical matters in
England after the Roman times, discusses and explains some of the
laws, and goes into details of social customs which are well worth
reading ; for instance, —
'^ The Sazon-EDglish laws aimed at hindering of crime, or a righting of a
wrong already done. We, in our laws, hardly aim at all at the righting of
criminal wrongs. We think only of the wite for the law-breach, and forget
the geald for righting the wrong to the loser by the deed. No wergeald
was paid for a thief or robber killed in his crime.
" If a free-man had been a man of such an unlawful or bad life that he had
spent all his wealth in gealds, or vice, or idleness, a landowner or monastery
might give a pledge as borough for him, and was then said to tkingian (to
thing) for him ; ^ingian meaning to answer, in the way of pledge or bail.
^' The man for whom another had thinged then became his tkeoWy or an
over-thinged man, and was under his hand, and unftree ; and was sometimes
called a wite-theoWy or fine-theow : and if a man newly become a wiU-theow
had been guilty of an unamended thievery while he was free, the wronged
man was to take a whipping of him, ' ane swingelan aet him.* '*
'^ Under the Saxon- EngUsh laws there was not much ' doing of time '
within the walls of a jail, built as such, as wrongs were mostly righted by
the geald ; and few men were shut up in idleness to be kept by the crime-
less. At times, however, criminals might have been shut up for longer or
shorter times — hours or days — ^and the place of confinement was called a
Cwaertem, which might have become our word Quarters.
'* It may well be thought that the law of imprisonment, and the handling
of the prisoners, are improved since the time of Charles the Second. The
Habeas Corpus Act and the Insolvency Laws, are a great shield of freedom
against wrongful and malicious imprisonment ; and care has been bestowed
on the bettering of imprisonment into its best form for its best end.
'^ Let it be aUowed that our laws of imprisonment are raised to a better
form on a measure of time of two hundred years ; yet we can hardly hold
that they have been so bettered on a lon'*^ * measure of time, 1,200 years ;
inasmuch as among the Saxon-Ejpyj' pees of imprisonment were al-
most unknown.*' j
A large portion of the book contains tables and careful exemplifica-
tions of the old Friesic language as compared with English ; and it is
probably to this part of the work that the reader's attention will, from
its originality, be most readily directed. The concludiijg chapter,
headed '• The Frisians the Father-Stock of the Saxon F h People,"
is very interesting in this respect, and we make somi. ..., ' extracts
from it : ^
REVIEWS. 151
" It has been said that our forefathers, Angles and Saxons, were Frisians,
and true enough it is from their speech, the old Saxon, or old English, that
they were of Frisian kin ; but if the Angles, Saxons, and Frieses, took their
names, as such, from the lands of their abode, the Angles were not Frisians,
only as Dorset men are not Devonshire men, though the men of both counties
are of the English kin.
" The Saxon Chronicle states that our fore-elders, the Teutonic settlers in
Britain, came from three kindreds (maeg^um) of Germany, Old Seaxen,
Anglen, and the Joten ; though we need not believe that these kindreds
(maegas) were of sUndiy races, since the word mae^ is used in the Saxon-
English laws of geald for a kinsman of a criminal, most likely not wider off
than the fifth blood ; and, it may be, not wider than those kindreds called
by the Frisian laws the six hands, — ^father and mother, sister and brother,
child and child's child."
*^ One cause of the stedfastness of the Friesians in abode and speech, was,
first that on the north and west their land was water-bound, and offsundered
from other peoples on the land-side by marshes ; and again that the free
Frisians, while they were free, were Spartan-like in their laws and lives.
They did not care to go abroad or to have among them new comers, whether
inthrallers or inthralled, though I do not understand, as Mr. Wiarda did, a
law of the Brockmen, that whoever should take a foreigner into his house, or
haven, or wharf, should answer for his deeds, which we may believe was not
a law of penalty, but was one of precaution, such as was needful to all the
tribes who had laws of boroughship, or geald, under which every man must
be in the mund of some borough or free man, or would have a wolf's head.
Gabbema, however, tells us that the Frisians had their Friesic shibboleths
for the catching of untrustworthy outlanders, and if an unlucky weight,
could not come out of the ordeal as a Friese, he might be doomed to a
Wapd-drank, or pool-dipping.'*
'* The Friesians cannot well think without pride, that their old mother
speech, as Habbema calls it, was formerly understood from the west of
Holland to the east of Denmark, and was that of their settlers in England ;
and they are so unwilling to lose it, although the voice of the law and
of wider commerce, has cast it aside, that as late as 1846 a writer, Sylstray
asks in a pamphlet, what have the Friesian writers to bear in mind, or to do,
to further their language. They have printed some children's books as some
by Dykstra.
In boekye mei moaye priatsyes en ilmkes ) (little
A bookie (little book) with many printies and rhyme-kins. ) rhymes.)
Blommekranske for da Fryske berntsyes.
Bloom-crown-kin ) * ^u w • • v • u-
Little flower garland { ^°' '^^ ^"«"'= baum-kins.
A Friesic child's reading book, and Veen's
Litse rimkes foar bern.
Little rhyme-kins for bairns."
And here we must reluctai ,. ave of the author, who, with
his friend, C. Warne, Esq., F.^ . author of the Early Intertnents
and Sepulchral Urns of Dorsetanire, is deserving of the respectful atten-
tion of all Cambrian archseologists.
Abthubtan Localities. By John £. Stuabt Glennie.
> borgh, 1869: Edmonston & Douglas.
This book, aaKc everythin'^ that comes from the Scottish antiquaries,
well and carefully comp^ 3d, and set forth with much typographic
152 REVIEWS.
excellence^ is a kind of appendix or complement of Mr. Skene's learned
work on the Four Jncimt Books of Wales, It goes into the question
of the site of the Arthurian legends, adopting the border-land between
Scotland and England as their true habitat; and it examines all the
Arthurian localities and traditions with a minuteness and care that
testify to the laborious erudition of the author. Very probably the
greater number of Welsh antiquaries are still adherents of the theory
that would limit Arthurian deeds to Wales and the south-west of
England ; but they must read Mr. Skene, and then Mr. Glennie, and
be converted.
Our author has had the good taste and good sense to walk over all
the ground described. He examines the various traditions on the
very spot ; and though we think that, like all Arthurian men, he is
inclined sometimes to strain a point or two, yet we can only say that
he has brought together a mass of nineteenth century criticism, and
of positive ocular evidence, which we in Wales have nothing to set
off against. As for the Breton and the Cornish antiquaries, we must
leave them, though our very good friends, to take care of their own
historic grounds, and to fight their own battle, — '* the blue bonnets
are over the border." And as to any claim Wales may have upon
Arthur, — nihil valet.
This book of Mr. Olennie's is written with so much cordiality of
spirit, let us say enthusiasm, that it carries the reader away with it ;
and we can safely say that we knew not half the beauties of the Low-
lands till the author made us trudge along with him over its moors
and by its streams. He describes with all the vividness which only
one who writes on the spot can show ; and the charm imparted from
this source to all his pages, makes them worthy not only of the library
but also of the drawing-room.
A charming passage occurs to us, which, as it is of great intrinsic
excellence, as well as a good specimen of the author's style, we pro-
ceed, though rather long, to quote :
'' Dumbarton appears to be mentioned under the name of Nemhhur, or
Nevtur, in a dialogue between Merlin and Taliessin in the Black Book of
Caermarthen, For this name occurs in the Life of S. Patrick by Fiech,
written in the eighth century, after which it is unknown, and is identified
by his scholiast with Dumbarton. And Arthur*s ninth battle, ' in urbe
Leogis qui Britannice Eairlium dicitur,' is, by Mr. Skene, added to the in-
numerable conflicts which have been witnessed by this magnificent fortified
rock, where the sword of Wallace is now preserved. For, as he says, * it
seems unlikely that a battle could have been fought at this time with the
Saxons at either Oaerleon on the Esk, or Gaerleon on the Dee, which is ^
Chester ; and these towns Nennius terms, in his list, not Kaerlium or Eaer- I
lion, but Eaer Legion. It is more probably some town in the north, and
the Memorabilia of Nennius will afford some indication of the town intended
The first of his Memorabilta is ' Stagnum Lumonoy,' or Loch Lomond ; and
he adds : ' non vadit ex eo ad mare nisi unum flumen quod vocatur Leum '
— that is, the Leven. The Irish Nennius gives the name correctly, Leamhuin^
and the Ballimote text gives the name of the town, Cathraig in Leomhan
(for Leamhan), the town on the Leven. This was Dumbfurton, and the
identification is confirmed by the BrtUs, which place one of Arthur's battles
REVIEWS. 153
afe Alclyd ; while his name has been preseryed in a parliamentary record of
David II in 1367, which denominates Dumbarton ' Castrum Arthur!/ And
it may be added that, according to tradition ,it was the birthplace of Mor-
dred, Arthur's nephew or bastiwl son. Under the name of Alclyde, the city
on the Clyde — a name as applicable to it as Eaer Leum, or Cathraig in
Leomham, for it is at the junction of the Leveu with the Clyde, — ^Dumbarton
is frequently mentioned in the Four Ancient Books :
*' ' A battle in the ford of Alclud, a battle at the Inver.'
'* ' A battle in the ford of Alclud, a battle in the Gwen.'
'' ' There will come from Alclud, men, bold, faithful,
To driye from Prydein bright armies.'
And on the Rock of Clyde, Petra Cloithe, another appropriate name for Dum-
barton, ' rex Rodarcus filius Totail regnavit,' when, as recorded by Adom«
nan, he sent a message to S. Columba, to ask him, as supposed to possess
prophetic power, whetner he should be slain by his enemies."
'" Sailing up the Lago Maggiore of Scotland there comes, like a dark
shadow, across our delight in the loveliness of its hSrj islands, the memory
of the tragic story connected with the ruins on the largest of them. For
here it was that Isabel, Duchess of Albany, lived, after the death on the
scaffold of her father, her husband, and her two sons, in 1424. Yet most
singular it is, that it is in her and her husband's descendants, that is the
representation of what is now the eldest legitimate male line of the Royal
House of Stuart.* But proceeding on our voyage, and landing on the western
shore of the lake, about half way up, we find ourselves in Glen Douglas.
Here Mr. Skene places Arthur's second, third, fourth, and fifth battles, 'super
aliud fiumen quod dicitur Dubglas et est in regione Linnuis.' ' Here,' says
he, ' Arthur must have penetrated the 'regiones juzta murum,' occupied by
the Saxons. Dubglas is the name now called Douglas. There are many
rivers and rivulets of this name in Scotland ; but none could be said to be
' in regione Linnuis,' except two rivers, the Upper and Lower Douglas,
/ which fall into Loch Lomond, the one through Glen Douglas, the other at
Inveruglas, and which are both in the district of the Lennox, the Linnuis of
J Nennius. Here, no doubt, the great struggle took place ; and the hill called
Ben Arthur, at the head of Loch Long, which towers over this district be-
i tween the two rivers, perpetuates the name of Arthur in connection with it. '
'* Here, on Ben Arthur, our Arthurian wanderings terminate ; and here
we may fitly review in their connection the localities we have identified as
the sites of Arthur's great battles. For, thus viewed, the probable correct-
ness of each identification will, I think, become more apparent. ' According
to the view I have taken,' says Mr. Skene, ' Arthur's course was first to ad-
vance through the Cymric country, on the west, tUl he came to the Glen,
^ On the death of Prince Charles Edward without legitimate issue, the
eldest son of Robert II (James I) was left without descendants in the male
line. The representation, therefore, of the Royal Family of Stuart, as also
of that of Bruce, fell to the Earl of Castle-Stuart, the representative in direct
male descent of the Duke of Albany, the second son of Robert II, the first
of the Dynasty. See Stuabt (Hon. and Rev. Godfrey), Oenealogical and
BistoriceU Sketch of the Stuarts of the House of Castle-Stuart. The connec-
tion of our present German Sovereigns with the ancient line of native
English and Scottish kings is of the most indirect and collateral descrip-
tion. On personal conduct, and popular affection, not on *' right divine," is
the throne now fortunately established.
4th 6EB. VOL. I. 11
154 REVIEWS,
•where he encountered his opponents. He then inyades the re^ons about the
Wall, occupied by the Saxons in the Lennox, where he defeats them in four
battles. He advances along the strath of the Oarron as far as Dunipace,
where, on the Bonny, his fifth battle is fought : and from thence marches
south through Tweeddale, or the Wood of Oelyddon, fighting a battle by the
way, till he comes to the valley of the Gala, or Wedale, where he defeats the
Saxons of the east coast. He then proceeds to take four great fortresses ;
first, Kaerlium or Dumbarton ; next, Stirling, by defeating the enemy in the
tratheu Tryweryd, or Carse of Stirling ; then Mynvd Agned^ or Edinburgl^
the great stronghold of the Picts, here called (Mhbregion; and, lastly,
Bouden Hill, in the centre of the country, between these strongholds.
Twenty-one years after is fought, at Oamelon, the battle of Camlan, in
which both Arthur and Medrant perished.* Mr. Skene concludes with the
judicious remark, that ' in thus endeavouring to identify the localities of
those events connected with the names of Ounedda and of Arthur, I do not
mean to say that it is all to be accepted as literal history, but as a legendary
account of events which had assumed that shape as early as the seventh
century, when the text of the Historia Britonum was first put together, and
which are commemorated in local tradition.'"
The Cobonation Stone. By F. W. Skene. Edmonston
& Douglas, Edinburgh.
We have here a purely antiquarian book by a learned author, hand-
somely illustrated, and set forth with much good taste in typography
and binding, in the true style of Scotland. Not much is known by
the reading public generally about the regalia of Scotland, though
people are accustomed to look with reverence at the Coronation Stone
under the sovereign's chair in Westminster Abbey. We now have
the full history of this really famous stone, one of the most honoured
relics of the kingdom, laid before us with all due care and reverence*
Mr. Skene says :
*' The legend of the Coronation Stone of Scotland, formerly at Scone, and
now in Westminster Abbey, is intimately connected with the fabulous his-
tory of Scotland. The tale of its wanderings from Egypt to Scone, and of
its various resting-places by the way, is, in fact, closely interwoven with
that spurious history which, first emerging in the controversy with England
regarding the independence of Scotland, was wrought into a consistent nar-
rative by Fordun, and finally elaborated by Hector Boece into that formid-
able list of mythic monarchs who swayed the sceptre over the Scottish race
from 'the Marble Chair* in Dunstafinage
'* But the history with which this legend is connected having now been
rejected as unquestionably spurious, it is surely an inquiry of some interest
to what extent any part of this legend is really historical, or how far it must
share the same fate. The popularly received account of the stone may be
shortly stated in the words of Pennant : ' In the church of the abbey (of
Scone) was preserved the famous chair whose bottom was the fatal stone,
the palladium of the Scottish monarchy ; the stone which had first served
Jacob for his pillow, was afterwards transported into Spain, where it was
used as a seat of justice by Gethalus, contemporary with Moses. It after-
wards found its way to Dunstafianage in Argyllshire, continued there as
REVIEWS. 155
the coronation chair till the reign of Kenneth II, who, to secure his empire,
removed it to Scone. There it remained, and in it every Scottish monarch
was inaugurated till the year 1296, when Edward I, to the mortification of
North Britain, translated it to Westminster Abbey ; and with it, according
to ancient prophecy, the empire of Scotland.' "
A few pages onward the coronation of King Alexander III is given
as narrated by Fordun ; to which Mr. Skene adds, —
" Fordun's description is so graphic, we can almost picture the scene. A
Scottish July day ; the cross in the cimiterium; before it the fatal stone
covered with gold embroidered cloths ; upon it the boy-king ; at his side the
two bishops and the abbot of Scone ; before him the great barons of Scot-
land kneeiing before the ancient symbol of Scottish sovereignty ; the eager
Highland Sennachy pressing forward to utter his barbarous Celtic gutturals ;
in the background the Mount of Belief covered with a crowd of people
gazing on the solemn scene; and in the distance the blue range of the
Grampians, broken only by the pass through which the Tay emerges to pass
before them on the west, and where the Abbey of Dunkeld lies nestled,
whose abbot, the founder or gtammvater of his race, had, by his marriage
with the daughter of the last king of Scottish race, placed his descendants
in the ' Marble Chair.'
<< The next coronation on the fatal stone was attended with more humili-
ating circumstances. John Baliol was crowned at Scone, and immediately
after his coronation did homage to the king of England as his over-lord."
Mr. Skene discusses the traditionary history of this famous stone,,
and criticises the legends connected with it. At one place he observes :
'^It is somewhat remarkable that while the Scotch legend brings the
stone at Scone from Ireland, the Irish legend brings the stone at Tara from
Scotland. The two legends, at all events, are quite antagonistic to each
other, and there is one historic fact certain as to each. First, the Lia Fail^
or Irish stone, did not leave Tara, but was still there in the eleventh century;
and secondly, the Scotch stone was not in Argyll during the existence of
the Irish colony of Dalriada, nor was used in the inauguration of their kings.'*
A description of Scone and the country round it is given with full
knowledge of the localities ; and the Professor sums up what is really
known about this old memorial of Scottish state thus :
" John Baliol held an assembly at Scone after his coronation in 1292,
which is the first to which the name of Parliament is distinctly given, and
in 1296 the coronation-stone was removed to Westminster.
" Such is a rapid sketch of the part which Scone appears to have played^
and the position which it occupied in the constitutionsd history of Scotland,
for at least six out of the eight centuries during which, accoiding to Blind
Harry, the fatal stone was preserved there prior to its removal to England
in 1296.
«( The coronation-stone is described by Professor Ramsay as consisting 'of
a dull reddish or purplish sandstone, with a few small imbedded pebbles.
One of which is of quartz, and two others of a dark material, which may be
Lydian stone. The rock is calcareous, and is of the kind that masons would
call freestone.,
** The country around Scone is also formed of old red sandstone. It is
thus described in the Statistical Account — *• For several miles along the
course of the Annaty bum the outcrop has been laid bure by the stream, and
156 REVIEWS.
exhibits well-defined sections of the deposit. It is one of the lower members
of the old red sandstone formation, which abounds in this part of the country.
There is little yariety in the aspect or structure of the rock, except that
here and there a bed of lighter or darker colour, more or less abounding in
comminuted scales of mica, occasions slight apparent yariations.'
'' The conclusion I have therefore come to is, that there was no connection
between the stone at Scone and the Lia Fail at Tara, and that the legends
of their wanderings, like those of the tribes with whom they are associated,
are nothing but myth and fable.
''It was the custom of Celtic tribes to inaugurate their kings upon a
sacred stone supposed to symbolise the monarchy. The Irish kings were
inaugurated on the Lia Fail, which never was anywhere but at Tara, the
' sedes principalis * of Ireland ; and the kings in Scotland, first of the Pictish
monarcny, and afterwards of the Scottish kingdoms which succeeded it, were
inaugurated on this stone, which neyer was anywhere but at Scone, the
' sedes principalis ' both of the Pictish and of the Scottish kingdoms."
An Appendix contains an illustrated facsimile of part of Fordun's
manuscript account of the coronation of Alexander III, with a letter
from Mr. Geikie on the stone itself, which ends thus :
" As a geologist I would say that the stone is almost certainly of Scottish
origin ; that it has been quarried out of one of the sandstone districts be-
tween the coast of Argyle and the mouths of the Tay and Forth, but that
there is no clue in the stone itself to fix precisely its original source."
Scottish, antiquaries and Scottish publishers are decidedly to be con-
gratulated, not only on the originality and importance of the works
they publish, but also on the style in which their volumes are laid
before the public. Everything testifies to a hearty and intelligent
respect for antiquity on the other side of the Tweed.
The Soeneby of England and Wales, its Chabacteb and
Obigin. By D. Mackintosh, F.G.S. Longmans.
This book is one likely to be of great value to all who visit the
mountains of Wales, by its explaining, from a geological point of
view, the condition and the probable causes of those grand scenes
which cannot but impress themselves on minds alive to the sublime
language of nature. It is primarily a geological work, inasmuch as it
discusses the theories of denudation, etc., and attempts to account for
the formation of the great ctvms and valleys, the lakes, the precipices,
the mountain summits, which we all know so well. In so far it will
interest the man of science, for it brings to bear all the discoveries of
geology without dogmatising too sternly ; and it will also instruct the
lover of the picturesque, for it links causes with results in the forma-
tion of visible phenomena, and dwells on the great traces of the Creator's
handiwork, whether on plains or mountains, enough to satisfy the taste
even of the artist.
The book is limited, as its title imports, to England and Wales, all
REVIEWS. 157
that refers to the latter being, of course, what our readers will princi-
pally consult it for. One of its chief omissions is that it does not treat
sufficiently at length of the sea coast scenery, which is so grand a
feature of our own country. Though, too, there are many scientific
diagrams and sketches in it, there are few attempts to represent scenery
on a sufficient scale ; indeed, the only one of any note is a view of the
summit of Snowdon, Y Wyddfa, which is made the frontispiece. It
rather puts the reader on the track of grand scenery, and explains
natural phenomena, than displays records of what exists. This is not
to be called a fault, for no work, not illustrated by photography or
chromo-lithography on a large scale, could be of much value in this
respect. Such as it is, however, the book ought to find its way into
the principality, for it is not too large for the tourist's knapsack, and
to the stay-at-home traveller it will form a very readable and instruc-
tive fireside companion.
Confining our attention to Welsh scenery only, we would recommend
the reader to look at what Mackintosh says of all the wonderful Border
districts of Siluria, and also of the Llangollen district, where he warms
up into a well merited compliment to the memory of those excellent
ladies of Plas Newydd, so well known during the earlier part of this
century. In particular we would call attention to his account of a
curious valley, or rather nook, called The World's End, somewhere
behind Castell Dinas Bran, which, we are sorry to confess, has totally
escaped our own knowledge, but which ought evidently not to be
passed over by any lover of the curious and the picturesque. A
sketch of this spot would have been very acceptable. But to our-
selves the chief interest of the work is concentrated in the accounts
of Snowdon, and the range of Caernarvonshire mountains still unknown,
to the mass of tourists, even in some of their most astonishing aspects.
The author treats of the Cwms or lakes of the district with great per-
spicuity, and he does full justice to the wonderfully sublime scenery
of Llyn Llydaw, and Cwm Qlaslyn, on the ascent from Capel Curig.
He hardly appreciates, we think, at its full worth, the awful basin of
Llyn Idwal, at the head of Nant Francon ; but he is clear in all that
he says about Llanberis and the Great Pass, which, with the Pass of
Pont Aberglaslyn, is not to be forgotten by whoever has once seen it.
We recommend the book most cordially to our readers. We could
add an archseological note or two to it, which would not detract from
its interest, but it stands well on its own merits, and a careful exami-
nation of it has caused us very sincere satisfaction.
158 REVIEWS.
A Week at the Land's End. By J. T. Blight, F.S.A.
The main characteristic of a good guide-book is that it should notice
everything worthy of remark in its district, and should convey its de-
scription in clear, unpretentious language. Such is this excellent topo-
graphical work of Mr. Blight's. When we read it the effect is the
same as if we were actually visiting the Land's End, and its wonderful
district, in company with one well acquainted with the whole, and able
to give a good account of whatever is worth seeing. The author, in
fact, supplies us with ample descriptions of natural scenery, conveyed
with a strong artistic feeling for the picturesque, a sufficient amount of
natural history, and good notices of the antiquities for which Western
Cornwall is remarkable. His plan is to take the reader out from
Penzance, the virtual capital of the district, round by the southern
coast to the Land's End, visiting all that is notable as he proceeds ;
then to come back by a similar circuit along the northern coast, and so
to return to Penzance again. The book is what it professes to be, an
account of the Land's End and the neighbourhood, as much as can be
conveniently visited in a week. Not comprehending AVest Cornwall,
properly so called, the author avoids the strong temptation of taking
the visitor to iSt. Michael's Mount on the east, or to the Scilly Isles on
the west ; and he gives the reader just such a book a^ any visitor of
Penzance would be glad to put in his pocket, or rather, let us say,
ought not be without, while rambling over that most remarkable part
of the Duchy. The whole is illustrated with a profusion of woodcuts,
in Mr. Blight's usual style, and upon which, especially those of natural
history and local scenery, he has laboured evidently with love.
As a specimen of the former we give his delineation of another rare
bird, the little bustard, than which, we think, Bewick never produced
anything much better, even in his happiest moods. Other birds are
represented with equal fidelity and delicacy, in this work, such as the
osprey, the bearded titmouse, the purple heron, etc., and they show that
Mr. Blight would do well to undertake a complete Ornithology of
Cornwall. At the same time the botany is equally well attended to,
and the representations of the humbler plants, mosses, etc. — weeds, as
cockneys would call them — are uncommonly faithful and good. In
particuligr a group of the flowers of the common Cornish heaths, p. 112,
is deserving of special mention. Mr. Blight does not neglect the flsh ;
he shows many, but you can hardly make a fish picturesque, do what
you will. A very useful map, not made illegible by the overcrowding
of names, and which ought to be mounted on cloth, is at the beginning
of the book ; so that the whole constitutes a most suitable pocket com-
panion. We quote the following from what the author says of Pen-
zance, which, let us hasten to declare, is one of the most eligible bathing
places in the west of England :^-
REVIEWS. 159
" The siir&ce of the countiy must have worn m ver; different upect at
one time from what it now does. There ii no doubt that it wag more deaaely
wooded, TsmaiDB of aacieat forests haviog been discoTsred at various places ;
that this was the case is also evident from che old Cornish names. The oak
and the hazel appear to have been particularly plentiful, affording thick
covertB for the volf and the deer, with other wild atiimali, which once
abounded throughout England. But centuriea have gone by, and Time in
his course has wrought vast changea on the country and the manners of its
people.
" Almost all the names are in ancient Cornish ; thus, the chief town of
the district, Penzauce ('Peneantia' of Raj and Willoughbj), Pen-tant, the
* Hoi; -head-land,' seems to have been 90 tilled on account of a chapel, dedi-
cated to St. Anthony, the patron of fishermen which once stood on a pro-
jecting point near the present quaj. In the chapel-jard of Bt. Mary's is
the fragment of an old cross supposed to have belonged to this chapel.
"The situation of the town is one of peculiar beauty, sloping down from
an deration of about one hundred feet to the edge of the sea, where it
terminates in a fine promenade about half a mile in length, with the wide
expanse of the bay spread before it. A stroll along the beach, which, sub-
ject to the influence of the east and eouth-west winds, is now of sand, now
of pebbles, is a delightful one. After a rough sea large quantities of sea-
weed are thrown up, when the most delicate specimens may be gathered.
Very beautiful are they when pressed on smooth sheets of paper, in the folio
of the amateur ; but how different they look in their native element, to watch
them waving to and fro with the motion of the waves, to peer down into the
great gloomy recesses, where are blended dark masses of green, and crim-
son, and purple, forming arcades and dense groves, and long vistas stretch-
ing away into the mysterious shades of the deep."
LiUla Biuturil.
160 REVIEWS.
This is accompanied with a good general view of the town, and St.
Michael's Mount in the distance. Mr. Blight gives a spirited group
of the Newlyn fishing boats, and says : —
" Standing on the high ground over Newlyn, whence there is a glorious
view of the whole bay, it is a most interesting sight, on a summer's evening,
to look down on a fleet of sixty or seventy of diese boats, with their rich
brown sails, creeping away one after the other, out for the night's fishing.
If pilchards are to be caught, the drift nets, one end being fastened to the
boat, are thrown overboard in the dusk of evening, and left to float with the
tide : no sails are set, except during very calm weather, to prevent the nets
being folded together. The Osh are not enclosed in a circle, but are caught
in the mesbes, which, bein^ large enough to admit their heads, detain them
by the gills when attemptmg to draw themselves back. By this mode of
fishing from five to ten thousand is considered a moderate catch for one
night ; as many as twenty thousand are sometimes taken.
" In 1851 there was a most extraordinary catch at St. Ives— one net alone
was supposed to contain 16,500,000— or 5,500 hogsheads, weighing 1100
tons. The probable value was ;£ 11,000, reckoning them at the usuiu price
of £2 per hogshead before deducting expense of curing.
'* The seasons, of course, vary considerably. Though a larger number than
usual was not taken last year, 1860, yet it was the most profitable season the
fishermen have known : the boats of Newlyn and Mousehole realised on an
average not less than j£200 each — which to one hundred boats would give a
total of £20,000. This success was chiefly owing to the advantages derived
by direct communication by railway with London."
The fact is that there is a great deal to see and to interest the visitor
in the little fishing villages and coves all round this part of the coast,
as well as in the narrow valleys, and even on the healthy moors of the
more inland parts. It should be remembered, too, that visitors to
Penzance need not consider themselves obliged, as they do at Hastings,
Bournemouth, and Torquay, to dress for their walks. Here they can
go out as they please, with the less ceremony the better ; they can
dabble in the water, struggle through the heather, and come home
with heaps of wild plants, minerals, etc., without any risk of offending
against the proprieties of the place. It is a district of full rural liberty,
and therefore of health and comfort. At and around Penzance, amid
the fresh Atlantic breezes, all resemblances to Belgravia and Tybumia
vanish, and those who are in search of what is natural and beautiful
can hardly fail to be gratified.
As the tourist gets further towards the Land's End he will come
upon the famous stone circle of Boscawen-un, of which we find a good
engraving at p. 72. Then he will come upon Sennen Church, very
well delineated, and close by will be found the Table-m^n, p. 78,
which we have no hesitation in saying ought to be visited, if only for
the sake of tradition, for, as the author informs us,
^' East of the church, a few yards from the roadside, and near the end of
a small cottage, is the Table-mdo — a block of granite seven feet ten inches
long, and three feet high, which has probably given name to the estate on
which it stands. Main or mdn is Cornish for * stone.' This was used, ac-
cording to tradition, as a dining-table by some Saxon kings, who either for
business or pleasure came to this famed spot. Some say there were three
REVIEWS. 161
kings only ; others speak of seven. Hals has given their names as follows
— ^ Ethelbert, fifth lunff of Kent ; Oissa, second king of the south Saxons ;
Eingills, sixth king of the west Saxons ; Sebert, third king of the east
Saxons ; Ethelfred, seventh king of the Northumbers ; Penda, ninth king
of the Mercians ; and Sigebert, fifth king of the east Angles ; who aU
flourished about the year 600.' Merlin, who appears to have had something
to say about every nook in the kingdom, has prophesied that a yet larger
number of kings will assemble around this rock for a similar purpose, previ-
ously to some great event, or the destruction of the world itself. As before
mentioned, a rock near the Lanyon Gromldh claims this honour, and a
similar story is attached to another at Bosavem in the parish of St. Just."
Once here, we become aware that we are very near the extreme point
of Cornwall ; for if we look up at the signboard of the little hostelry,
where there is much comfort, by the way, we see written up, '' The
last inn in England'^ \ so it is as well to refresh here before embarking
on the Atlantic, whose waves can be heard rather close ; but on coming
out of the house again we discover the craft of our host, for the other,
or the western side of the sign-board, is inscribed with *^ The first inn
in England" In short, we may go further, and fare worse ; for, be
it told, this is a case of Hobson's choice, " this inn or none, until you
get to America.'' But we will sit awhile in the quaint litUe parlour,
and listen to a narrative of Mr. Blight's selection :
'' Just on the brow of the slope which runs down to the Land's End is a
house belonging to * the First and Last,' where carriages and horses remain,
whilst the visitors ramble about the cli^. The ground inclines rapidly from
this spot to the head of the promontory.
" Some years ago an officer attempted to ride here on horseback. The
story has been often told, and many different versions have been given.
The following is authentic, as it was written by General Sir Kobert Arbuth-
not himself : —
^* ' In June, 1804, when captain in a dragoon regiment, and aide-de-camp
to General Wilford, who was stationed at Falmouth, I attended him on an
inspection of a yeomanry corps at Penzance. The day after the expedition,
the General, with a party, proceeded to the Land's End on an excursion of
pleasure, and after taking refreshment at a house known by the name of
*The First and Last Inn in England,' three of the party, consisting of
myself, Lieut. Gubitt, of the Royal Artillery, and a clergyman who resided
at Marazion, preceded the others, and on arriving at the top of the slope
reaching down to the extremity of the Land's End, on each side of which
was a steep precipice, I perceived that the grass was short and slippery, and
although a aragoon officer, I did not think it prudent to ride down ; but
my two companions, being of a different opinion, did so, when I followed
them, leading my horse. After remaining a short time at the bottom, we
mounted to regain the General, who had with his party reached the spot
whence we had started, and were astonished, especially the General, at seeing
me at the bottom of the hill, and terrified at what afterwards occurred.
Although I did not think it prudent to ride down, I fancied there could be
no danger in riding up ; and accordingly I mounted, but we had not pro-
ceeded far when mv mare, a very spirited animal, became unruly, in conse-
quence of the girths of the saddle going back, and she began to kick and
plunge, inclining to the precipice on the right. Although in imminent
danger, I did not, happily, lose my presence of mind, and I threw myself off
when not more than four feet from the edge of the cliff. Mine ?ras a hussar
162 REVIEWS.
nddle, and the bridle Ewving a whip at the end of it, I threw it otbt the
mue'e head, and waa able to keep hold of it aod to check her, so aa to pre-
veat her kicking me. When she turned with her back to the cliff, I let her
go, and she fell down and wm dashed to pieces, leaving me on the ground
close to the edge of the cliff. A pereon weot down in a basket and brought
up the shattered saddle and bridle which a saddler at Penzance begged me
to give him that he might hang it at the dooi of his shop. Man; accounts
of the event were circulated, but this is the true one.'
"■ The mark of the horse's hoof on the turf was for a long time after kept
cleared out, and shown to the visitors bj the guides who loiter about the
place."
The tourist should then haaten onwards to the great thing of the *
district, the redoubted Land's End ; and a finer coaat-scene he will
hardly witness in this island. Members of our Association, who were
present at the great Truro Meeting of 1862, will scarcely have forgot-
ten the glorioua pic-nic which the President provided for them, with
his accustomed kindness, on the bright green turf looking over this
promontory. All this part of Mr. Blight's book is well worth carefully
reading, and the illustrations are numerous. Beyond Nanjizel and
the Boaistow Logan Rock we come to the high ground above Tol
Pedn, — a place to mske a Pembrokeshire man superstitious, for the
scenery is eo strikingly like that of Castlemartin Hundred that he may
really think himself spirited home again :
" Looking seaward from the beaeona, Tal-pedo, ' the holed headland,' lies
a little to the right. The descent over the turf, which is beautifully even
and smooth, is very steep and slippery ; we must go down cautiously, for a
false step may roll us over the rocks and into the sea far beneath. We shall
have to walk very near the edge of the great yawning chasm, called the
' Funnel.' It is but sis or seven feet trom the verge of the cliff, and descends
perpendicularly. At the bottom a cavern from the face of the cliff meets it,
the two cavities making a letter L ; the opening on the surface was formed
by the falling in of the roof of a cavern similar to the many others previously
noticed.
" When the tide recedes the cavern may be entered, after getting down
the shelving cliff, a difficult task to many, but when accomplished we arc
REVIEWS. 163
amply repaid for the labour by the iii^ni6c«nt light of the cl iS». It u im-
pouible to imsgiDe anything finer in coast acBDerr ; near the entiaace to the
cavern rises a perpendicular wall of granite to the height of two hnndred
feet, with icarcely a crack or fissure on its surface — a foUiJ, impenetrable
masB. Were all our coasts like this, Britannia would truly need
" 'no bulwarks,
Ha towers along the steep.'
For it hu defied the Atlantic for ages — and mocks the power of man ; a few
of the waves which roll in here would shiver the noblest architectural work
to pieces, whilst they may beat for ever on this living rock, aod it remains
cbsngelesB and unharmed. But the finest pile of granite in the county is on
the left, named Chair Ladder i the whole mass appears as if built up of great
cubical blocks, reared one on the other."
Hereabouts, too, we come on a little gem of the district, oa the deli'
neation of which the author has worked with great care and spirit.
Such a spot as this well of St. Levan is perfectly charming; and in
striking contrast to it we give the following view of the entrance to
Castle Treryn, as one of the most complete spectmcDs we have seen of
the confusion of Cornish rock-scenery.
The famous Logan Rock is in this immediate neighbourhood, and
there is a good view of it among these pages. But we must hasten
to a conclusion of our notice ; first of all visiting the famed church of
St. fiurian, as great a curiosity, in its way, as St. David's ; for it was
a collegiate foundation of King Atfaeletan, bo they saj, for Augustine
canons. Here there is a good deal of antiquarian reading, nhich we
Entnacs to CmU* Tnijn.
must leave to the reader's diligence ; and ne muet finish with one
more extract from Mr. Blight :
" We lUTB noir seen the principal portion of the graoits coast of Bolerium ;
m7 slcetches and notes will give the reader but a faint idea of the militj,
neither will the tourist bj one excursion become acquainted with the Tsried
and ever-changlDg aspects which these bold and romantic cliffs assume. One
or two fiwtB, howBTer will be observed,— that thej are almost all verf pre-
cipitous, that there is no beach except at three or four little saudy coves —
REVIEWS. 165
mud these are the only spots in which the wares roll in freely ; elsewhere the
rocks go down abruptly into the sea, and the waves are thrown back, broken
to pieces, and put to confusion. Wild and mysterious is the scene when the
clouds of mist from the south-west envelope the headlands like garments ;
sometimes the summits are entirely hidden, then clearing away, a shadowy
belt is formed half way up the height, then descending to the turbulent
surface of the sea, the white foam of the breakers is obscured, — but the
muffled sound is heard, rising from ' the cold grey stones,' and resounding
through the hollow caverns. Still the mist rous on, breaking into masses,
and rejoining its ragged edges over yawning chasms and 'gulfs profound,*
getting denser as it goes, until the rising of the wina sends it away, or the
sun in its strength pierces the gloom and sparkles on the crystals which the
clouds have hung on the mosses and lichens of the rocks.
" To be appreciated, the Land's End clifis must be seen in calm and in
storm, in sunshine and in cloud. Walk on the turf fragrant with wild
flowers, sit amongst the sea pinks, and follow with the eye the numerous
birds pursuing their vocations ; and the vessels as they creep along near the
land — for the sky is fair and the sun is bright. How fearful is the change
when the blasts howl and shriek around the cairns, and the deafening roar of
the billows fills the air. The ships are far from land to avoid the iron-bound
coast ; it is destruction to near these cliffs. Thus the natural appearance
of the coast is changed by the influence of the atmosphere, presenting in
turn splendid effects for the study of the artist. The cumulus clouds, which
sometimes hang over the sea are of the grandest character, whilst the glory
of the sunsets, especially when seen from the Land's End, are only equalled
by those witnessed on the southern coasts of Europe."
This book does great credit to Mr. Blight both as an artist and as
an author.
Gwaith y Parch, Walter Davies, A. C, {GwaUter Mechain), Dan
olygiad y Parch. D, Silvan Evans, B.D, (The Works of the Rev.
Walter Davies, M.A. Edited by the Rev. D. Silvan Evans, B.D.)
3 vols. Carmarthen : W. Spurrell. London : Simpkin, Marshall, &
Co. 1868. — The genius and learning of Gwallter Mechain have received
a fitting memorial in these three handsome volumes, the contents of
\7hich range over a wide and varied field of literature, — Welsh and
English, prose and verse, — and attest the depth and solidity as well
as the extent of his knowledge. For besides the General View of the
Agriculture and Domestic Economy of North and South Wales (a work
in three volumes), described by a critic as '' full of shrewd observa-
tion, lively description, and practical advice," new editions of the poet-
ical works of Huw Morrus and Lewis Glyn Cothi, and other writings
enumerated in the editor's preface, we have here productions of such
varied interest as Treatises on the mysteries of the Welsh poetic mea-
sures, in which he was preeminently well versed ; contributions of
high interest and value to the history of his country, literary, antiqua-
rian, and general poems of much power, beauty, and pathos, such as
Cwymp Llewelyn (the Fall of Llewelyn) ; and the Cywydd Gofiant
(Elegy on) lolo Morganwg ; and thoughtful and suggestive criticisms
as well on the national orthography as on the translations and versions
of the Bible and Prayer Book in Welsh. In each of these fields
166 REVIEWS.
Owallter Mechain did his work well, very well ; and though otiiers of
his contemporaries, of whom he reckoned among his correspondents
Tegid, Rowland Williams of Meifod, Rees of Cascob, Jenkins of
Kerry, leuan Glan Qeirionydd, Camhuanawc, etc., may have surpassed
him in their special lines of excellence, he was probably unequalled
in the variety and fulness of his general knowledge ; and there was
no one whose advice was more widely sought, or whose decision was
more readily acquiesced in.
To the students of Welsh history, however, who turn to the pages
of the ArchcBohgia Catnhrensis as a storehouse of information and a
guide to further sources, there are some portions of his writings that
will be of especial interest and value. The parochial historian, for
instance (and we trust that the Arch. Camb. reckons many such
among its readers), will find in his accounts of the parishes of Llan-
ymyneich, Llansilin, Llanwynog, and Meifod, admirable specimens of
what such accounts should be. The student of bardic life and lore
will be delighted with the entertaining Cqfion Barddonol, the critic of
Cywyddau, Englynion Odlau, and other developments of the Pedwar*
Mesur-ar-hugain, will be thankful for the information contained in his
Traethawd ar Brydyddiaeih Cymreig and the Essay on the Distinct
Character and Comparative Advantages of the Bardic Institutions of
Carmarthen and Glamorgan, Or if he prefer the early customs of his
ancestors, the Traethawd ar Lywodraeth a Defodau y Brythoniaid will
supply him with useful information. Or if, again, his object should
be to work out from unused sources the peculiarities of times, places,
and seasons, he may take a hint from what is said of Carolau Mai
Harri Parri; and make many notes from the poems of Gwallter
Mechain himself. To the ecclesiastical historian, too, the account of
the translations of the Old and New Testament^ and his criticisms
thereupon, in Llythyrau Garmon will have a peculiar interest ; and
this will be enhanced by portions of his English correspondence on
subsequent versions of the Bible and the Liturgy. Nor must we omit,
for the philologist's sake, the remarkable letter of Gruffydd ap leuan
Fychan, of Llannerch, preserved by him, and showing the wonderful
elasticity of the language, and its facility of adapting itself to the ex-
pression of new wants and requirements.
Having thus enumerated the chief features of the volumes, we will
make no extracts, but cordially recommend them, with the additional
remark, that the printing is excellent, and that the able editor has
done his work carefully and well.
A Map of North Wales, Topographical and Antiquarian, by J.
Wyld, Charing Cross, London. — With the above title Mr. Wyld, that
enterprising publisher of maps, has lately put forth one which is a
decided improvement on the ordinary travelling -maps used by tourists.
It is reduced from the ordnance survey, and, besides the usual topo-
graphical details, gives the names and sites of the antiquarian remains
of North Wales. We do not know whether a similar map has been
published for South Wales, but we presume this to be the case. We
REVIEWS. 167
bave only one fault to find with this map, and that is the want of clear-
ness with which the sites of antiquities are expressed. The antiquarian
details are rather smothered by the topographical ones. However, it
is an excellent beginning ; and the same thing ought to be done for
every one of the counties in Great Britain.
The Booh of Deer, — We much regret that we are compelled to defer,
until our next number, any notice of this latest production of the
Spalding Club. It is not only the last issued, but, we are sorry to
add, the last that will be issued, as the Club, after a flourishing and
useful existence of thirty years, is now dissolved. The Book of Deer
has been edited by that most indefatigable of antiquaries. Dr. John
Stuart of Edinburgh, to whose zeal and judgment are due the produc-
tion of the two well-known volumes of The Sculptured Stones of Scot'
land. Such a name will be sufficient guarantee as to the manner in
which the present book has been edited; and this is all the more
important to the Celtic scholar as it contains divers manuscript entries
of Gaelic of the earliest character — far older than any known Welsh
record.
A HiSTOBT OF THB DiOOESE OF St. AsAFH. By D. R.
Thomas, M.A., Rector of St. Mary's Cefa. Part I.
It is always a pleasure to have to notice a really conscientious and
valuable work, especially upon such a subject as Diocesan History,
and precisely such a book is the one now before us. It is only the
first part of what promises to be a large work, for it contains the
general history of the diocese ; and we make out from it that we may
expect from its author a good deal of parochial detail in future parts.
He has a wide and interesting subject before him, and if he treats it
with the same spirit of research that he has displayed in this first
portion, the whole work will become an ecclesiastical record of great
value. It is too important a book to be noticed in only a summary
manner, and therefore we defer till our next number the review of it
which we purpose giving.
^% On account of the length of our Retiews, we are obliged to
postpone the continuation of the Obiqikal Documekts till the next
number. — Ed. Arch. Camb.
NOTICS.
The SUEVEY OF GOWER, Part III, being now printed
and ready for issuing. Members desirous of obtaining it,
or the whole of the Survey, are requested to apply to
the Publisher of the Arckadogia Cambrensis; or to
either of the General Secretaries.
A certain number of copies on Large Paper have been
struck off, at a slightly increased price, and should be
applied for in a similar manner.
Ed. Arch. Cams.
i*
FOURTH SERIES.— No. III.
JULY, 1870.
SHEEIFFS OF DElfBIGHSHIEE.— No. III.
{Continued from p, 117, vol. rv, 3rd 5er.)
CHARLES II.
1660. — Edward Vaughan of Llwydiarih, Esq. This
gentleman also served the oflBce of sheriff in the previous
year. He was in all probability a younger brother of
Sir Robert Vaughan, Knt., and son of Owen Vaughan,
Esq., sheriff in 1601. The elder brother. Sir Robert, left
by ms wife, Catherine, two children, ^erftcri and Cathe-
rine. Herbert proved himself a zealous royalist, and
was one of the prominent leaders in the king's cause in
North Wales and the Marches. He was taken prisoner
at Shrewsbury, on the 21st of February, 1644, when
that town was betrayed into the hands of the parlia-
mentary leader. Colonel Mytton ; but subsequently he
escaped, or was exchanged, for shortly afterwards we
find him fighting by the side of that stout old realist,
Sir John Owen, in Caernarvonshire. In this skirmish
Sir John was captured, but Vaughan and other leaders
escaped.^ For his loyalty Herbert had his estates con-
fiscated by Parliament; or, as Reynolds puts it, *'for
his loyalty to King Charles I he was ousted of his
estates by his uncle, Edward Vaughan, who by a sus-
pected deed claimed it." The uncle was a member of
the Long Parliament at this time, and doubtless was
^ Cambrian Quarterly, i, 61, 71.
4th 6BR., TOL. I. 12
1 70 SHERIFFS OF DENBIGHSHIRE.
supported in his claim by the influence of the parlia-
mentary leaders. Sir John Pryse, of Newtown Hall,
was chosen to represent Montgomeryshire in 1640; but
was disqualified on the 21st of October, 1645, "for de-
serting the Parliament, and adhering to the enemy's
party." A new writ was issued, and Edward Vaughan
was elected in his place. He, however, soon fell into
disfavour, and was not re-elected tUl the year 1658, when
the last ParHament of the Protectorate assembled. In
all probability he is the Edward Vaughan who repre-
sented the boroughs of Montgomeryshire in the Parlia-
ment of 1661-78. It has been stated (but without suffi-
cient evidence, we believe,) that Re3nidlds has confused
Edward Vaughan, the uncle of Herbert Vaughan, with
Edward Vaughan his nephew by marriage, who ulti-
mately succeeded to the property, and through his
daughter transmitted it to the Wynnstay family. His
connexion with the Llwydiarth branch of Vaughans may
be gathered from the following table :
Owen Vaughan, sheriff, 1601= Catherine, heiress of Llangedwin
I I
Sir Robt. Vanghan= Bdwd. Vaughan, John Vaughan =Elizar
of Llwydiarth, Knt. sheriff, 1660 ofGlanlljn beth
I I I
Herbert Vaughan, Eleanor= John Purcell of Howel= Elizabeth
deprived of his Nantoribba Vaughan
estates
^ IT '. I I
Catherine, = Sir J. Copley Eleanor, = Edward Vaughan of Glanllyn
coheir coheir I and of Llangedwin and
I Jjlwydiarth
1 1 I
Edward Mary ob. = Thomas Anne, eventually sole = Sir Watkin
died 1726 Strange- heiress of Llwydiarth, Williams,
young ways Glanllyn, and Llan- 3dbart.,who
ob. 1725 ged win, which she de- assumed the
vised to her husband name of
Wynne
Edward Vaughan of Glanlljni could have no right
whatever to the Llwydiarth estate before his marriage
I
1
SHERIFFS OF DENBIGHSHIRE. 171
with Miss Purcell, which took place, according to Rey-
nolds, in the year 1672. Immediately after this event
we find that Edward Vaughan became a person of im-
portance in Montgomeiyshire. He represented it in the
short Parliament of 1679, was high sheriff in 1688, re-
elected to represent the county in 1685, and continued
its member until his death in 1718, the year in which
a new wnit was issued for the election of his successor.
A person who died in 1 71 8, having been married in 1 6 72,
can hardly be expected to have arrived at an age suffi-
ciently mature to serve as a member of Parliament in
1645. These facts all tend to support Reynolds' asser-
tion that it was the uncle who succeeded Herbert in
possession of the estates. May we hope that the pre-
sent member for Montgomeryshire will turn his atten-
tion to this portion of the history of his family with a
view to clearing up much that is now obscure relating
to the lives of the two Edward Vaughans who were
sheriffs and members of ParHament ?
1661. — Charles Salushury of Bachymbyd, JEsq.^ was
the second son of William Salusbuiy of RAg, the cele-
brated ^^Salsbrir Hosanau Gleision* (Blue Stockings).
The Salusburys of Bachymbyd were a yoimger branch
of the old family of Llyvreni, being descended from John
SalusbuiT (fourth son of Thomas Salusbury H6n of Lly-
weni), whose son. Piers, acquired RAg by his marriage
with Margaret Wenn, daughter and heiress of leuan ab
Howel, a descendant of Owen Brogyntyn, who is said
to have resided at R6g.^ John Salusbury of RAg, grand-
son of Piers, was the father of Col. William Salusbury,
Governor of Denbigh Castle during the civil war, the
hero of the siege of 1646, who contrived to hold his
castle for his royal master two months longer than any
other fortress in the kingdom was held.^ His fortunes,
in many respects, resembled those of the defender of
Raglan Castle, the brave Marquis of Worcester. By
1 Pennant's Tour, ii, 201.
^ A full account of the siege is given in Ancient and Modem Den"
high, pp. 208-38.
123
1 72 SHEEIFFS OF DENBIGHSHIRE.
his wife Dorothy, daughter of Owen Vaughan of Llwy-
diarth, sheriff in 1601, and sister of the sheriff of the
preceding year, Col. William Salusbury had a family of
three sons, — Owen Salusbury of R6g, Charles, and John,
who died without issue. As some recognition of the
great services rendered to the royal cause by the Salus-
bury family, the second son, Charles (for his elder
brother, Owen, died in 1657), was at the Restoration
selected as one of the seven Denbighshire gentlemen
who were deemed fit and qualified for the contemplated
knighthood of the Royal Oak, his estate being then
valued at £1,300.^ In 1666 he built the present house
at Bachymbyd.^ He married Elizabeth, daughter of
John Thelwall, Esq., of Plas-Coch, high sheriff in 1643,
and was the father of an only daughter, Jixne, who
became the wife of Sir Walter Bagot of Blithfield, M.P.
for the county of Stafford, ancestor of the present Lord
Bagot. By this alliance the estates passed into posses-
sion of the Bagot family.
1 662. — Watkin Kyj^n, of Glascoed, was the eldest son
of Gruflfydd Kyffin of Glascoed (axjquired by purchase
from his nephew, John Kyffin), by his wife Lowry, the
daughter of Owen Vaughan of Llwydiarth, the sheriff
for 1 6 1 . The Kyffins of Glascoed deduced their descent,
through leuan Gethin ab Madoc Kyffin, from Einion
EfeU, lord of Cynllaeth, a younger son of Prince Madoc
ab Meredydd of Powys.® Watkin Kyffin, who was sheriff
for Montgomeryshire in 1663, married Dorothy, daughter
of Owen Holland of Berw, in the coimty of Anglesey,^
by whom he had issue, one son, Gruffydd, who died
without issue in 1661, and six daughters, — 1, Margaret,
heiress of Glascoed, who married Sir William Williams,
Knt., Speaker of the House of Commons, and Solicitor-
General to James II. This gentleman is said to have
married her early in life, m consequence of a lawsuit
^ Oamhrian Quarterly^ ii, 169.
* Anc. a/nd Mod. Denbigh, 237.
^ Barke's Landed Gentry, art, " Edwards of Ness Strange."
* Arch. Comb., 1868, p. 128.
SHERIFFS OF DENBIGHSHIRE. 173
which he gained for her father at Shrewsbury, when
Mr. Kyffin was so pleased with his conduct that he
offered him his daughter s hand. Thinking it right to
inquire what settlement the young barrister could make
on the issue of the marriage, Mr. Williams said he would
settle his bar-gown. Mr. Kyffin, however, had penetra-
tion enough to anticipate the eminence of his future
son-in-law, and the match took place. ^ Mr. Yorke tells
the story differently.^ He says that Williams, on one
of the 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." The issue by this marriage was two sons, —
William, the sheriff for 1696 ; and John, ancestor of the
Bodel wyddan family ; together with a daughter, Emma,
the wife of Sir Arthur Owen. Mr. Kyffiui s other daughters
were, — 2, Mary; 3, Anney married to Thomas Edwards
of Kilhendre ; 4, Sina, the wife of Roger Matthews of
Blodwell, in the county of Salop, now represented by
the Earl of Bradford ; 5, Dorothy^ married to ;
6, Catherine, married to John Lloyd of Glanhafon.
Arms. — Party per fess 5a. and arff., a lion rampant
countercharged.
1663. — Roger Puleston ofEmrall (or, as it is written
in some old MSS., Emerallt), Esq. Pennant states that
the name was originally De Pulesdon, and that it was
derived from Pulesdon, a township in Shropshire. The
founder of the Emrall family was Roger, a favourite
officer of Edward I, who, after the conquest of Wales,
appointed him collector of the taxes raised to support
the French war. In collecting the tax he was seized by
the Welsh, and hanged. His son, Richard, was appointed
by the same prince sheriff of Caernarvon ; and another
descendant, John Puleston Hen (senior) was appointed
Chamberlain of North Wales, and was very popular with
the bards. Roger Puleston of EmraU, who died 1571,
married Anne, daughter of Richard Grosvenor of Eaton,
1 Blakeway's Sh&riffs, p. 156. « Boijal Tribes, p. 112.
1 74 SHERIFFS OF DENBIGHSHIRE.
Esq., and was the father of a younger son, Richard
Puleston, whose grandson, John Puleston "of Emerallt,"
is described in the Harl. MS. 1971 as a justice of West-
minster. He died August 1659, leaving by his wife,
Elizabeth (who died 29 Sept. 1659), a son, Roger, the
present sheriff, who was bom in the year 1636. Mr.
JPuleston was high sheriff of Flintshire in 1662. He
married Janet, daughter of Sir Roger Mostyn of Mostyn;
and dying in 1667, left issue :
I. Sir Roger Puleston^ who married Catherine, daughter
and heiress of William Edwards of Pl^ Newydd,
in the parish of Chirk, Esq., descended from Tudor
Trefor.
II. John^ who died s, p.
III. Susanna^ who became the wife of Eubule Thelwall,
son of Eubule Thelwall.
The last male descendant of this branch of the family
was Thomas Puleston, who in 1734 bequeathed the
estate of Emrall to his relative, John Puleston of Pick-
hill, Esq., uncle of Richaid Price, who assumed the name
and arms of Puleston by sign manual, in 1812, in com-
pliance with the will of his imcle, and was created a
baronet, 2nd Nov. 1813.
Arras. — Sa. three mullets arg.
1664. — Robert Wynn ofFoelas, Esq., filled the office
for the second time. (See under 1631.)
1665. — Sir John Carter of Kinmaely Knt., was the
eldest son of Thomas Carter of Dinton in Bedfordshire.
He joined the Parliamentary forces, and became one of
Cromwell s colonels. He took an active part in the siege
of Denbigh, and he appears to have been prominent in
the management of the affairs of the town after its
capitulation on the 26th of October, 1646. The histo-
rian of Denbigh states that " Col. Geo. Twistleton, Col.
Thomas Ravenscroft, and Col. Sir John Carter, had the
chief management of all pubUc affairs ; and both the
borough and the county felt the weight of their autho-
rity."^ In the list of members of Parliament for Den-
^ Anc. and Mod. Denbigh^ 243.
SHERIFFS OF DENBIGHSHIRE. 1 75
bighshire he appears as member in the ParHaments of
1654 and 1656 as "Col. John Carter'; biit in 1658-9 he
is styled "(Sir) John Carter of Kinmael."^ He acquired
Kinmael by his marriage with Dorothy, daughter and
heiress of David Holland of that place, by Dorothy his
wife, daughter of Jenkin Lloyd of Berthllwyd in Mont-
gomeryshire. On the occasion of his marriage a wag is
said to have made the remark, that he had chosen the
best bit of Holland in the countiy.2 Carter is said to
have served behind a draper s counter before he enlisted
under the Parliamentarian banner.^ In 1650 he was
appointed high sheriff for Caernarvonshire, and in 1660
he was chosen to represent the town of Denbigh in Par-
liament, but only retained his seat for a short time.
He died Nov. 25th, 1676.
Attos, — Az, a talbot passant inter three buckles or.
1666. — Charles Goodman of Glanhespin, Esq., was the
son of Thomas Goodman of PlasUchaf, sheriff in 1 6 1 3, by
his second wife, Penelope, daughter of Richard Glynton,
and was bom in 1619. He was twice married : first to
Rebecca, daughter of Richard Langfqrd of Trefalyn, by
whom he had a daughter, Penelope, married to Marma-
duke Uoyd of Newtown in Montgomeryshire ; secondly,
to Anne, daughter of Edward Price. By this lady, who
died the 8th Dec. 1684, he had a daughter, Sarah, who
married her relative, Gabriel Goodman, a lawyer of
Ruthin. Bishop Goodman, in his wiU, bequeaths to
"my cousin, Charles Goodman of Glanhespin, five
pounds.''* Mr. Goodman died on the 14th Aug. 1693.^
1667. — Maurice Gethin of Cemiogau was the son
and heir of Robert Gethin of Cemiogau, the son of
Robert Wynn Gethin of the same place, who was brother
to Cadwaladr ab Maurice, the high sheriff for 1548
(see that year). In the Calendar of State Papers (Do-
mestic Series) for the year 1667, under January 9, is the
following entry : " WhitehalL — Dispensation for Maurice
1 Records of Denbigh, 80. * Anc. and Mod. Denbigh, 250.
2 Pennant, iii, 163. ^ Harl. MS. 1971.
6 Yorke's Boyal Tribes, p. 170.
1 76 SHERIFFS OF DENBIGHSHIRE.
Gethin, high sheriff of Denbighshire, to live put of the
county, at his house at Islington, on account of his age
(seventy years) and his ill health, he appointed suffi-
cient deputy." At his death Mr. Gethin left a daughter
and heiress, Rebecca, who married Richard Kenrick, heir
of Andrew Kenrick, who died in 1653. From the Ken-
ricks the Cemiogau estate passed into the hands of
Mr. Blair, from whom it was purchased by the late
Mr. Wynne of Foelas.^
1668. — William Parry of Llwyn Ynn, Esq. This
gentleman married Catherine, daughter and heiress of
Koger Holland of Hendrefawr, the son of Roger Holland
the high sheriff for 1634. Bishop Goodman speaks of
Mr. Parry, in his will, as the heir of his sister Susan ;
and bequeaths " to my cousin, William Parry of Llwyn
Ynn, and his sister, five poimds."^ By his wife (who
died in 1706) Mr. Parry had issue, "six sons and five
daughters, whereof two survived her only,"^ viz., 1, Da-
vid, the sheriff of 1695; and 2, Susannah, married to
John Roberts of Hafod-y-Bwch, the high sheriff for 1705.
1669. — Hugh Lloyd ofFoxhall, Esq., was the eldest
son of Foulk Lloyd of Foxhall, Esq., the son of Hugh
Lloyd of the same place, the sheriff in 1636. He mar-
ried Margaret, daughter of William Glynn, Esq., of
Glynllifon in the county of Caernarvon, by whom he had
issue, a son and heir, Foulk, who married Elizabeth,
daughter and eventual heiress of Thomas Lloyd of Aston
in the coimty of Salop, descended from Elinion EfelL
By this marriage the Lloyds became possessed of Aston,
and made it their family residence ; tne old seat of Fox-
hall being now the property of Frederick Richard West,
Esq., of Ruthin Castle.
Arms. — Those of Lloyd of FoxhaU were, quarterly or
and az. two roebucks passant counterchanged of the
field. Crest, a roebuck's head. On succeeding to the
estates of the Aston family they assumed their arms,
1 Arch. Camh., 1860, p. 112. » jj^y^ ^WJcff, 168, 170.
' Prom an inscription on a monument in Abergelan Church, given
in Anc. and Mod, Denbigh^ p. 205.
SHERIFFS OF DENBIGHSHIRE. 177
viz. per fess sa. and arg. a Hon rampant coimterchanged
of the field.^
1 6 70.— Edward Thelwall ofPlas-y- Ward, Esq. This
sheriff was the eldest son of Simon Thelwall of the same
Slace, the sheriff for 1612. He married Margaret,
aughter and coheir of Andrew Meredydd of Glan Tanat,
Esq., and had issue :
I. Simon Thelwall of Plas-y-Ward, who married Lady
Margaret Sheffield, daughter of Edward Lord Shef-
field and Earl of Mulgrave, and was the father of
Edward Thelwall of Plas-y-Ward, who by his
wife Sidney, daughter and heiress of WilUam
Wynn of Garthgynan (son of Sir John Wynn of
Gwydir), had a daughter, Jane, the heiress of
Plas-y- Ward, who married Sir William Williams
(second baronet), the sheriff for 1696 (see p. 180).
II. Andrew, iii. John. iv. Edward, a captain in Ire-
land. V. William, vi. Lumley. vii. Robert.
Together with seven daughters : 1, Dorothy, the wife
of Edward Morris of Lloran, Esq., sheriff 1673; 2, Jane,
wife of Robert Wynn of Foelas, sheriff in 1631 and
1664; 3, Sidney, wife of Lewis Lloyd of Rhiwaedog, Esq. ;
4, ikfargrare^, wife of Maurice Jones of D61,Esq.; 5, Anne,
wife of Thomas Wynn, Esq. ; 6, Alice, married to Tho-
mas Mostyn of Cilcen, son of Sir Thomas Mostyn of
Mostyn ; 7, Frances.^
1 6 71 . — Mytton Davies of Llanerch, Esq., was the eldest
son of Robert Davies, Esq., of Gwysanau, and Anne,
daughter and coheiress of Sir Peter Mutton of Llan-
erch, Knt., Chief Justice of North Wales, Member of
Parhament for the Caernarvon boroughs, and also for
the county of Denbigh in 1 603. The family of Gwysanau
deduce their descent through Llewelyn ab David, who
was settled at that place in the time of Edward IV,
from Cynwrig Efell, son of Madoc ab Meredydd, Prince
of Powys. Robert Davies (father of the present sheriff),
who was bom in 1616, was high sheriff of Flintshire in
* Burke's Landed Gentry, art., "Lloyd of Aston."
2 Add. MS. 9865.
178 SHERIFFS OF DENBIGHSHIRE.
1644, 1645, 1646, and 1660, as a staunch Cavalier gar-
risoned the old mansion of Gwysanau, and defended it
till 1645, when Sir William Brereton, the Parliamentary
general, compelled its surrender. At the Restoration
his name appears as one of those deemed fit and quali-
fied for the knighthood of the Royal Oak, his estate
being then valued at jG2,000 per aim.* His heir, Myt-
ton, was bom in 1634, and succeeded to the estates in
the year 1666, inheriting Llanerch from his mother.
He was a great traveller, and resided for some time in
Italy. Upon his return he made great alterations in
the house and gardens at Llanerch. ^ He was appointed
alderman of Denbigh, 1688, and filled the office of high
sherijff of Flintshire in 1670. By his wife, Elizabeth,
only daughter of Sir Thomas Wilbraham of Woodhey,
county of Chester, Bart. , he had issue :
I. Robert y his heir, the sheriff in 1687.
II. ThomaSy 1660-97, married Margaret, daughter of
Owen Madoc, Esq., and had issue.
III. Roger y buried March 30th, 1677.
rv. JohUy D.D., rector of Kingsland, precentor of St.
Davids, and prebendary of Hereford and St.
Asaph. He was twice married, and left issue,
four sons : John, Sneyd, D.D., ThomdSy and Wil-
liam.
V. Richard, vicar of Rhiwabon, precentor of Brecon,
and canon of St. Asaph, buried at Mold 1746.
1, Anne, and 2, Mary, both died s. p.\ 3, Elimbeih,
married to Thomas Eyton of Leeswood, Esq.; 4, Cathe-
rine, second wife of Sir William Williams, the sheriff of
1696; 5, Grace, ob. s. p. 1693.
Mrs. Davies was buried April 3rd, 1678; and her hus-
band, Nov. 6th, 1684.
Arms. — Gu. on a bend arg., a lion passant armed and
langued gu.^
1672.— John Thelwall of PUs-Coch,Esq., was the son
and heir of John Thelwall, the sheriff of 1643. He was
1 Gwaith GwaUter Mechain, iii, 199-200.
» Pennant, ii, 177; EoyaL Tribes, 98.
SHERIFFS OF DENBIGHSHIRE. 179
entered at Gray s Inn, became a counsel, and was twice
married : first, to Elizabeth, daughter of Sir John Wynn
of Gwydir, Knt., who died without issue; secondly, to
Anne, daughter of Robert Davies of Gwysanau (the
father of Mytton Davies, the preceding sheriff), by whom
he had issue: l^John; 2, Aniie. John Thelwall died
at Plas Coch, Sept. 28th, 1686, at the age of seventy-
seven, and was buried in Llanrhudd Church. He is
described by Pennant^ as a " barrister learned in the
law, in physic, and the humane sciences."
1 6 73. — Edward Morris ofLloran, Esq. As the estates
of Lloran Uchaf and Glan Cynlleth, or Pen-y-bont, were
at this time in the possession of one feimly, it is pro-
bable that this shenff was the same gentleman who
served for 1638. (See under 1676.)
1674. — Sir John Wynn of Watstay, Bart, was the
son and heir of Henry Wynn, Esq. (tenth son of Sir John
Wynn of Gwydir, Bart.), by his wife Catherine, daughter
and heiress of Elizei Lloyd of Rhiw Goch in Merioneth-
shire. On the death of his cousin, Sir Richard Wynn
(son of Sir Owen Wynn, who was the sheriff in 1656,
he succeeded to the baronetcy ; but the Gwydir estates
were conveyed by the marriage of Mary, the heiress of
Sir Richard, to the family of the Duke of Ancaster.
In 1671 he succeeded his father, and was high sheriff of
Caernarvonshire in 1675, of Merionethshire in 1676,
Member of Parliament for the latter county in the two
Parliaments which met in 1678-79 and 1680, Custos
Rotulorum of the same county in 170 7 and 1708, hono-
rary member of the Denbigh Town CouncU from 1691
to his death, and Member for Caernarvonshire from
1710-13. He married Jane, daughter and heiress, by
Elizabeth his wife, daughter of Sir Gerard Eyton of
j&jrton, Knt., of Eyton Evans of Watstay, Esq., son of
Thomas Evans of Watstay and Anne his wife, daughter
of Dr. Powell, vicar of Rhiwabon, the Welsh historian.
He changed the name of the property of which he became
1 Barke's La/nded Gentry^ art. " Davies of Gwysanau."
2 Tours, ii, 196.
180
SHERIFFS OF DENBIGHSHIRE.
possessed in right of his wife, to Wynnstay ; and made
great alterations in it by enclosing a park for deer, with
a stone wall ; planting its avenues with oak, elm, and
ash, etc. Sir John Wynn died, without issue, at the
advanced age of ninety-one, in the year 1718, having
devised his estates to his young relative, Watkin Wil-
liams, who then assumed the additional name of Wynn ;
but the baronetcy transmitted from the first baronet of
Gwydir became extinct on the death of his grandson,
the present sheriff. Its descent is shown in the follow-
ing table :
Sir John Wynn of Gwydir, first Bart., = Sidney, daughter of
sher. 1606 I Sir Wm. Gerard, Knt.
2nd I
Sir Rd. Wynn,
2nd Bart., ob.
s. jp., 1649
3rd
Sir O. Wynn,:
3rd Bart.,
sher. 1656
Sir Richard Wynn, =
4th Bart.
4th I lOth
William, = Henry =
8her.l651 |
Sir J. Wynn,
5th and last Bart.
I "I
Richard Sidney, = Ed. Thelwall
heiress
.1
Mary, heiress, nx. Robert,
first Duke of Ancaster
I
Jane Thelwall=Sir W. Williams,
sheriff, 1696
Sir Watkin Williams Wynn
1676. — David Maurice of Penyhont^ Esq. y^diS the son
and heir of
Edward Maurice of PenyhontyOrGlan Cynllaith^Esq.^
the high sheriff for 1638, under which year an account
of him was omitted. Edward Maurice was the son and
heir of David Maurice of Penybont (described in the
Harl. MS. 2299 as an attorney in Ludlow), fourth son
of Maurice ab Meredydd of Lloran Uchaf, descended,
through leuan Gethin, from Einion Efell. He married
Alice, third daughter and coheiress of Andrew Meredydd
of Glan Tanat, and was the father of
David Maurice. This gentleman was high sheriff for
Montgomeryshire in the years 1677 and 1686, and mar-
SHERIFFS OF DENBIGHSHIRE. 181
ried Frances, daughter of Sir John Corbet of Adderley.
He was the ^lather of David Maurice, who died m
1 71 9, and was buried in Llansilin Church. By a monu-
ment to his memory, erected in the northern aisle of
the church, we are informed that Glan-Cynllaith,or Pen-
ybont, was the seat of the third branch of the ancient
house of Lloran Uchaf, upon a division of that estate
among eight sons about the year 1560. On the death
of the last David Maurice the estate fell, by heirship, to
his son Edward, who died without issue in 1 732. His
mother, Elizabeth, second daughter of Robert Villiers,
Viscount Purbeck, and Baron of Stoke in the county of
Bucks, erected the monument to the grateful memory
of her husband and son. The imited estates of Lloran
and Penybont then became the property of the heir-at-
law, Price Maurice, Esq., the father of Edward Corbet
of Ynys-y-Maengwyn, Esq.^
1677. — John Langford of Trefalyn, Esq.y was the
second son, and on the death of his brother Richard,
heir of John Langford of Trefalyn (or Allington), by
Elizabeth, daughter of Simon Thelwall of Plas-y-Ward.
He was living in 1681, and married Mary, daughter of
Jonathan of Hasleford, Esq., by whom he had
issue, — 1, Richard \ 2, Jonathan) 3, John; 4, May.
ArmSk — Gules, a wildgoose argent.
1678. — Edward Brereton of Boras, Esq., was the
second son, and on the death of his eldest brother, in
Dec. 1657, heir of Edward Brereton of Borasham, who
died 8th July, 1645 (in his fathers lifetime), by Jane,
his wife, daughter of John Gruflfydd of Lleyn, co. Caer-
narvon; and grandson of Owen Brereton, who died
1648; the son of Owen Brereton, who died in 1603; the
son of Edward Brereton, the son of Owen Brereton,
high sheriff in the years 1581 and 1588. In 1689 he
was chosen to represent Denbigh and its contributory
boroughs in Parliament ; and after a contested election
with Mr. WiUiams, son of Sir WiUiam Williams, the
Speaker of the House of Commons, was again elected in
^ Reynolds* Pedigrees. Gwaith Gwalter Mecbain, iii, 50.
1 82 SHERIFFS OF DENBI6HSHIKE.
1690. He was appointed alderman of Denbigh, Aug.
11, 1693, and re-elected member for the boroughs in
1698. In 1701 Thomas Cotton contested the boroughs
with Mr. Brereton, but the latter was again successfiiL^
He married a daughter of Sir Thomas Lake, of Cannon
in the county of Middlesex, Knt., by whom he had issue,
two sons, Edward and John.
1679. — Hedd Lloyd ofllafodunos^ Esq., was the son
and heir of Henry Lloyd of Hafodunos (the son of Foulk,
the son of Henry ab Evan Lloyd, the sheriff for 1593),
and Margaret his wife, daughter of John Vaughan, the
son of John Vaughan of Glanllyn Tegid. Head Lloyd,
sheriff elect, was sworn a common burgess of the town
of Denbigh, February 18th, 1678.^ He married Mary,
daughter of Thomas Holland, and was hving in 1702.^
1680. — Thomas Holland of Teirdan, Esq., who died
in 1683 (1687 according to another authority), was the
eldest son, by Jane, his wife (daughter of Thomas ab
Humphrey of Bodelwyddan, Esq.J, of Humphrey Hol-
land of Teirdan, grandson of Humphrey Holland, founder
of this branch of the HoUand family, to whom the pro-
perty of Teirdan was granted bj his father. Pyrs Hoi-
land, in 1579.^ Thomas Holland married Jane, daughter
of William Price of Rhiwlas, and by her (who died 16 73)
had issue, a son, — 1, John Holland of Teirdan, who
married, 24th Dec. 1673, Margaret, daughter of Robert
Davies of Gwysanau, and was the father of Thomas
Holland, the sheriff for 1707; and 2, a daughter, Jane^
married to Robert Griffith of Brymbo, sheriff in 1685.
1681. — Willia7n Edwards of Chirk, Esq. This sheriff
most probably was William Edwards of Cefii-y-Wem in
the parish of Chirk, son and heir of John Wynn Edwards
of the same place, great-grandson of John Edwards of
Plas Newydd, sixth in descent from lorwerth Foel, lord
of Chirk. He married Mary, daughter of Roger Brere-
ton, Esq.^
^ Hecorda of Denbigh, p. 73. ' Ibid., p. 138.
8 Y Brython, v, 283. * Arch. Oamh. for 1867, p. 168.
^ Lewis Dwnn, ii, 362.
SHERIFFS OF DENBIGHSHIRE. 1 83
1682. — Joshua Edishury ofErddig, Esq. The family
of Edisbuiy were from Cheshire, and settled at Erddig
in the last half of the seventeenth century, having pur-
chased that estate. The present sheriff, who bmlt the
house at Erddig in 1678, was the son of John Edisbiuy
of Pentre Clawdd. The family does not appear to have
long resided here, for the place was sold, imder a decree
of Chancery, in 1715, and purchased by John Meller,
Esq., who bequeathed it to his relative, Simon Yorke,
Esq.^
1683. — Griffith Jefferies of Acton, Esq. (afterwards
Sir Griffith), was the eldest son of John JeflFeries of
Acton (who died 1670, at the age of thirty-four), eldest
brother of Lord Chancellor Jeflferies. Sir Griffith suc-
ceeded his grandfather at Acton.
1684. — Thomas Powell ofHorsley, Esq., was the son
of Sir Thomas PoweU of Horsley, Bart., Sieriff in 1657.
He was bom in 1650, and married Anne, daughter and
heiress of Mr. Cook of Stepney, near London, and had
issue, — a son, Thomas, who died s. p., and a daughter,
Elizabeth.
1685. — Robert Gruffydd ofBrymho, Esq.,wBs the son
of Gruflfydd ab Edward of Brymbo (descended from San-
ddau Hardd), by Elen, his wife, daughter of Gruffydd
ab Nicholas of Coed-y-Uai, or Leeswood, in the county
of Flint, Esq. He married Catherine, daughter of John
of Coed-y-llai, or Leeswood.
Arms. — 1, vert, sem^ of Broomshps, a lion rampt. or;
2, or, a lion rampt. az. ; 3, vert, three eagles displayed
in fess or.
JAMES 11.^
1686. — William Ravenscroft of Pickhill, Esq. This
sheriff was the son of Thomas Ravenscroft of PickhUl,
Esq., sheriff in 1649). He married Elizabeth, daughter
^ Pennant, i, 396.
' James II ascended the throne, Feb. 6th, 1684i-5.
184 SHERIFFS OF DENBIGHSHIRE.
of Robert Antrobus of Antrobus, county of Chester, and
died without issue.
1687. — Robert Davies ofLlanerch and of GwysannaUy
Esq., was the eldest son of Mytton Davies of Gwysan-
nau and Uanerch, Esq. (sheriff in 1671). This gentle-
man, who was an able naturalist, and a Welsh antiquary
of ffreat repute, was the collector of the valuable Llan-
erch MSS. He was sheriff of Flintshire in the year
1704. About Dec. 2nd, 34th Charles II (1681-2), the
date of the marriage settlement, he mairied Letitia,
daughter of Edward Vaughan, Esq. , of Trawscoed in the
coimty of Cardigan ; afterwards tne wife of Peter Pen-
nant of Bychton and Downing in the coimty of Flint,
Esq. By this lady Mr. Davies had issue :
I. Roherty his heir, who married Anne, daughter and
eventual coheiress of John Brocholes of Claughton
Hall, county of Lancaster, Esq. ; by whom he had
issue, Robert, his heir (who was sheriff in 1745),
together with three other sons and three daughters.
II. John, who died s. p. in 1695.
I, Anna, and ii, Jane, both of whom died s. p.
III. Jane, the wife of Rossindale Lloyd, Esq., ancestor
of the Lloyds of Aston.
In 1685 Mr. Davies was appointed alderman of Den-
bigh "mce Mutton Davies, Esq., deceased."^ He died
in 1 710, at the age of fifty-two, and was buried at Mold,
where there is an iBscription to his memoiyon his grund-
father s monument.
1688. — Sir Richard My ddelton of Chirk Castle^ Bart,
was the second son, and upon the death of his brother,
Sir Thomas Myddelton, Bart., in 1683, without male
issue, heir of Sir Thomas Myddelton (created a baronet
in 1660, and who died in 1663, at the age of thirty-
nine), and Mary, his wife, daughter of Thomas Cholmon-
deley of the Vale Royal, in the county of Chester, Esq.
In 1684 Sir Richard was appointed alderman of Den-
bigh, and represented the county in Parliament from
1685 up to the time of his death in 1716, the new writ
^ Records of Denbigh, p. 141.
SHERIFFS OF DENBIGHSHIRE. 185
for the election of a successor being issued May 12th of
that year. Sir Richard left issue, —
I. Sir William Myddelton, Bart, who died unmarried
in 1718, at the age of twenty-four, when the baro-
netcy became extinct.
II. Mary, who also died unmarried.
Upon the death of Sir William the estates passed to
his relative, Robert Myddelton, Esq., of Llysfai ; and
from him to his brother, John Myddelton, Esq., of Chirk
Castle, who was great-grandfather of Charlotte Myddel-
ton, the mother of Colonel Myddelton Biddulph of Chirk
Castle, the present representative of the family.
Arms. — Arg. on a bend vert, three wolves' heads
erased of the field.
WILLIAM IIL^
1689. — Roger Mostyn of Brymho, Esq.
1690. — William Robinson of GwersylU, Esq. William
Robinson, the high sheriff for 1630 (see that year), was
the father of
John Robinson of Gwersyllt and Mynachdy, bom in
1616. He was a zealous and distinguished royalist, a
colonel in the king s guards, and was probably the Col.
Robinson who in 1645 or 1646 took the Castle of Aber-
Uienawg, near Beaumaris, from Sir Thomas Cheadle, who
kept it for the Parliament.^ When the cause of the
Parliament triumphed he was obliged to quit the county,
leaving his house at GwersyUt in a most ruinous condi-
tion; but on his return he found it rebuilt by the
usurper, who occupied it during his exile. As some
acknowledgment of his services in the cause of royalty,
he was in 1660 selected for the intended honour of the
knighthood of the Royal Oak, his estates being then
valued at £800,^ probably the value of Mynachdy alone.
The colonel died in 1680, and was buried in Gresford
1 William HI began his reign, Feb. 13th, 1688-9.
' Gwaith Gwalter Mechain, iii, 194. ^ Ibid., iii, 191.
4TU 8ER., VOL. I. 13
186 SHERIFFS OF DENBIGHSHIRE.
Church, where there is a monument erected to his
memory, with the following inscription :
II* Da Jm
JoHAKNis Robinson
Qui
Tribnnas Caboli Mabttbis, fortanas ejns (hoc est
Ecclesiam Monarchiamque) sustinebat strenue.
Bege cadente
Gabolum exolem non desemit exal,
Cnm reduce redux.
Apud GWEBSYLLT,
Ubi omnia sua a rebelli manu direpta reliqnerat,
^dificijs ab eadem eleganter constructis gavisns esfc.
Ab uxore Mabgabixa, Filia Edwabdi Nobbis
De Speak in Com. Pal. Lancast. Arm.
GULIELMUM, JOHANNEM, MaBGABITAM, & JaNAM
Snscepit prolem.
Corpus e meliori licet luto compositum,
YulneribuB tamen pronis
Eractnm pariter ac honestum,
Animam ad Coelum aapirantem
Ultra Annum astat. 65, retinere non valens
Martij 15° reddidit. JSrsB ChrifitiansB mdclxxx."^
Mr. Robinson was succeeded at Gwersyllt and Myn-
achdy by his eldest son, William (the high sheriff for
1690), who represented the Denbighshire boroughs in
the second Parliament of Anne (1705), and in the first
after the union with Scotland ( 1 70 7). He married Anne,
daughter and sole heir of Timothy Myddelton of Pant-
yr-occyn, seventh son of Sir Thomas Myddelton of Chirk
Castle, and was the father of a son, William Robinson,
to whom his cousin, Lytton Strode Lytton, devised the
Knebworth estate. His daughter, Barbara Lytton of
Knebworth, was the grandmother of the present Sir
Edward Bulwer Lytton, who was raised to the peerage
as Lord Lytton, 14th July, 1866.*
1691. — Thomas Wynne of DyffrynAled.Esq.y was the
son and heir of Robert Wynne of Dyffiyn A led, Esq.
(descended from Marchudd ab Cynan, foxmder of the
eighth noble tribe of North Wales and Powys), and
* Pennant, iii, Appendix V, p. 306.
2 Burke's Teerage (1869).
SHERIFFS OF DENBIGHSHIRE. 187
Susan, his wife, daughter of John Trevor of Trefor, Esq.
He married Dorothy, daughter of John Wynne of Melai,
Esq. , and was the father of Robert Wynne, sheriff in
1758.
1692. — Shnon TJielwall of Llanhedr Hall, Esq., bom
in 1656, was the son and heir of Edward Thelwall, Esq.,
of Llanbedr Hall (the grandson of Richard ThelwaU of
the same place, the founder of this branch of the family,
the fourth son of John Thelwall of Bathafarn Park), by
his wife, Anne, daughter of Sir Edward Lloyd, Knt., of
Berthlloyd in the county of Montgomery. He married
Catherine, daughter of Robert Davies, Esq., of Gwys-
anau, and was the father of Edward ThelwaU of Llan-
bedr HaU, the grandfather of the Rev. Edward ThelwaU,
who sold the estates to Joseph Ablett, Esq.
1693. — David Williams of Ty Newydd, Llansilin.
1694. — Humphrey Kynaston of Bryn Gwyn, Esq,y
who was sheriff of MontgomerysHre in the preceding
year, was the second son and successor of John Kynas-
ton, Esq., the sheriff for the year 1647. He married
Martha, daughter of Robert Owen of Woodhouse, Esq.,
high sheriff of Salop in the year 166 7, and was the father
of an only daughter, Mary, who married William Mos-
tyn, Esq. Their son, WiUiam Mostyn, who represented
Montgomeryshire in Parliament from the year 1774 up
to his death in 1795, assumed the surname of Owen
upon succeeding to the estate of Woodhouse.
1695. — David Parry ofLlwyn Ynn, Esq,, was the son
of William Parry of IJwyn Ynn, Esq., sheriff in 1668,
and Catherine, daughter of Roger Holland of Hendre-
fawr, Esq. Susannah, sister of this sheriff, was the
wife of John Roberts of Hafod-y-bwch, Esq., sheriff in
1705, and Member of Parliament for the Denbighshire
boroughs in 1710 and 1715.
Arms. — Arff., a chev. inter three boars' heads couped
sable, tusked or.
1696. — William Williams of Plas-y-Ward, Esq., was
the eldest son of Sir William Williams, Bart. , and Mar-
garet, his wife, daughter and heiress of Watkin Kyfl&n
132
188 SHERIFFS OF DENBIGHSHIRE.
of Glasc5oed, Esq. , sheriff in 1 662. Sir William, the first
baronet, was the son of Hugh Williams, D.D. (fifteenth
in descent firom Cadrod Hardd, lord of Talybolion),
rector of Llantrisant in Anglesey, and Emma, his wife,
daughter and sole heiress of John Dolben, Esq., of Cae
Gwynion, near Denbigh, and niece of Bishop Dolben.
Mr. Williams obtained JPlas-y-Ward by his first mar-
riage, in 1 689, with Jane, daughter and heiress of Edward
Thelwall of that place, by Sidney, his wife, daughter
and heiress of William Wynn, son of Sir John Wynn,
Bart., of Gwydir. In 1690 he imsuccessfully con-
tested the representation of the Denbighshire boroughs
against Edward Brereton, Esq. ; but was successful in
obtaining the seat in the Parliament elected in 1708.
On the death of his father, in the year 1 700, he succeeded
to the baronetcy and the estates. He married, secondly,
Catherine, daughter of Mytton Davies of Llanerch and
Gwysanau, Esq.; and dying in Oct. 1740, left issue by
his fiiBt Wife only.-
I. Sir Wathin, Member of Parliament for the county of
Denbigh, whose first wife, Anne, sole heiress of the
estates of Llwydiarth and Llangedwin, bequeathed
them to her husband. Upon succeeding to the
estates of Sir John Wynn (p. 180), Sir Watkin
assumed the additional surname of Wynn.
II. Roherty who represented Montgomeryshire in the
second and third Parliaments of George II, died,
8. p., 1763.
III. Richard of Penbedw, whose line is now represented
by W. W. E. Wynne of Peniarth, Esq.
Arms. — Arg. two foxes countersalient, in saltire, gules,
the dexter smrmounted of the sinister.
1697. — John Hill of Sontley and of Rowley's Mansion
in Shrewsbury, Esq., was the son, by his wife PrisciUa,
daughter and heiress of Richard Wynn of Shrewsbury,
Esq., of John Hill of Shrewsbury, fifth son of Thomas
HiU, fourth son of Humphery Hill of Bletchley.^ He
1 Harl. MS. 1396, and Mr Joseph Morris of Shrewsbury.
SHERIFFS OF DENBIGHSHIRE. 189
was bom in 1650, and was appointed to be one of the
aldermen of Shrewsbury, by King James II, on the 1 7th
March, 1684-5; but in consequence of his disloyalty,
and his favouring the cause of the. Prince of Orange, he
was deprived oflis office by the king on the Ist of ^anu-
ary, 1687-88. In 1689 he was elected mayor of Shrews-
bury; and dying 29th of March, 1731, was buried at
St. Chad's old church in Shrewsbury. He was twice
married, his first wife being PrisciUa, daughter and
heiress of Seth Rowley of Rowley's Mansion, Shrews-
bury, Esq. (son of William Rowley, Esq., son of Roger
Rowley of Rowley, Esq., the head of an ancient family
long seated at Rowley, in the parish of Worfield, in the
county of Salop, who bore arg. on a bend sa. inter two
Cornish choughs, three escallops of the field), by whom
he had issue, two daughters, coheiresses :
I. Mary^ married to Francis Heude, or Eude, Esq.,
whose line is now represented by J. Y. W. Lloyd
of Clochfaen, Esq.
II. Priscilla, the wife of Philip Thomas, Esq.
Mr. Hill married, secondly, Anne, daughter and heiress
of Robert Sontley of Sontley, Burton Hall, and Plas
Uchaf. She died in 1698, aged twenty-nine, and wgis
buried in old St. Chad's Church, leaving issue :
I. Thomas Hill of Sontley, Esq. ^who married Matilda,
daughter of Charles Elstob, Dean of Canterbury, by
whom he had issue : 1, John, who died, s. p., 1715; 2,
Charles, who also died s. p. in 1780; at whose death
the estates reverted to their mother, and were sold by
her executors, — Sontley Hall to Simon Yorke of Erddig,
Esq. ; Burton Hall to Mr. Gooderich ; and Plas Uchaf
to Sir W. W. Wynn, Bart.
Arms. — Erm. on a fess sa., a castle triple turreted arg.
1698. — Sir Edward Broughton ofmarchmail, Knt.
1699. — Thomas Jones of Carreghofa, Esq.
1 700. — Sir NathanielCurzon ofCoedry'marchen,Bart,
was the son and heir of Sir John Curzon of Kedlestone,
first baronet (created 1641), Member of Parliament for
the county of Derby, by his wife. Patience, daughter of
190 SHERIFFS OF DENBIGHSHIRE.
Sir Thomas Crewe, and sister of Lord Crewe of Stene.
The family of the Curzons came over with the Conqueror.
A younger branch settled early at Kedlestone in Derby.
John Ciurzon, Esq., of Kedlestone (great-grandson of
Sir John Curzon, one of the king's council), was high
sheriff of the counties of Nottingham and Derby in the
15th of Henry VI (1436), and escheator for the same
shires four years afterwards. His grandson, John Cur-
zon, Esq., was high sheriff of Derby in the 13th of
Edward IV (1472-3), 2nd of Richard III (1484), and
2nd of Henry VII (1486). The great-grandson of this
gentleman, Francis Curzon, Esq. , of Kedlestone, married
Eleanor, daughter and coheir of Thomas Vernon, Esq., of
Stokesay, and grandaughter of Elizabeth, the presumed
daughter of Richard Grey, Earl of Tankerville, and wife
of Sir John Ludlow. Through this alliance the descend-
ants of Francis Curzon have more than once claimed the
barony of Powis.^ Sir Nathaniel succeeded his father
(grandson of the above mentioned Francis) in 1686, and
married Sarah, daughter of William Penn, Esq., of Penn
in the county of Bucks, by whom he had issue :
I. Sir George Curzon, M.P. for Derbyshire ; at whose
death (unmarried), 6th August, 1727, the title and
estates devolved upon his brother.
II. Sir Nathaniel Curzon, M.P. for the county of Derby.
This gentleman, who claimed the barony of Powis
in 1731, married Mary, daughter and coheir of Sir
Ralph Assheton, second baronet, of Middleton,
CO. of Lancaster, by whom he had issue : l,Sir Na-
thaniel, who was elevated to the peerage, 9th of
June, 1 761, by the title of Baron Scstrsdale of Scars-
dale, county of Derby; 2, Assheton, created Baron
Curzon in 1794, and Viscount Curzon in 1802. Sir
Nathaniel died 4th March, 1718-19.
Arms. — Aiy. on a bend 5a. three popinjays or, collared
gules.
J. Y. W. Lloyd.
' A full account of these claims will be found in Mr. M. C. Jones'
Feudal Barons of Potme, chap, iv, Montgomeryshire Collections, vol. i.
SHERIFFS OF DENBIGHSHIRE, s 191
NOTES TO THE SHERIFFS FOR 1635, 1636, AND 1637.
Extracts fr<ym the Calendar of State Papers (Domeetie
Series) of the Beign of Charles I. .
"1635-6. 49. Jan, 27, J9en%A.— Hugh Lloyd, sheriff of co.
Denbigh, to Nicholas. Has received the whole 'mize' for setting
forth a ship assessed on that county, save one hundred, which is
not yet paid by the high constable ; and that which is imposed
upon Denbigh and Ruthin, which have conunissioners by them-
selves. Has been these three months visited with sickness, and
is now on the point of death, of which the bearer can make oath ;
and to prevent future danger, he entreats Nicholas' advice how
the moneys may be safely conveyed, and his executors discharged
thereof.
"Jan,27, 50. Denbigh — John Lloyd (son of the preceding Hugh
Lloyd) to the same. Since his father's letter he has received
£211 : 4 : imposed upon Euthin, so there rested unpaid only the
towns of Denbigh and Ruthin. The rest is in safe custody ; and
the writer, his father's sole executor, desires Nicholas to be a
means whereby the same may be delivered to his father's succes-
sor ; and that in regard to the writer's simplicity and tenderness
of age, he may not be compelled to undergo such charge, or come
up in person with the same.
" Underwritten is
" 50. 1. — Statement of ship-money levied upon the co. of Den-
bigh. The amount was £1,117, of which Denbigh was assessed
at £32,Ruthin at £19 :4, and Holt at £10 ; so that there remained
charged upon the county £1,056.
"1636. 20. Sept 6. Poxehale [^oa*a/Z].— -Hugh Lloyd, sheriff
of the CO. of Denbigh to Nicholas. Received a letter importing
that the remnant of the ship-money is not yet paid in. Having
by sufficient men, who are drovers of that country, delivered the
ship-moneys upon security, to be paid to Sir William RusseU, he
now finds, on their return, that the moneys are not paid by
reason of the sickness in London. All these moneys being in
his hands, in silver, not possibly to be changed into gold in their
country ; and also the danger of conveying it to London on
horseback, considering the contagiousness of these times, few or
none travelling, nor no bills of exchange for London, he intends
to send up a servant of his own, in company with the drovers, to
receive the moneys, and so to be paid in by the last of this month.
" Written on the margin
" 20. 1. — Nicholas Groldeborough to Nicholas. Those drovers
who undertook to pay in the king's moneys were with the sheriff,
and afi&rmed as much as the above imports before the writer.
192 ON A CRANNOGE IN LLANGORSE LAKE.
" 1637. 5L A^ig, 28.— Dr. Richard Uoyd to Kenrick Edisbiuy.
My nephew Wynn, the now sheriff of the co. of Denbigh, being
charged with the collection of ship-money about six weeks since,
entrusted a drover with return of £400 ; in payment whereof the
drover has disappointed him, whereby he is in danger of being
committed before the Lords. His request is that the Treasurer
forbear imtil St. Matthew's fair, being but three weeks ; when, if
the drover pay not, he wiU otherwise provide ; wherein you may
much pleasure him by one word spoken to Sir William Russell
or his servant, Mr. Fenn. P.S. — Remember me to Mrs, Edisbury,
your sons, and their wives.
Receipt of Sir William Russell for ship-money, Nov. 11. The
(t. e. receipt) for £1,056 : 6 : 8 paid by Thomas Uoyd on
behalf of William Wynne, late sheriff of the co. of Denbigh, in
part of £4,000 ship-money charged upon North Wales under writ
dated as above.
ON A CRANNOGE, OR STOCKADED ISLAND, IN
LLANGORSE LAKE, NEAR BRECON.
My present task is to give an account of a crannoge^ or
ancient island-dwelUng, which, in company vrith some
firiends, I have recently examined in Wales. I need but
mention that, for the last seventeen years, the relics of
the lake-dwellers in Switzerland have attracted no little
interest abroad, and there as well as here have impelled
research and speculation as to the age and character of
these, the earliest occupants of Exu-ope. The remains
of pile-habitations and of stockaded islands, such as I
am about to describe, have come to light also in Ireland
and Scotland; but I am informed that up to this time
little, if any, trace of them has been found either in
England or in Wales.
immediately beneath the southern spurs of the Black
Mountains, and in the hollow of the great geological
fracture which parts that chain from the Brecknockshire
Beacons, is situated a sheet of water now called the
Lake of Llangorse. Its name was formerly Uyn Sava-
than, or the lake of the sunken land. The area of water
ON A CRANNOGE IN LLANGORSE LAKE. 193
was once far more extensive than it is now; and it has
subsequently been, as I think, considerably less than at
present. A circuit of five miles wlQ now enclose it. The
margin is flat and swampy, except on the north-east,
where the moimtain descends upon the shore-line some-
what, abruptly. The depth, though by vulgar report
vast and fearful, Leland has rather overstated in assign-
ing to it thirteen fathoms.
Within a bow-shot of the flat meadows on the north
side there is an island that would appear but little above
the water, were it not for some small trees and brush-
wood tliat have fastened upon it. Fig. 2 is a vignette
of this island, together with the mountain to the north.
Concerning this Lake strange stories have lone: been
current. Gi^dus Cambrensii, in Heniy II's tiSe, re-
lates phenomena wHch were in his age regarded aa
supematuraL Before Leland s time the Roman Loven-
tium was thought to be covered by its green, weedy
surface; while to the present day a most persistent
legend obtains, that men once lived where now is water.
Sailing by the island one day in 1867,1 observed that
the stones which stand out on the south and east sides
were strangely new looking, and most unlike the water-
worn, roimded fragments that on the main shore have
been exposed to uie action of the waves; neither did
there seem to be any original rock-basis at all. It was,
in fact, nothing less than a huge heap of stones thrown
into water two or three feet in depth. Was this the
key, I thought, to the old tradition of a citv in the
LaJte ? In the summer of last year my brother, then
living in the neighbourhood, first discovered a row of
piles or slabs ; some standing a few inches above water,
for the lake was very low. We have together made
some careful investigations during the past month, the
results of which I will detail.
The island, as now above water, measures ninety
yards in circiunference; its form, as may be seen from
the annexed plan (fig. 1), being that of a square with
the comers rounded off. The highest part is nearly in
194 ON A CRANNOGE IN LLANGORSE LAKE.
the centre, and is five feet above the water-level. The
sides most exposed to weather, and where also the water
is deepest, are composed of stones sloping into the
water, and extending to the distance of fifteen yards
from the edge. Under the water, however, they are
not nearly so thickly strewn as above. It is remarkable
that on the leeward or northern side, as shown on the
plan, about one quarter of the island is almost destitute
of the stone protection with which the greater part is
covered. There is simply a surface of vegetable mould,
inclined towards the water. Neither in the water,
which is there very shallow, are there more than a score
of stones to be found on that side.
I must now speak of the piles. These are of two
sorts; the most obvious being either at the margin, or
within a few feet of it. One of them is drawn on the
plate (fig. 6). Like the stones, they are most numerous
where the action of the storm would be most felt, and
upon the shallow side they disappear entirelv. They
have been disposed in segments of cu-cles, the stones
being heaped inside them, and thus saved from being
torn away by the waves. These piles (or rather slabs)
are of cleft oak, and have been pointed, as it seems, by
cuts from a metal adze. We have counted about sixty.
They have been driven tightly into the shell-marl, to
the depth of four feet. There are also other piles, of
which I shaU have to speak again, which are round,
generally of soft wood, and are foimd outside the present
edge of the island. Several are in water two feet deep,
and are driven into the marl only twelve or eighteen
inches. These would have been quite powerless to con-
fine the stones, and were evidently for another purpose.
The examination of the interior would, of course, un-
fold the process of the construction. We therefore made
several perpendicular openings; and these invariably
led us down to the shell-marl, showing first a stratum
of large, loose stones, with vegetable mould and sand ;
next (about eighteen inches above the marl), peat, black
and compact ; and beneath this, the remains of reeds
ON A CRANNOGE IN LLANGORSE LAKE. 195
and small wood. This feggot-like wood presented itself
abundantly all round the edges of the island, and in
the same relative position, namely immediately upon
the soft marl; the object of it being, of course, to save
the stones from sinking.
On digging through the before mentioned low portion
of the crannoge, a different order of materials exhibited
itself. As I said, the stones are very few; the depth
is three feet instead of five; eighteen inches of vegetable
mould; six inches of earth mixed thickly with char-
coal; and one foot of peat, small wood, or reeds. (Fig. 4.)
I may here say that tnis charcoal is foimd under water,
in very frequent smaU fragments, on this north-eastern
side; and is covered, not with marl or stones, but with
sand.
I will now leave the subject of the construction, and
speak of the more special articles, the di3Covery of which,
though not so copious as we had hoped, indicate human
occupation.
Bones are found in numbers amongst the stones
where the water is quite shallow; every spadeful of
marl, in some parts, would, aa the water driW off,
show one or more smaU bone fragments or teeth. Some
of these were sent to Professor RoUeston of Oxford, who
wrote that '' the chief points of interest resjpecting them
were, first, the presence of two varieties of horse, — one
small, such as a Welsh pony is ; and the other large (as
I am informed large horses appear to have existed, as
well as mere galloways, in the very earliest human
periods in this coimtry ) ; and secondly, the smallness of
the then ordinarily eaten mammals, sus, hos, ovis. The
horse was eaten formerly, especially by the pagans, and
it may have been eaten by the inhabitants of your cran-
noge; but there is no evidence, from splitting or burn-
ing, that they did so. I have not foimd any deer, dog,
fox, wolf, marten, or other mammahan bones than those
I mention, — Ahorse, pig, sheep, cow ; nor any bird, nor
other bones of any kind, amongst those you have sent
me." Some other bones, found subsequently, were ex-
196 ON A CRANNOGE IN LLANGORSE LAKE.
hibited at the meeting of the British Association at
Exeter, and were examined by Mr. W. Boyd Dawkins,
who pronounced them to be those of the red deer, the
wild boar, and the bos longifrons. He stated that the
group altogether, from the greater percentage of wild
than of domestic animals, indicated a remote period.
The greater number of these bones, and nearly all the
larger, were foimd about the low, shallow side. By far
the most had been cracked longitudinally. The larger of
these were but slightly coverea by any sort of sediment-
ary deposit. In the excavations bones were plentifully
turned up from the interior, except in the middle, and
this at all levels. Some wet and fresh looking, almost
touching the shell-marl ; some in the peat, some among
the charcoal, some amid the earth and stones which
approach the surface. Near to the lowest stratum we
came upon a bone which at first was taken for an awl ;
but which, in fact, is in its natural form. It may, how-
ever, have been used as a perforating instrument; for
in close proximity to it was found a piece of leather
pierced with several holes, in some of which, when dis-
covered, the remains of a thong might be observed.
Three or four scraps of pottery we groped up, and one
stone that seems to have been ground.
I must now return to the structure, and set before
you some facts in answer to the question, where did the
people of this island live ? and whether with land or
water imder them? That they should have lived in
so small a place, in numbers equal to the hands employed
in its building, is beyond credit. It should be stated,
too, that until about seven years ago, when the Lake
was artificially lowered a foot and a half, this island was
not half it8 pisent size.
As I before mentioned, there are evidences in favour
of a still lower level of the water, when, therefore, the
island would have been larger than now. They are as
foUow : — 1. It appears reasonable to suppose that the
flat, stockading piles which were used to secure the
stones and mould were placed at the water's edge, where
ON A CRANNOGE IN LLANGORSE LAKE. 197
they would have best defended the heap within. As
they now are, the outer ones are useless, being in a foot
of water. There are no stones in contact with the prin-
dpal ones on the eastern side, and never have been.
There is faggot-wood, which would have served well
enough to support sand or mould, if above the usual
reach of the water; and which, I imagine, has been since
washed away.
2. I would refer to the vast numbers of large stones
scattered about within a circuit of ten or fifteen yards
from the present island shore. It can hardly be thought
that these, conveyed with great labour, would have been
thus wasted. They are in water often of eighteen inches
or two feet in depth. Supposing that some would natu-
rally have been thrown in as a breakwater, this would
account only for those immediately around the actual
island; the rest may have been used to keep down, in
their place, brushwood and reeds which are found about
them, but could never have served any purpose imder
water.
3. A third reason for supposing the water to have
been once lower than at present is suggested by the
north shore adjoining the iSand. There one mayobierve
an accumulation of prostrate trunks and branches deeply
embedded amid peat and decomposed reeds. This has
not been produced by any suddenly swollen stream or
driving flood. Such woiild have marked its way by
gravel and sandstone boulders, and these are totally
wanting. Here, it is evident, there was once a thick
wood standing beneath the present water-level, and over
this vegetable soil and clay have followed. In confirm-
ation of this I would mention the fact of an alder-tree
stem which I found upright, I believe, in the place where
it had grown from the first, and now beneath one foot
of water. (Fig. 3.)
It is clear, as I think, that the waters of the Lake
have risen; and I cannot resist the idea that this change
of level connects itself most forcibly with the tale of the
sunken city, for with any considerable rise of the water.
198 ON A CRANNOGE IN LLANGORSE LAKE.
the dwellings would have become untenable, and gradu-
ally would have perished.
To retmn, however, to the question of the dwellings.
Is it not likely that the island itself was a central, com-
mon ground ? and that the habitations were projected
from its edge towards the water, and were supported
by the thick, round piles to which I alluded ? Some-
thing like a ring of these is fotmd near the oak slabs
(a, b, c, d, fig. l) ; and traces of a second set are at the
distance of twelve or fifteen yards, in water about two
feet deep. Between the two, small wood is foimd abund-
antly, a few inches in the marL At about ten yards
from the shore, and in two feet of water, there appear
to be the actual remains of a sunken platform. Three
trunks of soft wood lie nearly parallel to one another.
A six feet stem of oak, which I cannot account for, was
with them. The top of this we sawed off (fig. 5), as it
exhibits the marks of some heavy cutting instrument
where, in modem days, a saw woiild have oeen used.
I have but to add to this subject the discovery of two
much more perfect platforms in a perplexing situation,
namely within the oak slabs. They were composed of eight
straight trunks, about six inches in diameter, lying side
by side. Their direction is from the centre to the water ;
their ends, towards the shore, are thrust against the
slab-piles ; others are closed in one case by a transverse
oak beam. I am inclined to doubt whether they were
not once much longer; projecting, perhaps, above the
oak piles. And I think, too, that here there is another
sign of the island having been once higher ; for this
structure, before the recent drainage, woxild have been
covered aU the year round. The interior ends of these
trunks, however, are in 5i^t^, because they are still covered
with large stones.
These conjectures I hope hereafter to test by a fixrther
examination of the crannoge. The facts, wmch I have
described as accurately as I could, will, I trust, be re-
garded as a contribution of some interest to the subject
of lake-dwellings.
E. N. DUMBLETON, M.A.
199
NOTICES OF CERTAIN BRONZE RELICS, OF A
PECULIAR TYPE, ASSIGNED TO THE
LATE CELTIC PERIOD.
(Reprinted, hy permianon, from the Arehmologieal Journal,)
The later part of the period during which the use of
bronze, of fine quality and wrought with much artistic
skill, appears to have prevailed in the British islands,
brings imder our notice objects of highly curious fashion,
admuubly designed, suggestive also of an age compara-
tively advanced in the arts and in the cultivated taste
of social refinement. It is remarkable that, in some
instances, it is scarcely practicable to assign any pro-
bable intention or purpose to certain elaborate relics of
this age and character. They not unfrequently present
exceptional types that supply scarcely any indication to
suggest the uses for which they may have been destined.
We are often disposed to ascribe conjecturaUy to some
anomalous object, possessing much perfection and beauty
in workmanship, a purpose associated with some sacred
rite or religious observance. It is, however, scarcely
needful to insist on the necessity of great caution in the
endeavour to associate with any hallowed use such
mysterious relics of remote antiquity, to which no ob-
vious or secular purpose can be safely ascribed. We no
longer hear of mistletoe-sickles, sacrificial paterse, tiaras,
wim other so-caUed "Druidical" appliances and insignia,
often paraded in the theories of early antiquarians in
the British islands. With all deference to the judg-
ment of others, whose opinions I hold in high estima-
tion, I must frankly confess a certain reluctance to
accept, in some such cases, whether as regards pagan or
Christian subjects of investigation, the ignotum pro
sacro, in our endeavours to solve questions that still
present cruciculcB to the archsBologist.
Amongst the perplexing anomalies of bronze, occurring
chiefly in Wales, in North Britain, and in Ireland, there
are, perhaps, none that present so interesting and myste^
200 BRONZE RELICS
rious a subject of speculation as the little group of
spoon-like objects to which I am desirous to invite atten-
tion. Some specimens have already been described and
figured by the Rev. E. L. Barnwell in the Third Series
of this JoiUTial (vols, viii and x).^ The recent occiuxence
however, of several remarkable examples has encouraged
me to bring before the Association the evidence that
may aid us in seeking a solution of so singular an enigma,
and to record the facts connected with the discovery of
the relics in question.
These spoon-like objects have occurred, so far as I am
aware, exclusively in England, in Wales, and in Ireland.
A pair has recently been brought to light in Westmore-
land ; but no specimen has hitherto, as I believe, been
foimd in Scotland, where many antiquities of bronze,
that may be assigned to the same period as the spoons,
have been discovered. I have been unable to ascertain
that any object of similar form and decoration has
occurred on the Continent. I have not even found any
relic of classical antiquity or of more remote date, that
may be classed with these peculiar spoons, or be regarded
as intended for the like purpose, whatever that may
have been. It is probable that, according to their nor-
mal fashion, they were made in pairs. One of each pair
appears to have had near the right side, and at about
mid-length, a circular perforation about a sixth of an
inch in diameter* This was punched through the metal,
which is mostly of inconsiderable thickness, especially
towards the edge. The counterpart, never perforated
in like manner, has in every instance transverse lines,
somewhat suggestive of resemblance to a Christian sym-
bol, coarsely scored across the shallow bowl ; in which,
also, in one specimen, there are two perforations diflfer-
ently placed, and of much smaller size than those occur-
^ Arch, Oamh,, 3rd Series, vol. viii, p. 208. This memoir was
pnbliBbed in 1862. See supplemental notices, ibid., vol. z, p. 57.
Mr. Franks has briefly adverted to the spoons in his inventory of
"late Celtic" relics (Horce Ferales, p. 184). He describes them as
" oval plates slightly concave, and not unlike a modem sagar-spoon.
The upper part is decorated with the usual scroll-pattern."
— PouDd In BrickUII Lwu, LoDdon, Pmrnlti b; Ur. Alb«n Wi>t to (lie Briilgh Muimill.
ir touDi tX Psnbr^, GaHlgftnihln. Atbrnoletn Umeiiiu. Flrals, tvo-(li
BBOwn Riuca of tbe i^ti celtic pebiod.
OF THE LATE CELTIC PERIOD. 201
ring, as before described, closely adjoining the right
hand margin. One of the little holes, in that instance,
is plugged with gold. It may be supposed that the
second was originally closed in like manner. In some
of these spoons the cavity is so shallow that it would be
almost impracticable to convey any liquid to the mouth ;
whilst, moreover, the invariably sharp-pointed fashion
of the supposed spoon renders it little adapted for the
ordinary uses of such appliances. These mysterious
spoonZif, indeed, destinS for any of the pu^oses for
which a spoon is now or may obviously be employed —
were probably cast, possibly in a bronze mould : and are
to be assigned to a period, of which numerous early
vestiffes exist, characterised by the hi^fhest technical
perfJkon in the founder's art/ It wuAe ,een by the
accompanying woodcuts that the general form and work-
manship are almost the same in all examples on record ;
the details are considerably varied. They are, however,
characterised by a certain peculiar type of ornamenta-
tion, to which one of our most sagacious archaeologists,
Mr. Franks, has ascribed the designation '' Late Celtic,"
distinctive of a period of singular interest in the series
of our national antiquities, and to which I propose to
advert more fully hereafter.
Of the remarkable objects that are the special subject
of the present notices, the first example was made known
to me, some years since, by Mr. Roach Smith in his
highly instructive collection of antiquities found in the
metropohs, and happUy secured for our national deposi-
tory in 1856. A second specimen, likewise obtained in
the city of London, came subsequently into my own
possession. The interest thus excited in. regard to these
curious " spoons" was renewed by my examination of
certain Irish examples that were sent to the Industrial
Exhibition, in connexion with the Royal Dublin Society,
in 1853.
I proceed to notice in detail the specimens that have
become known to me during the investigation of this
remarkable little group of our early antiquities.
4th sks. vol. I. 14
202 BRONZE RELICS
I. A weU preserved specimen, of highly finished work-
manship, formerly, as already noticed, in the Museum
of London Antiquities collected by Mr. C. Roach Smith,
and now preserved in the British Museum. (See wood-
cut, fig. 1.) I have been informed by him that it was
found in the Thames, the depository that has yielded
such remarkable relics of " late Celtic" character. It is
figured in the privately printed catalogue of the collec-
tion (p. 82), and described as follows, amongst Roman
and RomaQo-British antiquities : " Ornamented plate,
in bronze, the use or application of which is by no means
obvious. It measinres 4^ ins. by 3 ins."^ It may deserve
notice, that the lower portion of the deep concave handle
appears somewhat worn by friction, as if the thumb had
pressed more strongly on that part in holding the
spoon. The raised ornaments on the sides of the handle
seem to have been partly hammered up; but the object,
and also those hereafter to be described, has, as I ima-
gine, been cast in a mould. The material is a fine yel-
low bronze, resembling that of many ancient relics
obtained from the Thames.* Having recently submitted
this object to the examination of a person on whose
skill and acquaintance with technical processes in metal
working I have reliance, he assured me that it certainly
was cast. The faulty portions were punched up, as the
work of the hammer k distinctly seen on the reverse,
where the metal had not penetrated into the cavities of
the mould. He was imable to decide how the surface
was produced on the obverse; probably, however, from
a highly finished bronze mould ; and then, if the casting
was not perfect, it may have been beaten into the hol-
lows of tne mould in those parts where a sharper or
greater relief was desired.
II. This specimen was found, as stated, in London, in
BrickhiU Lane, Upper Thames Street, about April 1 822.
^ Catalogue of Mus. of London Antiq,^ etc., p. 82. In the woodcut
there given the perforation at the right hand edge of the spoon has
accidentally been omitted.
8 Arch, Uamb.y 3rd Ser., vol. viii, p. 210.
OF THE LATE CELTIC PEEIOD. 203
It was purchased from Mr. Purdue, amongst various
n London relics, and has been recently presented by me
I, to the British Museum. It is of pale coloured bronze ;
1- the surface dull, and coated with a granulated encrust-
8 I ation wholly unlike the lustrous patina that is seen on
1 I antique bronzes. The handle appears to have become
g disunited from the bowl, and the injury has been re-
paired by a plate somewhat ornamentally formed, affixed
by small rivets, ten in number, at the back. (See wood-
cut, fig. 2.) The dimensions are as follow : length, nearly
4^ ins.; diameter of the handle, 1| in.; of the bowl,
21 ins. The reverse of the circular handle is ornamented
with peculiarly combined curves that appear to accord
with types of decoration characterising, as it is believed,
certain bronze relics which belong to the latest times of
the Celtic period in Britain. This specimen has, at the
edge of the right side, the small perforation that occiub
in several instances. Here it has been pierced so near
to the edge, that a small portion of the metal possibly
has broken away. This may, however, have been lost
through carelessness of the workman in drilling or punch-
ing this hole a little too close to the margin."^
TIL A pair found in 1861 at a spot somewhat south
of Ffynogion, in the parish of Llanfair, Denbighshire,
among sand thrown up in the construction of tie rail-
way between Denbigh and Corwen. They were noticed
by Mr. Hugh Jones of Cae-Groes, Ruthin, as he walked
along the cutting; and when found were firmly attached,
face to face, by the incrustation of cerugo on the metal,
so that it proved difficult to separate them. Unfortu-
nately the precise depth of the spot where they had lain
could not be ascertained ; the workman, in throwing
up the sand, had not noticed them; they may have
remained for some time, until found by Mr. Jones ; the
soil appears to have been washed away by rain which
fell about that time, and exposed them, so that they
attracted his attention, sUghtly projecting above the
^ This specimen is slightly fractured. Ib the woodcut, however,
the injury is not shown.
14»
206 BRONZE RELICS
seems to designate any ancient track. The earthworks
of Castell Nadolig present peculiarities, as Mr. Barnwell
observes, not usual in Roman camps ; although, from its
position, commanding the line of communication from
north to south, and taken in connexion with the rect-
angular work on the coast, Mr. Babington, after careful
examination, concluded that, if not oriffinaUy formed by
the Romans, there can be httle doubt that the ^*CasteU"
had been occupied by them. The smaller work com-
mands the part of the coast called Longborth, whither,
according to tradition, the Roman galleys were wont to
resort. About 1829 the tenant removed a heap of
stones in a part of the Castell supposed to occupy the
site of the prcetorium. Under these were found the two
rehcs here figured, which were presented in 1836 to the
Ashmolean Museum by the Rev. Henry Jenkins, B.D.,
now rector of Stanway, Essex.^ (See woodcuts, figs. 4, 5.)
There are many vestiges of antiquity in the neighbour-
hood, such as the Gaer, somewhat to the south ; — an
erect inscribed stone, near Penbryn, between the Castell
and the sea ; on this slab, noticed by Camden, may be
read corbalenci iacit ordovs f — a tumulus ; — and urns
deposited under a large slab within the Castell. These
and other remaias supply evidence of early occupation.
An aureus of Titus, it may also be mentioned, was foimd
not far from Castell Nadolig. I have stated these par-
ticulars, for which I am chiefly indebted to Mr. Barn-
well's memoir, previously cited, because they may suggest
to archaeologists more conversant than myself with the
rehcs of the earHer periods, some hypothesis in regard
to the use or date of the mysterious objects of bronze
under consideration. It is not known whether any other
reUc was found in 1829 at Castell Nadolig. The pair of
1 They are described in the catalogue of the Ashmolean Museum
by Mr. P. H. Duncan, p. 147, as follows : " Two heart-shaped and
slightly hollowed pieces of brass, 5 ins. by 3 ins., found in a British
encampment at Penbryn in Cardiganshire. (Rev. H. Jenkins, Mag.
Coll., 1836.)"
* Figured, Arch. Garnh., 3rd Ser., vii, p. 306. It is noticed also by
Edward Llwyd, and by Meyrick, Hist of Cardiganshire.
OF THE LATE CELTIC PERIOD. 207
leaf-shaped *' spoons" remained apparently unnoticed in
the Ashmolean Museum until their existence became
known accidentally to Mr. Franks in 1862. It will be
seen that the ornaments on the handles are shghtly
varied ; and, although they bear a general resemblance
in style to those on other specimens, the ornament is
characterised by a certain peculiarity, in which Mr. Barn-
well was inclined to recognise some similarity to the
" spectacle ornament" occurring on sculptured stones in
North Britain.^ The upper part of one of the handles
is shghtly damaged. The dimensions are as follow :
length, nearly 5 ins. ; breadth, 3 ins. These relics are
described by Mr. Barnwell as of orange-yellow coloured
metal coated with green patina. One has a perforation,
as in other specimens, near the right hand margin ; the
other has cross-lines engraved on its concave side ; it will
be noticed that it had two small perforations more dis-
tant from the margin than in any other instance. One of
these is now plugged up with metal that appeared, as I
was informed by Mr. Franks, to be gold. Through the
kindness of Professor Philhps, whose friendly readiness
to aid our researches has so frequently been experienced,
it has been ascertained that this little plug, which had
been noticed by Mr. Barnwell as of brass, is actually of
the more precious metal Mr. BamweU has called my
attention to the flatness of these specimens, which in
that respect differ much from that in the British Museum
and the pair that he presented to the Society of Anti-
quaries of Scotland. He points out that, from their
shallowness, they appear very ill adapted to hold any
hquid. This feature is, however, more strikingly obvious
in other examples described hereafter, especially in those
found in Westmoreland. (See No. vi, figs. 8, 9, infra.)
V. A pair found, in 1866, in Somersetshire, about a
mile to the north-west of Bath, and near the road towards
^ Sculptured Stones of Scotland, by John Stuart, vol. ii, preface,
p. 26, and appendix to the preface, p. 8. See also a notice, by Pro-
fessor Westwood, of the first volume of that work, ArcJuBol, Journal^
vol. xiv, pp. 186, 191.
BROKilE RELICS
Bristol. TJDfortunately the precise circumstances con-
nected with their deposit have not been recorded. For
the following particulars, and also for permission to pub-
lish these interesting relics with the series of examples
now brought together, I am indebted to the courtesy of
S.—Ooe oft pKlr (bund it WaUan, nau Buh. BmIs. tm-thlrdi origlnil alie.
In pouenioD oTMr. Junet I. Inlne, F.8A. Soot.
Mr. James T, Irvine, F.S.A. Scot, of Coomb Down near
Bath : "A new road having been made fi^sm Weston
Lane to the village of Weston, near Bath, a lias quarry
was opened for the purpose of obtaining stone. The
spot is on the south side of the new road, and on the
western brow of a small hollow, down which a little
rivulet flows towards the Avon, into which it falls nearly
opposite Twerton. The new road shortly after joins the
Via Julia, the great Roman line from AqiUB Solis into
Wales. In removing the ' heading' for quarrying the
lias rock, at a depth of 7 feet or thereabouts, as stated,
the bronze relics were brought to light by one of the
labourers, who gave them to the foreman, William Smith,
OF THE LATE CELTIC PERIOD. 209
from whom I received them/ I made careful inquiry
whether any other obiect was foimd, or any tmoe of
wood, as of a box or the like ; but I was assured that
nothing else was discovered. The situation is so similar
to the sites where remains of Roman villas occur, on
gently sloping banks open towards the south and south-
east, and adjoining some stream of pure water, that I
am disposed to imagine that the vestiges of a Boman
dwelling must exist not far from the spot."
In the great difficulty that has been foimd in regard
to the intention of these objects, Mr. Irvine suggests
that they may have served for some culinary or gastro-
nomic purpose in Roman times. The frequent occur-
rence of villas and of vestiges of every description, that
aboimd near Aquce Solis, and have oeen carefully de-
scribed by Canon Scarth, could not fail to suggest to so
observant an archaeologist as Mr. Irvine the probabihty
that these objects, found not far distant from a great
Eoman way, might be assigned to the Koman period
It must, however, be considered that in no instance, as
I believe, has any specimen been discovered in immedi-
ate proximity to relics of that age, or even to any site
of Roman occupation; unless, indeed, Castell Nadolig
(see No. iv, ante) may be regarded as in some degree a
Roman site.
The specimens from Somersetshire, unfortunately
damaged at the edges, are of special interest for the per-
fection of their workmanship. (See woodcuts, figs. 6, 7.)
The bronze also has assmned the highly polished, dark
coloured patina, resembling that on objects of classical
antiquity, and rarely if ever equalled on the other relics
under consideration. The dimensions are as follow : —
length, 4| ins. ; diameter of the handle, nearly 1^ in. ; of
^ In a subsequent communication Mr. Irvine informed me that,
in regard to the great depth (7 feet) at which these bronze objects
were stated to have been found, he had made fresh inquiries of the
foreman, who stated that they lay near the stream, in the ancient
hollow course of which the earth had doubtless gradually slipped
down the sloping, cultivated bank, at the upper pi^ of which there
was only a layer of 12 or 18 ins. in depth covering the lias rock.
210 BRONZE RELICS
the bowl, rather over 2^ ins. The ornament presents
slight variations, which seem to prove that the two
objects, if, as I believe, they were castings, were not pro-
duced from the same mould, although they closely
resemble each other. The curiously involuted designs on
the reverses of the handles are not identical, although at
the first glance it might be supposed that they are repe-
titions. In execution they are peculiar. There is only
a very slight degree of relief in the ornament : in some
parts only the field is slightly depressed ; in others the
effect is assisted by a slight rounding off of the edges
of the design, a process frequently made available by
artificers of a later period and wholly distinct school of
metallurgical manipulation, namely in mediaeval enamels,
on some of the surfaces to which vitrified colour was not
applied. This has been termed by French writers on the
art, as practised at Limoges and elsewhere about the
twelfth century, sous-relief.
It may deserve notice that the circular, concentric
mouldings on the obverse of the handle, as also on the
handles of specimens previously described (Nos. i, ii, in,
and rv), bear resemblance to work on certain Roman or
Gallo-Roman objects : for instance, on bronze saucepans
{trullcB ?), of which examples found at Amagill, near
Swinton Park, Yorkshire, were published by Mr. Charles
Tucker.^ One, found in the Isle of Ely, was exhibited
by Mr. Goddard Johnson at the meeting of the Archae-
ological Institute at Norwich in 1847; and five, brought
to light on the Castle Howard estate in Yorkshire, have
presented to Mr. Oldfield the subject of a memoir recently
published in the ArchcBologia.^ In these Roman vessels,
and in other objects of the same period, the mouldings
seem undoubtedly to have been produced on the lathe.
On the Celtic objects under consideration they do not
appear to have been thus worked in the metal. The con-
centric ornaments were doubtless produced in the mould,
^ Arch. Journal^ vi, p. 47.
* Archaologia, xli, PI. XV, p. 325, where notices of other speci-
mens may be found.
OF THE LATE CELTIC PERIOD. 211
with the admirable precision that characterises the works
of the skilful artificers of the period. It has, however,
been suggested that the model, possibly of wood, from
which that part of the concave mould was formed, must
apparently have been turned on the lathe. The use of
that mechanical apphance amongst these Celtic peoples
presents a subject of considerable interest.^
VL A pair found, in 1868, on the lands of Graben, a
farm belonging to Mr. Wilkinson Dent, in the parish of
Crosby Ravens worth, Westmoreland, and brought under
my notice through Mr. R. H. Soden Smith, F.S.A. I
am also indebted to the kindness of the vicar of that
place, the Rev. G. F. Weston, for the foUowiag particu-
lars : " The bronze objects were found by a farmer in
this parish, near a spring of water, while he was digging
out the soil in order to form a drinking-place for his
cattle during the droughty weather in the summer.
There was a small mound near the spring, about 2 ft.
high, and 8 or 9 ft. across, into which we dug in Mr.
Soden Smith's presence. In it were found pieces of free-
stone, which had evidently been subjected to the action
of fire, and some traces of wood-asnes or burnt earth ;
but nothing else rewarded our labours. Our supposi-
tion was that this spring was a place of frequent resort,
for some cause that I am unable to ascertain, possibly
on some ancient line of road, for purposes of refreshment
possibly to the weary traveller, and that cooking in
some rude fashion had there often taken place."
These specimens, liberally presented by Mr. Dent to
the British Museum, are comparatively rough in their
workmanship, and inelegant in form, especially in the
contour of the handle and the unskilful finish of the
engraved ornaments. One of them (fig. 9) has the usual
perforation, — ^in this instance somewhat more than an
^ The cap of amber found at Hove, near Brighton, fignred Arch,
JoumaZ, xiii, p. 183 ; the vessel of bituminous shale discovered by
the Bev. B. Kirwan in a barrow near Honiton, as described Trans'
actions Devon. Assoc.y ii, p. 625 ; the Kimmeridge "coal-money," and
several other relics of the like material, present remarkable evidence
of the early use of the lathe in Britain.
BRONZE RELICS
eighth of an inch from the right hand margin, and
punched through the metal plate, as shown by a slight
burr or ragged edge on its reverse. On the counterpart
is coarsely scored a circle with lines crossing the bowl, as
in two of the Irish examples hereafter noticed. (See figs.
10,11.) The flat handle is in each instance ornamented
ala, two-UilniB ortg. ^la.
with engraved work, forming curvilinear designs of the
so-called " trumpet" pattern, that are similar in their
general character, but not identical. Across the upper
margin of the bowl, in each, there ia chased, somewhat
boldly, a double line of zigzag tooling that has the
appearance of a corded pattern. There is a strongly
engraved line close to the margin, on both obverse and
reverse, and also on the edge or thickness of the handle,
extending as far as the shoulder or commencement of
the bowl. It ia singular that this slight incision on the
edge, wliich I have noticed in other instances, is here
OP THE LATE CELTIC PERIOD. 213
SO strongly cut as to form, on the extreme upper part of
the handle, a nick or groove, the intention of which is
by no means obvious. I have remarked a somewhat
similar slight groove, or incised line, along the edge of
the upper portion of certain flanged celts of bronze, espe-
cially on some Devonshire examples lately presented by
the Duke of Bedford to the British Museum/ Mr. Franks
reminds me that these and some other details that I
have noticed are indications consistent with the elabo-
rate finish by which aU the works of the " late Celtic"
period are characterised. The metal is pale coloured,
without any patina ; the surface singularly granulated,
possibly the result of fine sand-casting, and presents
sHght, irregular scratches that may have been produced
by some operation of roughly pohshing or dressing the
face of the metal, but can scarcely have been left by the
file. The dimensions are as follow : length, 4| ins. ;
diameter of the bowl, 2f ins. These objects were not
found together : they lay seven or eight yards apart, in
the boggy ground that surrounds the spring, and at an
inconsiderable depth, about twelve to eighteen inches.
Mr. Soden Smith assures me that he particularly in-
quired whether the metal had imdergone any scoiuing
after the discovery. He beUeves that it had not been
cleaned, and observes that the pale yellow colour is very
characteristic of the unpatinated bronzes of the period
to which he considers these spoons to belong. It may
deserve notice that the marginal lines, both on the ob-
verse and reverse, and also some other portions of the
engraved work, are worked with a fine zigzag tooling ;
not by a steady, continuous stroke of the burin, this
curious technical peculiarity occurs Kkewise, as described
hereafter, in the Irish examples. The spring, although
well known for its copious supply, that does not fail
even during continued drought, does not appear to be
known by any particular designation that might aid the
endeavour to trace ancient occupation near the spot.
Some remarkable vestiges of antiquity have occurred at
^ Arch. Joum,^ xxvi, p. 347.
214 BRONZE RELICS
and near Crosby Eavensworth, Mr. Soden Smith has
subeequently communicated to the Archaeological Insti-
tute the existence of a circle of stones in that parish ;
and about three miles to the west is situated the remark-
able district of Shap, full of early remains, megalithic
monuments, numerous barrows also, and other relics.
ni, A specimen formerly in poaseasion of Mr, C, Roach
Smith, to whom it had been presented by Mrs. Black-
ett. I have been informed by hira that it was found
in a turbary, as he believes, in Ireland. It was exhi-
bited in the temporary museum formed during the
annual meeting of uie Archaeological Institute at Roches-
ter in July 1863. It measures 4| ins. by nearly 2j ins.
\
a CollH^on, UTsqwol.
(See woodcut, fig. 10.) The metal is somewhat less sub-
stantial than in other specimens previously described.
This example, which I am permitted by Mr. Roach
Smith's fiiendly courtesy to add to the series now
brought together, bears a certain resemblance to those
obtained in Ireland in its somewhat slight and elon-
OF THE LATE CELTIC PERIOD. 215
gated proportions, in the genel^l fashion of the oma-
ments engraved upon the handle, and in the absence of
any relievo in that decoration. In these features it
may also be compared with the spoons, before described,
found in Westmoreland. (See woodcuts, figs. 8 and 9.)
It will be observed likewise that this relic resembles
those in the Museum of the Irish Royal Academy (figs.
11, 12), and also the pair from Westmoreland (fig. 8),
in the fashion of the cross that is engraved upon the
concave surface of one of the spoons in each instance
respectively. In each the lines forming the cross radiate
from a small central circle. It is to be regretted that
the place and circumstances of the discovery should not
have been recorded. This interesting object has been
presented by Mr. Roach Smith to Mr. Mayer ; and I
would express the hope that it. may be ultimatelv depo-
sited in the precious collection so generously given to
the Free Public Museum at Liverpool.
Two pairs are to be seen in the Museum of the Royal
Irish Academy. The precise circumstances connected
with their discovery, and the place where they were
foimd, have not been stated. I am indebted to the cura-
tor of the collection, Mr. Clibbom, and also to the late
Mr. G. V. Du Noyer, for rubbings and drawings of these
remarkable specimens. A full account may be antici-
pated in the concluding portion of the valuable descrip-
tive Catalogue by Sir W. R. Wilde. The completion of
that work will present a most important auxiliary in
our studies of Irish archsBology.^ The specimens occur-
rina: ^ Ireland are comparatively flat, shallow in their
bowls, and of more elongated proportions. Their orna.
ment, whilst presenting features of the " late Celtic"
^ The ecclesiastical antiqnities (not stone), typical articles from
'^ finds'', in crannoges, etc., have been reserved for the third instal-
ment of Sir W. Wilde's catalogue of the Museum of the B. I. Aca-
demy. This section will also include objects of which the precise
uses have not been ascertained with certainty. The bronze spoons
under consideration have mostly been classed, as we believe, by the
archsBologists of the sister kingdom with objects of sacred or eccle-
siastical character.
216 BRONZE RELICS
character, is wrought with engraved lines and stippled
or piinched ground-work, without any portions in relief,
as in examples, already described, that have been found
in England and Wales.
VIII. On the Irish examples, first to be noticed, the
ornament, consisting of circles inscribed somewhat irre-
gularly within each other, aad of curvilinear designs
much obliterated by use or the decay of the surface, is
produced by engraved lines with stippling or pounced
work in the field. (See woodcuts, figs. 11, 12.) The
dimensions and shape are in each precisely the same ;
but the decoration on the flat handle is considerably
varied, both in the obverse and reverse, in each instance,
respectively. One has a circular perforation near the
margin on the right side, the bowl being perfectly plain ;
the other has, in the centre of the bowl, a smaU en-
graved circle, from which Unes radiate at right angles, so
as to present the appearance of a cross. The metal is
of a yellow, brass-like colour. The dimensions are as
follow : length, including the handle, nearly 5| ins. ;
breadth of the bowl, nearly 2| ins. ; of the handle, 2 J ins.
M. Du Noyer, with the wonted sagacity of a minute
observer, pointed out to me that the handle, in each of
these examples, shows towards its left side, both on the
obverse and reverse, indications of considerable wear
with use. The engraved designs are much obliterated
ID that part ; the result, as ne believed, of handling.
This may serve to indicate the manner in which these
objects were habitually held between the thumb and
finger.^ The metal is encrusted with a bright, polished
green patina.
IX. The second pair, now preserved in the Museum
of the Academy, has been there deposited in trust by
the Royal Dublin Society. One spoon of this pair (fig.
13) has the perforation near the side ; the counterpart
^ I believe that this curions pair was contributed to the Dublin
Industrial Exhibition, in 1853, by Mr. B. Murray of Mullingar ; and
that they are noticed in the Official Oatcdogv^e^ No. 1886, p. 145, as
" Patinas — ^two oval and pointed."
Fnim ■ ilnwlng hj (be lale Qsoree V. Du Nnjrer, U.E
BBOKKE BKLICS O
It.— Found In Irtlud.
nlng klOnhla Oaor^ T. Du Nn^, U.aiA,
BROmi BBUCS OP TBB LATE C
OF THE LATE CELTIC PERIOD. 217
(fig. 14) presents the central circle and radiating lines
in like manner as on the examples last described. They
are produced by minute zigzag toolings, which I have
noticed likewise in portions of the ornament of other
specimens. It is remarkable to find such elaborate
manipulation where we might expect to see the steadily
sustained and uniform stroke of the burin. I observed
the same technical peculiarity in the marginal lines of
the specimens found in Westmoreland (figs. 8, 9); but
it is shown in a very remarkable manner in " late Celtic"
objects of a difierent description : for instance, on the
bronze mirror, to which I shall advert more fully here-
after, preserved in the Bedford Museum. On that
highly elaborated example of "late Celtic" skill, the
whole of the intricate decoration is produced by delicate
chevrony toolings. In the ornamentation of the pair
of objects under consideration, the ground of the curvi-
linear designs on the handles is covered with punched
or stippled work, forming minute circles or dimplings,
M. Du Noyer assured me that the circle and radiating
lines within the bowl had likewise been produced by a
punch, whilst the marginal lines were deeply engraved.
These minute details may not be undeserving of notice,
as indicating the remarkable proficiency to which the
metal-workers of the period had attained. The dimen-
sions are, in this instance, as follow : length, 5 ins. ;
breadth of the bowl, 2| ins. ; of the handle, 1 J in. The
metal is described as of a brown, rusty colour, — a condi-
tion of surface not unusual in bronze relics found in
Ireland, and produced probably by some peculiar effect
of the soil in which they had been deposited.
Having now endeavoured to relate the particulars
connected with all the known examples, so far as it has
been practicable to ascertain them, I proceed to offer a
few remarks in regard to the period to which these ob-
jects may be ascribed, and the uses for which, as it has
been imagined, they were destined. I have sought in
vain for any circumstance associated with the discovery
in any of the instances that I have recorded, and care-
4th ser , VOL. I. 16
218 BRONZE R£LICS
fully endeavoured to trace in the site, or in the accom-
paniments, of the deposit, some of those trifling details
that may serve to suggest indications of its daaracter
or its date. I am not aware that on any occasion, in the
discovery of these mysterious Celtic relics, has any other
ancient object been brought to light. It can scarcely be
alleged that the position in which the deposit has occur-
red may afford reliable evidence. Some value, it is true,
has been ascribed to the finding of such spoon-shaped
relics in streams or near springs of water. This circimi-
stance, however, must obviously be taken with caution
as an indication of the purpose which any object thus
discovered may have served. Its occurrence in the silt
of the Thames, in some turbary or aUuvial deposit, or
in the accumulated deh^ that surroimds every site of
long continued occupation, can fairly be accepted only
as evidence that the habitations of successive races, by
which our island has been occupied, were probably esta-
blished in such localities. It is no marvel that the bed
of our great metropoKtan river should present the most
copious deposit of vestiges of every period, specially
rich in those of the age that has been designated as
"late Celtic." The remarkable bronze decorations of
shields, for example, rescued from the Thames at Bat-
tersea, and deposited in the British Museum by the
Archaeological Institute; the elaborate bronze shield
also brought to light in the river Witham, near Lincoln,
and now in the armoury at Goodrich Court, may be
cited amongst numerous examples of the fluviatile trea-
sures of the Celtic age.^ The endeavour to enumerate
aU the relics of that peculiar class, which have occurred
in the British islands, would far exceed the limits of
my present purpose. They will, as I hope, be fully illus-
trated at some future period by Mr. Franks, to whom
this section of early antiquities has been long, as also
to myself, an object of special interest. Meanwhile I
would refer to the well selected examples that have
been figured by him in the IIorcB Ferales. The remark-
^ Hura FcralcSf p. 191, Plates xiv, xvi.
OF THE LATE CELTIC PERIOD. 219
able series also brought before tbe Society of Antiquaries
by Mr. Franks in 1858, may probably be in the remem-
brance of some of my readers.^ In this peculiar class of
early remains the British islands are unrivalled ; a few
objects only, analogous in design, being found on the
Continent. The relics in question, discovered in this
country, consist of shields, swords, and daggers, personal
ornaments, horse-furniture, and miscellaneous objects,
some of iron, some of bronze, and frequently enriched
with enamel. It may deserve notice that no relic that
may be regarded with certainty as of a sacred or Chris-
tian character has hitherto, so far as I can ascertain,
been brought to light. None is to be found in the classi-
fied inventory of examples of " late Celtic ' art, includ-
ing a few brought to light in foreign countries, that have
been given in the HorcB Ferales.
I am unwilling to extend the present notices, already
too diffiise, by citing many other precious rehcs of the
same period not included in that list. I cannot refrain,
however, from inviting attention to the very singular
bronze head-piece furnished with long projections re-
sembling the ears of an animal. The surface of this
unique relic, which was found in the bed of the Thames,
has been deposited in the British Museuin by the con-
servators of the river. The surface is coverea with ela-
borate *4ate Celtic" decoration. In an interment foimd
at Grimthorpe, in the East Riding of Yorkshire, the
bronze ornaments of a shield, a sword also, with other
valuable examples of the workmanship of the period,
were brought to light in 1868. They have been de-
scribed by Mr. Barnard Davis in the Proceedings of the
Society of Antiquaries.^ I v/ould advert also to the very
remarkable one-handled, tankard-shaped vessel found in
a turbary at Trawsfynydd, Merionethshire, not far from
the Roman remains at Tomen y Mur, supposed to mark
the position of a station to which the name of Heriri
^ Proc. Soc. Antiq.j vol. iv, pp. 144, 166.
* Proc. Soc. Ant, vol.iv, Second Series, p. 273. These objects are
figured in The Eeliquary, vol. ix, p. 180.
153
220 BRONZE RELICS
Mons has been assigned.^ This object is now in the
Museum that has been given to the town of Liverpool
by the munificent promoter of archaeological science,
Mr. Mayer. The bronze relic of extraordinary fashion
found in Galloway, and now in the antiquarian collec-
tion at Abbotsford, must be mentioned as an unique
and most characteristic example, brought to light in
. North Britain. It is ornamented with designs of the
peculiar curvilinear or *' trumpet" type, closely resem-
bling some of those on the Celtic "spoons" that have been
described in the foregoing memoir. The form of this
relic suggests that it may have been placed on the head
of a small horse. There are circular apertures, appa-
rently eye-holes, at the sides. From the forehead pro-
ject long horns curved upwards, measuring about 12 ins.
in length. To the Secretary of the Antiquaries of
Scotland, Dr. J. Alexander Smith, I have been indebted
for the opportimity of examining a series of photographs
and drawings of this very peculiar object, of which he
has given an giccoimt in their Proceedings.^ Lastly, I
would invite attention to certain highly curious reUcs
not included by Mr. Franks in his list above cited,
namely certain bronze mirrors, as they are supposed to
have been, of which the reverses are engraved with ela-
borate designs that exemplify, in a most instructive
manner, the peculiar types of Celtic ornamentation to
which I have sought to invite attention as occurring on
the " spoons" now under consideration. In the absence
* This unique specimen of " late Celtic*' was shown at the Meet-
ing of the Cambrian Archaaological Association at Dolgellau in 1850.
(^Arch, Gamh., N. S., vol. i, p. 332.) It was formerly in possession
of the late Mr. J. Llojd of Penyglanau,who collected numerous relics
of interest in the locality, now unfortunately dispersed.
* Proc, 8oc. Ant. of Scotland, vol. vi, Part II. This extraordinary
object was found in a morass at Torrs, co. Kirkcudbright, and was
presented to Sir Walter Scott. It is now at Abbotsford. Dr. Smith
has also described and figured another object of bronze that bears
the like " late Celtic" decoration. It resembles the lower part of
the head of an animal, possibly an ox, and was found in a morass
near Banff. It is now in the museum of that town. Both are
noticed in the New Statistical Account of Scotland.
OF THE LATE CELTIC PERIOD. 221
of any other relics accompanying the deposits of these
mysterious objects, as I have previously pointed out, it
is by the character of the ornament alone that we can
hope to be ultimately guided in the endeavour to esta-
blish their date, and possibly also the uses for which
they may have been intended.
I have desired to advert particularly to the relics last
mentioned, as presenting the most suggestive evidence
that has come under my observation in regard to the
probability that the vestiges of the " late Celtic" period,
although not partaking of the character of Roman de-
sign, may occasionally be traced within the limits of
Roman influence. I allude to the discovery of certain
interments near Plymouth, described by Mr. Spence
Bate in the Transdctions of the Devonshire Association
for Advancement of Science, for 1864. Two objects of
admirable workmanship, supposed to be mirrors, imfor-
tunately in imperfect state (diameter about 6| ins.),
were d^interrea, accompanying unbumt remains depo-
sited in graves partly excavated in the natural rock,
and in some instances with pottery, personal ornaments
of bronze, and various objects of undoubted Roman-
British character. The whole have been figured imper-
fectly, and on a very inadequate scale, in the serial above
cited. I have, however, seen in the possession of my
friend, Mr. Franks, an accurate facsimile or impression
of the engraved ornament ; and I have thus been en-
abled to speak, without hesitation, of its strongly marked
character as belonging to the Celtic period. Of these
very remarkable objects, not noticed by him in the
inventory already cited, three other examples are known
to me, each of them characterised in a striking degree
by the peculiarities of the "late Celtic" ornamentation.
One of these supposed mirrors is preserved in the Mu-
seum of the ArchaBological Society of Bedford. Through
the courteous assistance of Mr. James Wyatt, to whose
researches the student of palaeolithic remains is so much
indebted, I have been enabled to examine this admir-
ably wrought (specimen. It was found, as he informs
222 BRONZE RELICS
me, in excavations for the Warden Tunnel, on the Mid-
land Railway, about six miles from Bedford. Mr. Wyatt
believes that Roman coins and portions of large amphora©
were found with it ; but these were speedily dispersed,
and sold by the navvies. The bronze plate, broken into
several pieces, was fortunately regarded as of no value.
It was rescued by the Rev. G. Mellor, and by him pre-
sented to the Museum. The site of the deposit is near
places where various Roman relics have been found;
and one of the workmen stated that a large bronze pan
was likewise brought to light in the works for the
TunneL The supposed mirror presents, on one of its
sides, the most typical example, possibly, of the trumpet-
shaped decoration hitherto obtained. It is wholly pro-
duced by deUcate zigzag work executed with much
deUcacy and precision. The technical peculiarity of fine
chevrony tooUnff has already been noticed. It resem-
bles. mi certaiS degree, the elaborate oiimmentation of
some Irish antiquities of gold figured in SirW. R. Wilde's
Catalogue of the Museum of the Royal Irish Academy.
The disc of the beautiful relic at Bedford is slightly
kidney-shaped, and measures 7f ins. in diameter. The
handle, which may have been enriched with enamel,
measures about 4 ins. in length.^
These relics have appeared to claim special notice, not
merely as typical exempUfications of the ornament that
in greater or less degree characterises the antiquities of
the period ; but on accoimt of their having occurred in
connexion with Roman remains, and thus affording a
proximate indication of the date to be ascribed to the
particular class of objects imder consideration.
Of the other two mirrors of similar description, one
(diam. 6^ ins. ) is in the Muserun presented by Mr. Mayer
^ This carious object was exhibited to the Society of Antiquaries,
and is briefly noticed in their ProceedingSy Second Series, vol. i, p.
263, where the conjecture is stated that it might have served as a
pendant of horse- furniture. A valuable " late Celtic** relic of another
class was brought by Mr. Franks on the same occasion, an iron
sword in a bronze sheath, the latter ornamented with scrolls and
hatched lines. It was found near Stamford Bridge, Yorkshire.
OF THE LATE CELTIC PERIOD. 223
to the town of Liverpool ;^ the other forms part of a
remarkable deposit of bronze relics found in a moss in
the parish of Balmaclellan, New Galloway, consisting of
plates that had probably been attached to a box in
which the more valuable articles had been placed ; also
a crescent-shaped plate, and the mirror (diameter, the
handle included, 13 ins.). These last have been figured
by Dr. Wilson in his Prehistoinc Annals.^ He points
out the resemblance of the ornamentation to that of the
head-ring or collar found at Stitchel, and of the Plunton
Castle armlet, before cited, as remarkable specimens of
" late Celtic" work.
Amongst numerous remarkable relics of bronze that
have been found in Ireland, bearing the distinctive " late
Celtic", or so-called " trumpet-pattern", in their decora-
tion, I am desirous to invite attention to certain shallow
bronze discs that may be assigned to the same period
as the spoons. I am indebted to the Royal Irish Aca-
demy, through the friendly courtesy of Mr. Clibbom, for
the accompanying illustration. Six of these remarkable
relics have been found. Their details and workmanship
are minutely described by Sir W. R. Wilde. ^ The wood-
^ This specimen was purchased in Paris hj Mr. J. G. Robinson,
by whom it was exhibited to the Society of Antiquaries, in 1854, as
a Celtic or GkiUo-Roman mirror. The place of discovery is unknown.
(Proc, 8oc. Ant, vol. iii, p. 118.) I am informed by Mr. Franks that
it was probably found in the bed of the Thames, in the neighbour-
hood of Barnes. I have a representation of it by the kindness of
Mr. Ecroyd Smith, curator of the collection at Liverpool. It is evi-
dently an object of the same class as those found in Devon and Bed-
fordshire.
« Vol. ii, edit. 1863, p. 228 ; see also Mr. Stuart's Sculptured Stones
of Scotland^ vol.' ii. Appendix to the Preface, p. 10. Similar mirrors
occur frequently amongst the symbols on the monuments figured in
that work. The circlet found in 1747 at Stitchel, Roxburghshire, is
figured by Dr. Wilson, vi supra, p. 146 ; Proc, Soc. Ant. Scot,, vol. iii,
p. 237. See an account of the armlet, »6id., p. 147; and Arch. Jounudy
vol. xvi, p. 194, where it is figured.
* Catal. Mus. R. I. Academy, p. 637. See also Mr. Franks' notice
of these objects in his inventory of " late Celtic" relics, BTorce Ferales,
p. 183. No similar disc has been found in England. A specimen
is preserved in the British Museum. It has been supposed by some
archa)ologists that they were ornamental portions of shields.
BRONZE UKLICS
cut ia a reproduction, from two imperfect specimens, by
the skilfiil pencil, I believe, of my lamented friend Du-
noyer. It may not be strictly accurate in all the curious
design. The line a 6 indicates the restored portion.
LtA OfllCtd" p«il<^ Uiu. Rojlkl Jriih Aeiid,
DkowUriilKiutllliia.
In connexion with the foregoing remarks on such
objects as may aid our conclusions in regard to the date,
approximately, of the spoon-like relics, by careful com-
parison with other examples that bear most distinctly
the stamp of analogous ornamentation, I cannot omit to
mention the gold rings and Gaulish coins found at
Frasnes in Belgium. They were made known in this
country by Mr. Roach Smith, to whose observations
archaeological science has been under constant obligar
tions. Photographs were also brought before the Numis-
matic Society by Mr. Evans, and the evidence obtained
through this "find" was stated by him in a memoir
published in the Numismatic Chronicle.^ The value of
1 Numigm. Ckron., N. S., vol. iv, PI. v; see also Beviie de la Nu-
mltm. Beige, 1804, p. li(t.
OF THE LATE CELTIC PERIOD. 225
the discovery consists, as Mr. Roach Smith pointed out,
in the fact that the gold coins give an approximate date
to the ornaments by which they are accompanied ; the
most remarkable being a massive penannular ring (dia-
meter about 8 ins.), enriched with scroll ornaments in
high relief, of the "lat» Celtic" character, somewhat
modified as compared with such as have occurred in the
British islands. Amongst these ornaments is introduced
the head of the ox, an object that appears to have been
associated with some peculiar superstition. Mr. Evans
has shown with lucid precision the grounds of his con-
clusion that the gold imitations of the stater of Philip II,
which accompanied the deposit at Frasnes, may be
ascribed to about B.C. 80. In regard to the occurrence
of a penannular collar in " late Cdtic" times, a very inte-
resting example is supplied in one exhibited by the
Rev. Edward Duke at the Meeting of the Archaeological
Institute at Salisbury in 1849. It was found in Corn-
wall in 1802, in a stream- work called Trenoweth, and
was supposed to be of *' Corinthian brass." I have been,
however, assured that it is of gold. The pimched and
engraved decorations bear distinct resemblaiice to those
of relics enumerated by Mr. Franks in his inventory
before cited. ^
The analogy that is to be traced in certain details of
ornament, especially in early illiuninated MSS. of ascer-
tained date, and in elaborately enriched crosses or other
imquestionably Christian monuments, — ^for example, in
the series of the " Sculptured Stones of Scotland,' illus-
trated by the late Mr. Patrick Chalmers and by Mr.
Stuart, — ^has led some of our most reliable authorities to
the conclusion that the " late Celtic" remains referred
to in the foregoing memoir, with the spoon-like objects
also so distinctly characterised by similarity of oma-
^ This relic measures about 6^ ins. in diameter. It is fibred in
Archaologia, vol. xvi, p. 137, PL x. Another collar, engraved with
designs of distinct " late Celtic*' character, was in the possession of
Mr. Charles Hall of Osmington, Dorset, and is figured in the annual
volume produced by the Anastatic Di*awing Society, 1858, PI. 35.
226 BRONZE RELICS
mentation, should be assigned for the most part to a
comparatively recent period of post-Roman antiquity,
namely to the sixth or possibly to the eighth century.
It must, however, be carefiilly considered, that in the
numerous objects of bronze comprised in Mr. Franks'
inventory, — ^to which, doubtless, many might be added,
including those that form the special subject of the pre-
sent memoir, — a marked difference is to be observed.
Certain types of decorative design, the interlaced riband,
the lacertme or zoomorphic, namely a prevalent combi-
nation of animal forms, some peculiar whorls or spirals,
elaborate mseanders also, with other varieties, profusely
introduced in the rich, illuminated pages of early MSS.,
or on the sculptured monuments, are scarcely if ever to
be found on the relics of bronze. Those more complex
and artificial, although less graceful, motives of orna-
mentation occurring on the sculptured monuments and
in MSS., appear, as I imagine, to indicate a more recent
period of art ; modified doubtless, in some instances, by
local taste or by caprice.^
It has been sufifffested, moreover, that the dose resem-
blance of certain motived of ornamentation occurring on
the "spoons," as compared with those on the sculptin:ed
monuments in North Britain, appears to justify the con-
clusion that the date, in both instances, may be nearly
the same. Mr. Irvine pointed out, in regard to the
specimen formerly in my own possession (fig. 2), the
similarity in design to that of the incised work on the
slab found at St. Peter s Kirk, South Ronaldshay, and
now in the Museum of the Antiquaries of Scotland ^
^ I would here refer specially to Professor Westwood's works on
ancient art in the British islands, exemplified in MSS. ; and to his
instructive memoir, Arch. Journal, vol. x, p. 283 ; Palceographia Sacra
Pictoriaf etc. Our lamented friend Kemble, in his addross to the
Boyal Irish Academy, in 1857, gave one of his masterly outlines of
a complex subject, and has set forth in a striking manner his impres-
sions of the peculiarities of Celtic design.
* Figured by Mr. Stuart, 8oul/ptiired Stones, First Series, PI. xcvi,
Mr. Irvine adverted also, amongst other Irish examples, to the
remarkable resemblance in the ornamentation of some bone plaques
OF THE LATE CELTIC PERIOD. 227
The approximate date of the Scottish sculptures appears,
accordmg to the sagacious conclusions of Mr. Stuart, to
be shortly after the establishment of Christianity in
the Pictish coimtry; some of them, therefore, may be,
as he states, of the early part of the eighth century.^
In connexion, however, with the highly interestiug in-
vestigation of the period to which these remarkable
examples of early art, as compared with the relics of
bronze characterised by **late Celtic" ornamentation,
should be respectively assigned, I may cite with grati-
fication the following remarks, which I owe to the friendly
interest of Mr, Stuart in my endeavour to illustrate the
group of objects that form the special subject of the
present memoir. " My notion is," he observes, " that
although some of the forms of ornamentation on the
stone crosses are of the same character as those of the
spoons, and although similar forms occur on bronzes of
the Christian period in Ireland, yet there is no reason
for thence inferring that the spoons are of the same late
date, because the ornaments may be traced in their out-
line on monuments which, on every ground of induc-
tion, must be ascribed to a pre-Christian period. In
the Sculptured Stones I have dwelt in detail on the
reasons which led me to aficiibe the rude pillars, with
ornaments in outline, to a different and earlier period
than that of the crosses on which the same forms appear
with embellishment and many tokens of progress in art.
The doubt which I felt was as to, how much earlier a
date these ruder specimens with which I would associate
the spoons might be ascribed,^ and I cannot say that I
have yet seen anything tangible on which to rest a satis-
factory conclusion on this point."
fonnd in a cromlech by Eugene O'Connell. The peculiar Celtic cur-
vilinear designs and " trumpet" pattern doubtless occur on several
of the Scottish monuments, and also in illuminated Irish and Scot-
tish MSS., but almost invariably combined with interlaced ribands,
lacertine, and other animal forms, that are not found on the '' spoouB,"
and very rarely, if ever, on other " late Celtic'* bronzes.
^ Sculptured Stones of Scotland^ Second Series, preface, p. 17.
^ Ibid.y vol. ii, pp. 6, 7.
228 BRONZE RELICS
Professor Westwood, our highest authority on the
classification of the various types of ornament that pre-
vailed in the British islands, is of opinion that the orna-
mentation on the " spoons" may be assigned to about
that period or a little earlier. He reminded me of the
enamelled discs found near Warwick, and published by
me in the Archceological Journal in 1845. They, doubt-
less, bear comparison with the designs in MSS. of the
sixth or seventh century.^ The triple spirals and other
features that occur in these and in other relics appear
to retain a considerable tradition of the peculiar Celtic
motives occurring on the "spoons," and characterising,
as I imagine with my friend Mr. Franks, relics of a
somewhat earlier age.^ These, however, are points of
difficulty that I must leave to the judgment of those
more intimately conversant than myself with the incu-
nabula of art in the British islands.
As regards, then, the probable date of the spoon-like
objects, and of the other relics that bear the distinct
impress of the same peculiar type of ornamentation, I
am disposed to concur in the conclusions of my friend
Mr. Franks, who more than any one has devoted atten-
tion to this particular class of bronze antiquities, and to
believe that " they are probably not more ancient than
the introduction of coinage into Britain, from 200 to
100 B.C.; and not much later than the close of the first
century after Christ, when the Roman dominion in this
country was firmly established. This date would account
for the occasional discovery of such remains vsn'th, or in
close proximity to, Roman antiquities, and also for the
influence that their designs seem to have exercised over
certain phases of Roman colonial art ; in which, how-
ever, their wild and studied irregularity of design is
brought into subjection, though at the same time the
patterns lose much of their charm and originality."'
^ Arch. Journal, vol. ii, p. 162.
^ A single example of a bronze ornament on which the Celtic com-
plicated curves are found combined v^ith interlaced ribands, is a
brooch figured'in Sir W. Wilde's Catalogue Mus, B, L Acad.^ p. 569.
3 Hor<B FeraXeSy p. 189 ; see also Proceedings 8oc, Antiq,, iv, p. 45.
OF THE LATE CELTIC PERIOD. 229
I cannot conclude these notices without offering a few
remarks on certain conjectural explanations that have
been proposed in regard to the uses for which the " late
Celtic ' spoon-like objects were possibly intended. I am,
however, unable to suggest any probable solution of the
enigma. The obscurity in which the purpose of several
remarkable relics of the same period is involved, seems
to me, in this instance, to present an almost impene-
trable mystery.
The supposition that the " spoons" in question may
be of early Christian use, seems to have found ready
acceptance; suggested, as I imagine, by the occurrence
of lines engraved transversely in the cavity or shallow
bowl ; in some instances radiating from a central circle
or a lozenge-shaped compartment, as in fig. 7. This
roughly scored marking, that occurs only on the spoons
that are without a perforation at the edge, has doubt-
less, at first sight, a certain resemblance to the Christian
symbol.^ I may observe that, in every specimen hitherto
examined, it appears to have been produced by the same
hand and tool as the other engraved lines, and to be
contemporary with the original workmanship. It is
not, as I believe, an addition at some subsequent period,
by which apagan appliance might be, so to speak, hal-
lowed for Christian uses. The occurrence of any sacred
relic of such description in the British islands is so rare,
that the interest of the Celtic spoons would, doubtless,
be greatly enhanced were their association with the
early times of Christianity satisfactorily established. In
the present instance, however, this must, I think, with
aU deference to the opinion of my friend. Canon Rock,
whose judgment in all matters connected with Christian
' I might here advert to other objects of early antiquity that bear
cruciform markings, and which we have no reason to regard as of
Christian date. Snch are the gold pellets found with Celtic relics
in Scotland. (Wilson, Frehist. AnnaU^ vol. i, p. 464 ; vol. ii, p. 261 ;
ArchcBol. Scot., vol. iv, p. 217. I have described several urns found
with earlv British interments, that seem to belong to pre-Christian
times. (Arch. Joum,, vol. xziv, p. 22 ; Arch, Gamb^^ Third Series,
vol. xiv, pp. 256-261.)
230 BRONZE RELICS
antiquities claims our highest consideration, and to that
of other sagacious and erudite archaeologists, be regarded
as questionable. Had the skilful artificer by whom
these " spoons" were fabricated really intended to mark
them with a Christian symbol, I feel assured that it
would never have been in so imperfect, rude a fashion.
One only of the pair, it will also be observed, bears the
supposed sacred emblem. We fail to find on these
" spoons," in any instance, the introduction of decisive
evidence such as would unquestionably occur on objects
so carefully elaborated, — ^for instance, the sacred mono-
gram composed of the letters chi and rho^ the most pre-
valent symbol on the earliest Christian relics ; the only
symbol, moreover, hitherto found in this countiy on
vestiges of so early a date as the Roman occupation of
Britain ; and that which had there become generally
familiar through the coinage of Constantine and his suc-
cessors in the foiuih century. Had we found on any of
the numerous " late Celtic" relics any example of this or
of any equaUy decisive indication of Christianity, there
could have been no hesitation in assigning the "spoons"
to some early period after the introduction of the true
faith into Britain. It may not be irrelevant to the pre-
sent inquiry to remind the reader that a remarkable
object of Roman times has been brought to light bearing
that symbol, namely a silver bowl ornamented with foli-
age and the conjoined Greek letters above mentioned.
It was found in Northumberland, at the station Corsto-
pitum, near the Roman WalL^ The same monogram,
with a pair of peacocks, a Christian symbol, is found on
a Roman vase of pewter in the Ely Museum. The cakes
^ This vessel, weighing twenty ounces, has probably perished. An
account of the discovery, with a drawing of the bowl, is preserved
in the minates of the Society of Antiquaries. The discovery is
slightly mentioned by Dr. Bruce, Rofnan Wall, third edition, p. 342 ;
and also an altar found at Vindobala, on the Wall, and supposed to-
have borne the Christian monogram. This, however, is doubtful.
It is figured, ihid.y p. 128. Two other remarkable instances of the
use of the chUrhn may be cited, namely the Roman mosaic found in
1796 at Frampton, Dorset, and published by tysons ; and some
OF THE LATE CELTIC PERIOD. 231
of metal, also, found in the Thames, and described in the
Arch. Journal^ xvi, p. 38 ; Proceedings Soc. Ant.y Second
Series, vol. ii, p. 235, are stamped with the like sacred
monogram. One of these bears around the symbol the
letters spes. . . ; the other has the letters alpha and omega
in the field of the stamp. These relics may probably be
assigned to the fourth century.
There are peculiar ritual usages, both in the Latin
and the Eastern Church, connected with the use of a
spoon. Such an appliance was, doubtless, employed also
in this country. To some of these Mr. Barnwell has
adverted in his remarks on the Celtic "spoons."^ As
regards the supposed use of these last in the adminis-
tration of the Eucharist, he has pointed out the impro-
bability that any appliance would be employed, formed
of metal so liable as bronze to become corroded by the
wine. The injunctions of the Canons, with evidences of
ancient usage in this respect, have been cited, and claim
consideration. It was enjoined that the chaHce should
be of pure molten material, gold or silver, glass or tin :
horn was forbidden, especially wood, "propter porosi-
tatem." It is probable that such restrictions may have
been recognised, from an early period, in regard to the
materials of which all appliances provided for the most
sacred of Christian rites should be formed. The objec-
tion* to glass is stated by Lyndwode to have been its
fragile nature; whilst the sacred vessel should not be
"de cupro, quia provocat vomitum; nee de aurichalco,
quia contrahit rubiginem." The occasional neglect of
any such regulations, probably enjoined, not only in
regard to the chalice but also to minor objects of sacred
-r
roughly inscribed stones obtained in recent excavations atChedwortb,
Wilts. On the tessellated floor the symbol accompanies a head of
Neptune, with figures of several heathen deities. Some other ex-
amples of the monogram occur on ancient inscribed monuments, as
supposed, of great antiquity in Cornwall, at St. Just, St. Helena's
Chapel on Cape Cornwall (figured by Mr.Haslam in the Arch. Joum.),
and elsewhere. On a stone at Perimachno, in Wales, we find a
memorial of the burial of Carausius, with a cross -symbol composed
apparently of clii and rJio, {Arch. Comb.^ Third Series, ix, p. 256.)
* Arch. Camb.y Third Series, x, p. 58.
232 BRONZE RELICS
use, may be inferred from the reiterated prohibition.
Mr. Nesbitt, moreover, to whose intimate knowledge of
Christian art we have often been indebted, reminds me
that a calix ceneus was used by St. Columbanus towards
the close of the sixth century. A bronze chalice of Irish-
German character, of the eighth century, is preserved
at the Convent of Kremsmiinster on the Danube.
It has been suggested that the Celtic spoons would
be more suitable K)r aspersion in baptismal rites : for
such a purpose the liability to corrosion would cause no
objection to the use of bronze. I am not aware whether
any evidence of the ancient use of such an object may
be found, especially in early times when immersion was
the prevalent practice. In some places, at the present
day, a shell-like object is doubtless employed. I am
informed by the Earl of Limerick that he recently noticed
this practice in the south of France. He obtained at
Cannes one of these modem baptismal spoons. It is a
shell polished and engraved, and it has a perforation
resembling those in the ancient bronze spoons. An appli-
ance of this description is likewise to be found occasion-
ally in our own country, even in certain places of worship
of the Established Church.^
Mr. Clibbom, the obliging Curator of the Museum of
the Royal Irish Academy, informs me that visitors con-
versant with the ritual of the Greek Church have con-
sidered the " spoons" in that collection, and of which
representations are given in this memoir, to be identical
with the lahida used for the administration of the con-
secrated element after being dipped in the chalice.^ This
1 A silver shell, or spoon -shaped objejft, as I have been informed,
is nsed in baptisms at St. Paurs, Knightsbridge, in lien of aspersion
by the hand.
2 Mr. Barnwell has given a representation of the lahida (Arch.
Camh,, 3rd Ser., vol. x, p. 61) from Goar (Rittuile GroBcorum, p. 152).
It has a small bowl, and a long handle terminating with a plain
cross. In the magnificent Russian work on the imperial regalia and
jewels, church ornaments, etc., several spoons are figured with the
precious chalices there given. One is of gold, similar in form to
that shown by Goar, but it is without a cross ; another, of bone, with
a large bowl, is described as the spoon of the metropolitan Peter; a
third, of agate, is ascribed to the twelfth century.
OF THE L4TE CELTIC PERIOD. 233
conjecture seems to rest on no probable grounds or
knowledge of ancient liturgical usages. A valued friend,
profoundly conversant with Christian rites and anti-
quities (the learned author of The Church of our Father h),
has stated that, for eucharistic purposes, never, in the
liturgy of this country, was any spoon used, excepting
a small one with a deep bowl, for spilling two or three
drops of water, before consecration, into the chalice, — ^a
ritual practice that some still retain. For such a pur-
pose to which Canon Rock has thus adverted, the little
spoon in the possession of the Duke of Argyll, found
imder St. Martin s Cross at lona, may have been in-
tended; and also a diminutive spoon of gold found in
the river Bann.^ Canon Rock in&rms us that the use
of the lahida was introduced in the Greek Church about
the tenth century; whilst in the Western Churches
were formerly used reeds (cannce) or pipes of gold, silver,
ivory, and the like, for partaking of the chalice.^
As regards the *' specimens of Celtic handicraft" to
which the present memoir relates, he has stated the
opinion that they may have been used in baptism ; the
imperforate spoon serving for the oil of the catechumens
in the first anointing customary in that sacred rite,
namely with olive oil rubbed in the form of a cross on
the breast and between the shoulders. The spoon with
the hole at the margin may have served for pouring the
chrism on the head of the neophyte, in the form of a
cross. The reader, desirous to pursue in detail so curious
an inquiry, will find in the dissertation by Dr. Rock, to
which I have thus briefly referred, a very interesting
exposition, replete with recondite and valuable erudition
concerning ancient ritualistic usages, and the ample evi-
dence that he has gathered from lit^orgical authorities.^
^ Exhibited at the meeting of the British Association at Belfast
in 1862, and figured TJhter Jmimal of ArchcEology^ vol. i, p. 81. The
spoon fonnd in lona has been described as of gold, but it is of bronze.
Length, about 4 ins.
* Church of our Fathers^ vol. i, p. 161.
^ See the memoir on " Celtic Spoons," by Very Rev. Canon Rock,
D.D., Arch, Joum., vol. xxvi, p. 35.
4th ber., vol. I. 16
234 ON AN ELEGY OP CORROY,
I have thus imperfectly stated certein suggestions
that I nave received in regard to the intention of the
Celtic "spoons." The investigation has led me into details
that may, I fear, appear tediously prolonged. It has
been my desire to invite attention to a section of that
remarkable class of early remains, the peculiar interest
of which was so highly appreciated by our lamented
friend Kemble in his eloquent address to the Royal Irish
Academy in 1857. It must be a cause of deep regret
that so important and diflScult an investigation as is
presented by the peculiar objects to which I have desired
to invite attention, had not been carried out by one
whose keen sagacity and profound acquaintance with
our earlier antiquities so advantageously stimulated the
cause of archaeological science in this coimtry.
Albert Way.
ON AN "ELEGY OF COEEOY, THE SON OF DAIEY,"
AN ANCIENT GAEDHELIG POEM ATTRIBUTED TO TALIESIN.
Tn^ArchcBologiaCambrensis for 1851 contains a series of
papers on early Cymric poems by Mr. Thos. Stephens,
the learned author of The Literature of the Cymry. No. I
of these papers illustrates a curious reUc of the bardic
age, attributed to Taliesin. Mr. Stephens, always a
judicious and cautious critic, appears doubtfiil as to the
authorship; but is not so as to the extreme antiquity
of the poem, which he believes to have been composed
in the sixth or seventh century. His words are : " On
reference to The Literature of the Cymry (p. 284), it will
be seen that I have ranked this poem among those
wrongly attributed to Taliesin ; but having recently gone
over the groimd again, and roughly translated all that
appears to me to be the produce of the sixth and seventh
centuries, I have seen reason to believe in the antiquity
of this little poem, whoever may have been its author."
{Arch, Camh., v, 1851, p. 149.) The poem in question
THE SON OF DAIRY. 235
is entitled Marvmad Corroy ah Dairy, i. e., "Elegy on
Con*oy, the son of Dairy," and is given in the original
Welsh, with a translation by Mr. Stephens, the latter
of which I here reproduce :
ELEGY ON CORROY, THE SON OF DAIRY, BY TALIESIN.
1.
'' Froiib a broad fountain the stream is filled :
There will come a dispensing with the worth of the reckless.
I have been agitated by the death of Corroy.
If there came a man of harsh passions,
More mischievous than he, — not much is spoken of him.
The son of Dairy held command on the South Sea.
Before his burial celebrated was his praise.
2.
'' From a broad fountain the brook is filled.
Saddling in haste will be dispensed with.
I have been agitated by the death of Corroy.
3.
*' From a broad fountain the deep is filled.
The arrow traverses the strand pensive and angcrless.
The hero was a subjugator ; great was his front rank.
Towns followed after the leader ;
They went fresh to the quarrel of brands,
While the demon of war heaped carnage in the mornings,
Tales w:ere known from heaven to earth.
In the contention of Corroy and Cocholyn
Many were the confiicts on the boundaries.
The chief of the encampment sprang from a gentle race.
A city there is kindling love ; it will not fall nor tremble :
Blessed is the fortune of the soul by whom it is deserved."
Mr. Stephens, finding this poem among the acknow-
ledged bardic remains of the Kymry, of course received
it as a genuine relic ; and being anxious to throw some
light on the characters introduced in it, he made labo-
rious researches into early Welsh history, in order, if
possible, to identify them. The result he gives in the
following passage :
" In translating, or rather in attempting to translate,
this poem, the name of Corroy s opponent piqued my
curiosity. I forthwith went in search of its history to
the Anglo-Saxon annals ; and, much to my delight, the
personage whom I sought appeared in good company,
being Cemchelm, one of the -4ngrZo-Saxon kings. There
16 «
236 ON AN ELEGY OF CORROY,
were two West Saxon kings of this name. The brother
of Ceawlin perished, in 693, in battle, probably against
the Britons ; but as that is the only notice of him that
we have, the probability is that Cocholyn was another
person of the same name. His history is comprised in
a few notices we shall extract from the Anglo-Saxon
Chronicle :
"A.D. 611. — This year CynegUs succeeded to the kingdom of
the West Saxons.
"A.D. 614. — Cynegils admitted his son, Quichelm, to a share
in the kingdom; and both fought a great battle against the
Britons (of Dammonia probably), and slew two thousand and
sixty-five Welshmen at a place called Bampton. But whether
it be Bampton in Oxfordshire, or Bampton in Cornwall, is unde-
cided. Dr. Giles adopts the former alternative.
"A.D.623. — ^At this time, after the brothers Sexred and Siward,
there reigned over the East Saxons, Sigebert, surnamed the
* Little,* son of Siward, who with his brother Sebert (Sevred) was
by the righteous judgment of God slain by Kinegils, king of the
West Saxons, and Quichhelm liis son ; for on the death of their
father they returned to the worship of idols, and expelled Melli-
tus, bishop of London ; and not one of their army escaped to tell
the tale. — Wendover.
"A.D. 626. — Cuichelm, for some reason, sent one Eumer to
assassinate Edwin, king of Northianbria. Eumer failed in his
object ; and Edwin, in revenge, made war upon the West Saxons,
slaying five petty Mngs and a great mmiber of the people. Roger
of Wendover states that Edwin slew Quichelm at a place called,
in consequence, * Quichelmeslaune*; but that account differs from
all other chronicles, and appears to be erroneous.
" A.D. 628. — Cynegils and Cuichelm fought gainst Penda, king
of the Mercians, at Cirencester, and then made a treaty, both
parties being exhausted.
"A.D. 636. — This year King Cuichelm was baptised at Dorches-
ter, and the same year he died.
" The name is variously written Cuichelm, Quichelm,
and Kickelm.
" Of Corroy, the son of Dairy or Dairn, I am unable
to give any satisfactory account ; and the determination
of his whereabouts must depend on an inference. In
614 was fought the battle of Bampton ; and as Corroy
would probably be engaged in that, it becomes a matter
THE SON OF DAIRY. 237
of importance to have the place of the battle ascertained.
Dr. Giles states that " Bampton in Devon is by far too
remote to admit the supposition that the battle in ques-
tion was fought there, and he therefore concludes that
Bampton in Oxfordshire is more likely to be the place.
But I am compelled to differ from that opinion. The
West Saxons, imder Ceaulin, had conquered Gloucester,
Cirencester, and Bath, in 577; Ceobric succeeded Ceau-
lin in 592, and was followed by Coelwulf, who * fought
and contended incessantly against either the Angles or
the Welsh (of Devon, Somerset, and Dorset ?), or the
Picts or the Scots'; and in 636 we find Cuichelm in pos-
session of Dorchester, in the west portion of Dorset, not
very far from the Devon boundary. From these facts,
and from the fact that the West Saxons had been in
possession of Oxfordshire long before 614, I am led to
conclude that the Bampton of the Chronicle is the town
of Bampton on the eastern boundary of Devon. If so,
we may from thence deduce the conclusion that the
boundaries which Corroy defended were the boundaries
of Devon, and that he was a chief of the Damnonian
people."
The attempt made by Mr. Stephens to identify" Coch-
olyn" with the Saxon " Cuichelm," under the circum-
stances was not an unreasonable one. More presump-
tuous theories have been erected on weaker evidence.
As stated by himself, he has been unable to identify the
principal personage, "Corroy,"and supposes him to have
been a chief of the Damnonian tribe, who then inhabited
Devon. It is no wonder that his labours, in this parti-
cular case, have been so unsatisfactory to himself, as I
think I can show, to a certainty, that the poem before
us is a Gaedhehc one, and the personages introduced
into it weU known Ga^dheUc chaLters^
Curi or Curoi Mac Dair^, i. e., Curoi, the son of Dair6,
as he is styled in Irish history and legend, was king of
lar Mumhan, i. e., West Munster, in the century pre-
ceding the Incarnation. The prefix '*Cu" is common to
many Gaedhelic names, and literally signifies a hound
238 ON AN ELEGY OF CORROY,
or dog of the chase. The Irish wolf-dog was remarkable
for its strength, fierceness, and endurance : hence the
epithet became applied to warriors distinguished for
similar qualities, and ultimately came to signify a hero,
champion, waW (See O'Keilly's Ir. Diet ) « Ri" sig^
nifies a king or sovereign prince : hence ^'Curi" is the
warrior king, — a cognomen particularly applicable to the
personage of the poem. He was of the Clanna Deaga,
or Deagnaidh, a tribe from the province of Ulster, of
the race of Herimon ; and who were also called Emains,
from their original patrimony round the shores of Lough
Erne. According to Roderic O'Flaherty, in his Ogygia,
the Emains were driven out of Ulster by the Clanna
Rury, or posterity of Ir, about a.m. 3892. The chief of
the tribe was Deag, the son of Sen, the son of Olill, the
son of Aengus Aron. They were hospitably received
by Duach of the race of Eibher, then monarch of Ire-
land as well as king of Munster, who allotted Deag a
considerable tract of country in the present county of
Kerry. The posterity of Deag became very powerful in
Munster, and considerably enlarged their territory :
several of them became kings of Munster, and three of
them monarchs of Ireland, — Ederscol, a.m. 3965; Con-
aire the first, a.d. 60 ; Conaire the second, a.d. 212.
Curoi Mac Dair^, the grandson of Deag, and king of
West Munster, is represented by the historians, Keat-
ing, OTlaherty, and Mac Curtin, as being not only a
powerful prince, but a renowned champion and warrior,
and contemporary with Conal Ceamach, Cuchullin, Fer-
dia, and other warlike chiefs of that period of Irish his-
tory. Mac Curtin, in his Vindication of the Antiquities
of Irish History (Dublin, edit. 1717, p. 83), thus alludes
to him : " There have been others contemporary to
them, that bore a great name for such qualities, as the
militia of Munster, commonly called ' Clanna Deagha,'
under the command of Curigh Mac Daire, a man famous
for valour and knowledge." This allusion to his wisdom
as well as prowess is borne out by the testimony of
other writers, while the bardic romancists have invested
THE SON OF DAIRY. 239
him with a knowledge of the occult sciences. The tribe
over which he ruled, known in Irish as the Ua Deghaid,
or Degadi, are mentioned by Ptolemy in their proper
place in West Munster, under the name of Udeii or
Vodii ; which, in truth, is as near as a foreigner co\ild
come to the native pronunciation. Deag had three sons,
lar, Dair6, and Conal. Dair6, the second, had by Maon
or Moran Mananagh {i. e., of the Isle of Man), Curi, as
is mentioned in the following quatrain :
" Moran of Mana, of honour pure,
Was the child of Ir, the son of Uinnside ;
The sister of Eochaidh Ecbeol she,
And mother of Curigh, son of Dari."
Dair6 or Dari had also a daughter named Cingit, the
wife of Aonghus Ossory, from whom the territory still
known as Ossory was named. Dair6 was succeeded by
his son Curi, who considerably extended his dominions,
which at his demise occupied an immense district, stretch-
ing westward of a line drawn from Bealach Conglais,
near Cork Harbour, to the city of Limerick, and boimded
only by the Shannon and the ocean ; comprising a large
portion of the county of Limerick as well as of the
county of Cork, and the entire of Kerry. It embraced
the magnificent line of coast from Cork Harbour to
Kerry Head, the entire range of which is indented with
noble harbours and deep sea-inlets. Hence the race of
Eibher, who principally peopled the province of Mun-
ster, were remarkable for their love of sea-adventure,
from the earhest period down to the commencement of
the sixteenth century, when the power of O'Ederscol
(O'Driscoll), the last of the southern sea-rovers, was
broken, his castle of Baltimore taken, and his galleys
destroyed. The bardic annals are full of notices of the
sea-voyages and maritime expeditions of the southern
Gaedhal, who constantly infested the coasts of Devon,
Cornwall, and Wales. The allusion, then, in the Elegy
to Corroy holding command on the " south sea" is quite
consistent with all that has been handed down to us of
the power and exploits of this warlike chieftain, and
which are aptly depicted in it.
240 ON AN ELEGY OF CORROY,
The wars and adventures of Curoi have been a fruit-
ful theme of the Munster bards and story-tellers in all
ages, many of which have been handed down to us in
MSS. of a respectable antiquity. The late Dr. O'Curry,
the eminent Gaedhelic philologist, in his admirable Lec-
tures on the Manuscript Materials of Irish Hist07V/y at
pp. 587, 89, 90, gives a catalogue of historic tales extant
in various manuscript collections, amongst which are to
be found " The Adventures of Curoi," " The Elopement
of Blaithnat, the Daughter of Pall, Son of Fridhach, with
Cuchullain" (Blaithnat or Blanaid was the Manx wife of
Curoi), '* The TragicaU Death of Curoi" Errard Mac.
Coissi, a bard of the tenth century, mentions a historic
tale called " Cathbuadha Conree," i.e., "the victories of
Conn ;" also "Orguin Cathair Conraoii," i.e., "the plun-
der of the fort of ConrL" In the " Battle of Magh
Rath, "as edited by the late Dr. O'Donovan for the Irish
Archaeological Society, there is the following reference
to Curoi :
" Leth Mogha, who are wont to gain the victory,
Oppress the Ultomans with eagerness !
Bemember Cnri of the spears,
And the chiefs of the youths of the Emans." (P. 139.)
In the same work the chieftain, Congal Claon, is repre-
sented as recounting the remarkable battles of ancient
times, amongst whicn he mentions
" Seven battles round Cathair Conrui,
The plundering of Fiamun, son of Forui,
The plundering of Curoi, — ^lasting the renown, —
With the seventeen sons of Deaghaidh." (P. 213.)
Curoi Mac Dairy's seat of power was at the foot of
the Sliabh Mis Mountains, a lofty and romantic range,
running between the bays of Tralee and Dingle, about
six miles from the present coimty town, Tralee, and on
the shores of the bay anciently Loch Fordruimin. A
remarkable looking spur of this range is called Cathair
Coiu-ee Mountain. It rises to an elevation of two thou-
sand feet above the sea-level, and overlooks Glenfais,
through which runs a stream called the Fionn Ghiss
THE SON OF DAIRY. 241
i. e., "the fair or white brook"; and which, according to
a curious legend, derives its name from an incident in
the life of Curoi, to which I shall presently allude. This
mountain is so called from a cathair (caher), or stone
fort, erected on or near its summit by Curi as an acro-
polis or stronghold for retreat in cases of emergency.
L eristence iL been noticed by Dr. Smith In hif //i
ofKeiTy (p. 156) ; Theo. OTlanagan in The Trans, Gaelic
Soc. (p. 50); and by Dr. Wood m his Enquiry conce^im-
ing the Primitive Inhabitants of Ireland (p. 46).
Dr. O'Donovan, however, denied the existence of this
fortress on Cathair CourL His words are : " The cam
or sepulchral pUe of Curoi is stUl to be seen on the
north-east shoulder of this mountain; but his caher, or
fort, has been long since destroyed, though Dr. Smith,
in his History of Kerry, states that the ruins of it were
to be seen on the summit of the mountain in his own
time. But this is utterly erroneous, for the feature
called " Caher Conree," on this mountain, is a natiu^
ledge of rocks. {Magh Bath, note, p. 212.)
It is the statement of Dr. 0*Donovan, however, that
is "utterly erroneous,'' as I shall presently show. In
the year 1848 this locality was visited by the late Mr.
John Windele of Cork, the weU known Mimster anti-
quary, accompanied by the Rev. Matthew Horgan,
Messrs. Abraham AbeU and William Willes, gentlemen
well known in the south of Ireland for their love of
archaeological investigation. An account of this visit
was published by Mr. Windele in the Ulster Journal of
Archaeology (v, 1860, p. Ill), from which I take the fol-
lowing passage in reference to the Cathair : " Passing
the Fionglass by a bridge of three arches, erected in
1824, our exploring party proceeded by a narrow bye-
road towards the mountain, here towering gigantically
above the valley. Unfortunately, although the day was
otherwise fine, the summits were concealed from view
by a sluggish covering of vapour, which afforded but
little hope of a speedy clearing away. Nevertheless,
resolved not to be disappointed; they determined to
242 ON AN ELEGY OF CORROY,
make the ascent. A considerable space intervened
between where the road terminates and the mountain
accKvity begins. Ableak moorland, intersected by fences,
and interrupted by streams and crags, rendered the
coiu«e .unusually difficult ; so that by the time the actual
escalade had commenced, the Rev. Mr. Horgan, over-
come by the toil, acknowledged himself unequal to the
more arduous journey yet before him. Taking his seat,
therefore, on a mass of rock beside a noisy stream, he
resolved there to await the return of his more adven-
tmrous companions. The ascent was, indeed, full of
labour; the more so by reason of the great obscurity
through which it was made, the cloud in which they
moved not permitting them to see a yard before them
in any direction. Gradually the acclivity became almost
perpendicular, so that, as they approached the site of
the Caliir, now overhanging, 'abrupt and sheer, in
gloomy magnitude of proportions, they were compelled
to make a long detour before they could gain the level
surface above it. The plateau thus attained is but a
short distance iYomBaur-tri-gauni^ihQ summit of three
cows'), which stands at an elevation of 2,769 feet above
the sea, nearly midway between the Bay of Tralee on
the north, and that of Castlemain on the south. The
local denomination of the Cahir is ^ Boen-Caherach.' The
situation is a kind of projecting horn or promontory, of
a few acres in extent, at a little lesser altitude. On two
of its sides it ia defended by the natural rock inacces-
sibly steep ; a character which, in the wild, heroic ages
of insecurity and aggression, particularly recommended
it as a meet site for an acropolis, since it required but
little aid from art to render it almost impregnable. The
eastern side opens upon the table-land of the mountain ;
and here was constructed a great, cyclopean wall which
gives to it its title of Cahir, signifying a fortified or
enclosed place. This term was extended, in after ages,
to waUed towns, — places originally of refuge under war-
fare, and used alike for defence or offence. The rampart
extends diagonally, north and south, from one extremity
THE SON OF DAIRY. 243
to another, forming, as Dr. Wood has described it (In-
quiry , etc., p. 50), *with the verges of the hill, an irre-
gular triangle, within which the inaccessible parts of
the mountain are enclosed.' At the southern extremity
the wall takes its direction along the edge of the preci-
pice ; but its proportions have been much reduced by
the falling away of parts of the wall down the decH vity ;
so much so, that in some portions its breadth has been
reduced to nearly 2 feet. Nowhere does the wall exceed
9 ft. in height. Its greatest present breadth is 1 1 ft. ;
but its probable original width was not more than 6.
No cement was used in its construction. On the inside
there are some appearances which would lead to the
inference that the face of the wall consisted of a series
of steps projecting from it, as at Staigue (interior); and
at Dunengus, Aran, on the exterior face of its inner
rampart. The vestiges, however, of these stairs are few,
and not very strongly defined. Its whole length is
170 paces, or 360 ft. About 90 ft. from its northern
extremity there is what now appears a breach or open-
ing in the wall ; broad at the top, and narrow below.
This is supposed to have been the position of the ancient
doorway. In its lower part the passage is not more
than 2 ft. wide ; but aU vestiges of its original form and
proportions have been destroyed. Dr. Wood says there
are two gates, each about 1 1 feet wide ; but this is an
error. Even had there been two, the breadth assigned
would not be borne out by the existing example of the
doors at Dun Engus, Staigue, and Dimbeg."
From the above description of this barbaric fortress,
it is quite evident that it never could have been a place
of permanent residence ; the difficulty of ascent, its bleak
and exposed situation, would render it unsuitable for
such a purpose. We must, therefore, regard it as a
stronghold, to which the dwellers on the green vale be-
low resorted in cases of emergency. Numerous exam-
ples of these hill-forts occur throughout Ireland and
Scotland, and several also in western Britain, particu-
larly in those parts known to have been frequented by
244 ON AN ELEGY OF CORROY,
the Gaedhal. That this was one of Curi MacDaires'
strongholds there can, I think, be no question — ^the
mountain bears his name from time immemorial, there
is not a Munster peasant that is not famihar with the
legends of Cathair Conree ; while all the natural fear
tures around it, mentioned in their historic tales, are
still known by the same names.
The Welsh version of the Elegy introduces "the con-
tention of Corroy and Cocholyn." The connection of
these names in the manner cited is the strongest evi-
dence of the GaedheUc original of the poem, the "Coch-
olyn," of which is the Cuchulaiun of Irish history and
legend, who carried off Blanaidh, the wife of Curoi Mac
Daire, and subsequently slew him by treachery.
CuchuUin was an Ulster chieftain, head of the warrior
band of the Croabh Ruadh (Red-Branch), a fraternity
of braves, boimd together like the mediaeval knights by
solemn engagements, and under strict laws. His patri-
mony lay about Dimdealgin, the modem Dundalk ; he
is represented as being possessed of great personal
beauty, a powerful athlete, and a distinguished warrior
and commander. In "Magh-Rath," p. 206, he is styled
" Cu-na-g-cleas," i.e., Cu of the feat of arms.
The military exploits and adventures of Cu-Chulaiun,
and his amours, have been the themes of numerous his-
toric tales and romances. His age can, I think, be
ascertained. Roderic OTlaherty, tne learned author of
the Ogygiay thus defines it: "a.m. 3924. Cuculand, that
memorable warrior, was born as well the first year after
the division of Ireland by Hugony the Great was re-
scinded, as twenty-five years before the institution of
the Christian era" (Edit. Dublin, 1793, v. i, p. 180).
OTlaherty gives his authorities, "The Book of Clonmac-
noise, in Duvegan, fol. 105, a. ; the Book of Lecan, fol.
1 78, b. ; and the Scotic Chronicle, at a.d. 432." The
reference in the Chronicon Scotorum is as follows :
" A.D. 432. Kal. VI. From the death of the hero, Cu-
cuUaiun, to this year, there are four hundred and thirty-
one years ; from the death of Conchobhar MacNessa,
THE SON OP DAIRY. 245
four hundred and twelve years/' In that ancient tale,
the " Tain Bo Cuailgne/' i.e., the "Cattle Raid of Coo-
ley,^' a well known hisix)ric event, he is introduced as
the principal champion of Ulster, the invasion of which
province by the Connacians was first directed against
his patrimony. At the head of his warriors of the Red-
branch he is represented as meeting the enemy on the
frontiers, and retarding their progress by challenging
the hostile leaders to a series of single combats, in ac-
cordance with the usage of the times, in all of which he
came off victorious (Dr. O'Curr/s MS. Materials of
Irish History, p. 37).
This last-named work contains a list of historic tales
preserved in ancient GaedheUc MSS., among which are
the following relating to Cuchullainn : " Tale of the
Sick-bed of Cuchullainn ;" Tale of the Courtship of
Eimer, by Cuchullainn ;" " Tale of the Battle of Muir-
theimne and Death of Cuchullainn." The beautiful
romance of Conloch and Cuchullainn will be found in
Dr. Drummond's Irish Minstrelsy, p. 229 ; and also in
Miss Brookes' " Reliques of Irish Poetry." The fierce
feud between Curi MacDaire and the Ulster chieftain,
which resulted in the death of the former, and ulti-
mately of the latter, originated in Curi having out-
witted him, in securing to his possession a beautiful
damsel, who became a portion of their war spoils ; the
legend is to be foimd in Geoflfrey Keating's History of
Ireland. Dr. O'Curry states that " a very ancient ver-
sion of the tale is preserved in the MSS. Egerton, 88
Brit. Mus." Stripped of its marvellous garniture, the
story is as follows :
It would appear that both of these chieftains under-
took an expedition to Manaidh, the ancient name of
the Isle of Man ; it would seem that Curi s principal
object in joining the adventure, was private information
he had received of the wondrous beauty of Blanaidh,
the only daughter of the Manx chieftain, who, having *
been defeated in the open field, retired with the rem-
nant of his forces, his daughter, and personal riches, to
246 ON AN ELEGY OF CORROY,
a strong hill-fortress in the interior of the island. Thi-
ther the victorious chiefs followed him, and laid siege
to the Dun, which offered a determined resistance.
Cuchullainn, with his Knights of the Red Branch, first
assaulted it, but each successive attempt was foiled by
the stubborn resistance of the garrison, until they gave
it up in despair. Curi then undertook the task, stipu-
lating that he should have the sole command, and his
choice of the plunder. This having been assented to
by CuchullaiDn and his northern warriors, who formed
the most numerous part of the expedition, Curoi, with
his Munster Ernains, all experienced warriors, men spe-
cially picked for the adventure, soon captured the Dun,
the fair Blanaidh, and all the valuables contained in it.
Claiming the fulfilment of their compact, he selected
the damsel as his portion of the spoils. Cuchulin hav-
ing seen the island beauty, and fallen violently in love
with her, refused to permit his companion in arms to
retain her, offering him his choice of any other portion
of the booty he pleased to select. Curoi, however, had
no intention of parting with his lovely prize ; and, giving
his rival the slip, he got on board his galleys, and stood
across to Ireland, where landing, he directed his march
to the south-west, towards his own principality. He
was immediately pursued by his enraged rival, who
overtook him at a place called Sulchoidh, in the present
county of Limerick. The Mimster men having turned
on their piUTSuers, a parley took place, and it was agreed,
in order to save the lives of tneir followers, that the
chiefs should decide the matter by single combat, the lady
to be the victor s prize. A fierce fight ensued between
the heroes, which terminated in the defeat of Cuchul-
lainn, whose life Curoi spared at the intercession of
Blanaidh, but tied him neck and heels with leather
thongs, and sheared off his long flowing tresses with
his sword, as a mark of degradation, as well as to dis-
* able him from renewing his pretensions for a consider-
able period, in accordance with the custom of the times,
which made it infamous for a warrior to appear in pub-
THE SON OF DAIRY. 247
lie, who had syifFered this indignity, until his tresses
had again regained their wonted luxuriance.
Covered with shame and mortification, Cuchullainn
retired to his own patrimony, where, in the solitudes of
Ben Boirche, he brooded over his disgrace, and medi-
tated revenge, until his locks had assumed such dimen-
sions as enabled him once again to appear among his
companions in arms. Neither had he been idle during
his retirement ; he had dispatched a trusty emissary
with directions, if possible, to get an interview with the
fair Blanaidh, to ascertain her actual feelings towards
him, which he strongly suspected were of a tender
nature, and to make such other observations as might be
useful to him in carrying out his meditated revenge.
The spy performed his mission successfully ; he accom-
plished an interview with the lady, expatiated on his
chieftain's unalterable devotion towards her, and his
willingness at all hazards to deliver her from her present
position. She in return expressed her affection for his
master, and her willingness to abandon her present lord
for the protection of the Ulster chief. To carry out his
project, CuchuUainn, ax^companied by a band of trusty
warriors, proceeded southwards, and, imder the guid-
ance of his spy, arrived in the neighbourhood of the
Gather of Ciu-oi, and through him announced his arrival
to Blanaidh.
It being the custom of Curoi to take a siesta at a
stated hour each day, when not actively engaged in war
or field sports, his faithless mistress seized upon the
opportimity thus offered, and arranged with Cuchul-
lainn that when he saw the stream that came down the
valley running white, or milky, he was immediately to
attack the Dun ; this signal was given by her poinring a
large pailful of milk into the stream, which, bearing
its milky tinge down the glen, apprised the Ulster
warrior that ms opportunity had arrived. Accordingly
he surprised the unwary garrison, whom he put to the
sword, with their sleeping chief, and at once gratified
his revenge and his desires in the possession of Bla-
248 ON AN ELEGY OF CORROY,
naidh. From time immemorial the stream which nms
through Glenfais, at the foot of Cathair Comree, has
been called the Fionglas, i.e., the White Stream, from
the above circimastance.
Cuchullaimi carried off his beautiful prize to his own
country of Dundealgin, but vengeance followed the
faithless one. Curoi had a favourite bard and harper
named Feirceirtnc, some of whose poems are still ex-
tant. Brooding over the catastrophe that had befallen
his chief, he determined on revenge. He followed her
to the north, and, ingratiating himself with the house-
hold of CuchuUainn, ne was permitted the usual free-
doms accorded in those days to men of his profession ;
attending one day on Blanaidh, while walking with
her maidens on the top of a high diff, over the sea,
known to this day as Rinchin Beara, he suddenly
clasped her in his arms, and sprang with her into the
gulf beneath. They were buried at the foot of the
cliff, which is still known by the name of Feart Blaith-
nad agus Feirceirtney ix,, the Grave of Blanaidh and
Feirceirtne.
CuchuUainn did not long survive the death of his
rival ; he was slain at the battle of Muirtheimne, in the
S resent coimty of Louth, by Lugha, the son of Curoi
lacDaire, who commanded the united Munster and
Connaught forces in an expedition into Ulster. Other
ancient writers state that he fell a victim to the magic
spells of the children of Callitin, in the same engage-
ment.
The Book of Leinster, fol. 16, a.b., states that the
leacht, or grave-stone of Curoi, is on Sliabh Mis Moun-
tain ; and Dr. O'Donovan in Magh Rath, p. 212, note,
states that " The Carn or sepulchral pile of Curoi, is
still to be seen on the north-east shoulder of the moun-
tain." Now, it is a very important fact that a huge
leacht or grave-stone was discovered not many years
since by the late Dr. Rowan, Archdeacon of Ardfert, in
Glenfais, an upland vaUey lying between Cathair Conree
and Baurtrigaim Mountains, and through which nms
■
I
THE SON OP DAIRY. 249
the Fionglas. This monument lies prostrate in a small
field about half way up the glen ; it is in length 11^
ft., in breadth 6 ft., and about 16 ins. in thickness ;
upon an angular ridge, on its upper face, is inscribed a
legend in the Ogham characters, remarkably well-cut,
and legible, the stone being exceedingly hard, and of
fine grain. The locality I have myself visited, and
have examined and copied the inscription on the stone,
which is as follows :^
This inscription I read thus : — " So cu Cueaff moni
so Ciui ;" literally, '*This is the hero Cueaff, my grief!
this is Curi." Q is constantly used in Ogham writing
for C, both having the same sound. So, according to
O'Reilly (Ir. Diet.), signifies " this here, this is/^ and is
equivalent to our "here lies." Cu, as I have before
remarked, signifies a warrior, a champion. Cueaff, a
proper name. Moni is an Oghamic form of Monuar, an
interjection, expressing " Alas ! My grief! Woe is the
day r In this inscription we have two names for the
individual commemorated ; one of them certainly that
of the great chieftain whose name and exploits are so
identified with the topography of the entire district,
Curi MacDaire. There is a strong probability that
Ceaff (the modem Keefe) was his proper name, and that
Curi was his cognomen. This was very usual in remote
times among the Gaedhal, and it very frequently hap-
pened that the proper name was lost in the cognomen,
particularly when it distinguished them for any remark-
able quahty or action. Ci this case it appears to be
Curi, which, as I have before explained, signifies " War-
rior King." Dr. Rawlinson mentions an mscription on
a tomb in Phrygia, " To Midas the warrior king ;" and
in " The Wars of the Gaedhill and the Gaill,'' as edited
by Dr. Todd for the "Record Commission," Cathal Mac
Feredach is also called " Ri Amsac," the " King Sol-
dier," (pp. 74, 83.) I think there are strong grounds
for concluding that this great time-worn montraient,
^ We hope to give an engraving of this inscription in a fntore
namber. — Ed. Arch, Camh,
4th ber. vol. I. 17
'■—1
250 THE ELEGY OP OORROY, ETC.
with its mysterious chaxaxrf^ers, is the sepulchral me-
morial of Curi MacDaire.
The death of Cuchullin is recorded in the Annals of
Tighemach thus : " a.d. 2. — The death of Cucullain, the
bravest hero of the Scots, by Lughaidh Mac-na-tri Cou,
and by Ere, the son of Cairbre Niafer. Seven years his
age when he was initiated into the military order;
seventeen when he piu^ued the cattle-spoil of Cuailgue ;
and twenty-seven when he was killed."
Dr. Petrie, in his Essay on theHist. and Antiq. ofTara
Hill, quotes a passage from the Book of GlendaloiLgh,
which gives an account of his death, ana intimates the
interment of his head and arm (which had been cut off
after his death) at Tara, from which I take the following :
" The host then moved away from the place, and carried
with them the head and right hand of Cuchullin, xmtil
they reached Temur, where the burial-place of his head
and right hand is, and the ftdl of the hollow of his
shield of his clay. Of this Kenfaela, the son of AiliU,
spoke in his account of the deaths of the Ultonians."
{Tara Hill, pp. 225-6.) An ancient poem descriptive
of the regal seat of Tara, and quoted by Dr. Petrie,
identifies the burial-places of the head and hand of the
hero. He remarks on the passage : "According to the
same authority the Rath of Concovar Mac Nessa was
situated beside the Tredumha (three mounds), to the
north, with its door facing the Ceann and Medhi (or
Head and Neck of Cuchullin). Near the Medhi were
the ruins of the Sciath Chonchulainn^ (or Shield of
Cuchullin), with its tull or hollow. The Rath, it adds,
was level with the ground; and there was a small
hillock in its centre, with as much of his clay or ashes
in it as would fill the hollow of his shield." {Tara Hill,
p. 225.) The custom of decapitating the slain was very
common among the Gaedhil as weU as among other
nations, and many instances of the binial of heads are
recorded in the Irish annals.
I have, I submit, proved that the characters named
^ This wonld appear to have been a monnd of earth resembliDg a
sbicld. The ancient Irish shield was round and convex.
OBITUARY. ^ 251
in this Elegy are Gaedhil, and that the poem itself is
a Gaedhelic one ; how it came to be found in a Cymric
garb, and amongst the most ancient collection of poems
in that language, is a question that remains to be solved.
I have no doubt that, if diligent search were made by
a competent Gaedhelic scholar, having also a knowledge
of Welsh, it would be found that the Cymry have made
many similar appropriations of the ancient literature of
the Gaedhil. This is not to be wondered at, if we
remember that the topography of Wales is intensely
Irish, as has been shewn by the Rev. Basil Jones in his
'* Vestiges of the Gael in Gwynedd ;" that the historic
poems of Wales refer to a lengthened occupation of that
country by the " Gwyddell," and that in various Irish
MSS. are to be found frequent allusions to the warlike
and friendly intercourse between the south of Ireland
and the Principality.
Richard Rolt Brash, M.R.I.A.
Sib Jamss Youkg Simpson, Babt., M.D., &c. — It is a sad duty to
have to record the death of one of our most distinguished members in
the person of Professor Simpson. His loss is felt not only by the scien-
tific and medical world, but also by many Archaeological Societies
besides our own ; and his absence is deplored universally. He was
bom in 1811, and was only fifty-eight at the time of his decease;
so that, humanly speaking, a much longer career of usefulness and
honour might have been expected for him. As it is, however, he
has done enough for fame, even if his country could have wished for
further services. The discoverer of chloroform as a clinical application,
of acupressure in amputatory operations, and the ardent promoter of
hospital reform, cannot but be looked upon as one of the most eminent
physicians ever produced by the University of Edinburgh ; and his
death, from angina pectoris ^ is lamented in Scotland as a national calam-
ity. His labours in the cause of archaeology, and particularly his
researches among the "cup-stones," and the early remains of our
island, are well known to most of our members. To those who were
not personally acquainted with the Professor, it will be sufiSicient to
say that his Life is now in course of compilation ; at the same time
that a National Testimonial, in the appropriate shape of a statue of
the deceased, and of a lying-in hospital open specially for the poor, is
in process of formation in the capital of Scotland.
The Queen, on becoming acquainted with Sir James's death, sent
a special message of condolence to his family ; and it may be men-
17 «
252 MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES.
tioned that his funeral was attended not only by the municipal autho-
rities of Edinburgh and the officers of the University, but also by
nearly 1,700 citizens of the Scottish capital.
We do not propose to give even a short biographical account of
this eminent man ; the task is in proper hands, and will no doubt be
well performed. We may venture to remind members of two little
anecdotes concerning the Professor, which have been current among
his friends, and are supported by good authority. One is that, on
account of his great eminence as Professor of Midwifery at Edinburgh,
his services were much in demand, far beyond the precincts of that
city ; and that for one case of peculiar danger and difficulty, which,
however, he treated successfully, he received, unsolicited, from a
grateful and generous husband, tlxe highest fee on record in this coun-
try — being no less a sum than One Thousand Poxjkds ! The other
anecdote is within the experience of many of our members who
attended the Truro meeting in 1862. Such was the amiable, we
might almost say the comforting appearance of the Professor, such
was his constant urbanity and cheerfulness, that among the greater
number of the Ladies present he acquired the constant sobriquet of
''That deab kind man;" and the appellation was constant even
among those who took little interest in our archaeological proceedings.
We believe that the last time he was seen by any considerable num-
ber of our members was when he stood on the green turf above the
Land's End, where one of the most remarkable and enjoyable of any
refections ever given to our Association was provided by the fore-
thought and generosity of our President and his Cornish friends.
Sir James lived and died a true Christian, overflowing with charity ;
and a noble example of the union of deep religious convictions with
most extended science.
One of the great men of the century is gone !
ffixsttllantovis Iptotices.
Cambrian Argh^olooigal Assogiation.— The day of the meet-
ing for this year has been changed from the 15th of August to the
22nd of that month.
Banoob Cathedral. — We are glad to learn from the North WaUs
Chronicle that Mr. Assheton Smith has made the munificent donation
of £1000 towards the works of re-edification going on at Bangor
Cathedral. We perceive also that on the 3rd May the Bishop of the
diocese, accompanied by several dignitaries of the Church, set the
finial cross, which terminates the new North Transept of the
Cathedral.
Llanfaolan Chitrgh, Caernaryonshire. — We understand that
a new church is going to be erected, but not upon the site of the old
one. The architects are announced to be Messrs. Kennedy and
O'Donnoghue, of Bangor; and it may be confidently hoped that the
architectural analogies of this peculiar district will be properly re-
MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES. 253
spected on this occasion. It is to be hoped that the early inscribed
stone now over the doorway in the north wall on the inside will be pro-
perly preserved and cared for, even after the building is erected.
Bettws t Cobd, Caebnabyonshibe. — A new church is advertised
as about to be built in this most romantic spot by Messrs. Paley and
Austin, architects, of Lancaster ; and if the project is carried out, we
hope that due care will be taken of any monuments and inscribed stones
which may be found in the old building. On occasions of this kind,
" curiosities" as they are commonly termed, are often found, and, we
are sorry to add, destroyed or appropriated by the workmen. The
old church of Bettws y Coed has been delineated in so many admir-
able pictures, that it is a proof of not a little eesthetical courage to
undertake its demolition. It should never be forgotten that this spot,
and, indeed, the whole parish, is all that is most picturesque and
lovely of almost anything round Snowdon ; and that the undue obliter-
ation of any of its more remarkable features would be an act of tho-
rough Vandalism.
Caebnabvok Castle. — The office of Deputy Constable, which has
lately become vacant by the death of John Morgan, Esq., the most
active officer of our times connected with that Royal building, has
been bestowed very judiciously on his brother-in-law, Llewelyn Tur-
ner, Esq., the Mayor of Carnarvon for now the twelfth time, and Rear-
Commodore of the Royal Welsh Yacht Club. By such nominations
as these, the Chief Constable of the Castle, the Earl of Carnarvon, has
done himself much credit. One of his lordship's most recent acts has
been to visit the Castle, and to order the immediate removal of rub-
bish and building materials which had been surreptitiously piled
against part of the walls ; an order which the new Deputy Constable
took care to have carried into speedy effect. It is indeed a fortunate
circumstance that this splendid monument of Edwardan architecture
should be in such good custody ; and it were much to be wished that
the other fine castles of "Wales, particularly Conway and Beaumaris
in North Wales, and Pembroke and Caerphilly in South Wales, were
watched over and kept up with the same spirit and intelligence. The
fixing of a moderate tariff of admission, only fourpence per head,
adopted by the late Deputy Constable, has worked wonders, and sup-
plies an annual fund sufficient not only for the maintenance of the
warders, but also for keeping up the repairs instituted by the Crown
some years ago, in better and happier times. The loss to Caernarvon
by the death of Mr. Morgan, though at a ripe old age, has been very
great ; for he was a most kind and generous man, and fully alive to
all that concerned the welfare of the community of which, by his
financial position, he was so influential a member ; but his successor is
well worthy of the post. His activity, in improving the harbour of
Caernarvon and the navigation of the Menai Strait, is well known,
while his public spirit in governing the town, and promoting whatso-
ever tends to its social improvement, has caused him to be raised no
less than twelve times to the office of mayor. We earnestly hope that
all will continue to go well not only with the castle, but also with the
254 MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES.
walls and towers of the town ; for, next to those of Conway, they are
the finest remains of the kind in Wales.
Rxtthin.-^Vandalism. — We observe the following in the North
Wales Chronicle — ^' Our correspondent writes : This ancient town,
situated in a lovely and romantic spot of the Vale, is fast losing its
antique appearance. It contained, a short time ago, a number of
houses, in the walls of which black beams of timber were conspicu-
ous, which caused the observer to ruminate on the good old days of
Queen Elizabeth. In every quarter of the town several edifices that
have braved many a tempest have succumbed to the labourer's ham-
mer, and new and sprightly buildings are being erected on the site of
the old ones."
Now, we have no hesitation in saying that the destruction of the old
half-timbered houses mentioned above constitutes a positive loss and
disfigurement to the town, and is an instance of that ignorant spirit of
Vandalism which is but too prevalent in Wales. These old houses, how-
ever humble and degraded from their ancient importance, were histo-
rical marks of Ruthin, and objects that linked the present to the past.
It is a mistake to suppose that modem buildings are always stronger
and better than those of days long gone by, the very persistence of the
old edifices being proof to the contrary ; and it is a still greater error
to suppose that the houses of to-day, built in a style which, for want
of a more appropriate term, we cannot but call the ''factory style,"
are more ornamental to a town than those raised by our forefathers.
Kuthin possessed several very sterling specimens of some three cen-
turies ago, particularly one at the corner of the market-place on the
hill, with the large rude stone at its angle, on which, according to
tradition, a neighbouring chieftain was once decapitated. Close by it
was another ancient but partly modernised building, called Nantclwyd
House, the old hall of which was in its way a gem. Ancient buildings
of this kind excite in a humbler degree the same feelings as old
castles and churches ; and to replace them by the tasteless productions
of modem builders is to weaken some of the grandest feelings of the
human heart. One of the peculiar curses of Wales at the present
time is the want of respect for all that is ancient ; and it would be
well if the words of Pliny, who saw the bad times of Rome beginning,
were remembered and pondered over in proper quarters : " Reverere
gloriam veterem et banc ipsam senectutem, quse in homine venerabilis,
in urbibus sacra est." (Epist. viii, 24.)
WiGMOBB Castle, Hebbfobdshise. — A local paper states that a
short time since, as some workmen were digging in the ruins of Wig-
more Castle, Herefordshire (in early days the property and residence of
the Mortimer family), they came upon the solid masonry of an arched
roof, and, on removing one or two of the large stones, found a dun-
geon, communicating with another of equal size, each about fifteen feet
square, and covered with arched stone roofs. They were approached
by means of stone staircases, which have been buried in the rubbish
of the ruins for many years. In the stonework of the side waUs were
MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES. 255
embedded large strong iron staples, supposed to have been used for
securing prisoners during the Border wars. The dungeons contained a
few bones in a yery decayed state, and some lead rolled up. An his-
torical account of this castle has been recently compiled by the Rey.
T. Salwey, B.D., yicar of Oswestry, in whose family, we belieye, the
property is invested ; and we hope, at a future period, to bring it be-
fore our reader's notice.
The Salt Libsaby, 8tapfobd.^-A yery valuable collection of
books and MSS. relating to Staffordshire, which had been formed by
the late William Ki^alt, Esq., has been placed by his widow, with great
generosity and public spirit, at the disposal of the Lord- Lieutenant for
the use of the county ; and a committee has been formed to provide a
proper place for its reception, as well as to prepare a county history.
In compiling the latter the assistance of all literary men connected
with Staffordshire is solicited, and communications are to be addressed
to the committee, care of Messrs. Wright, Booksellers, Stafford. The
project is one of good omen, and we wish it all success, as well as
imitation in other districts.
Db. Howlavd Williams's Libbabt. — We observe the following
announcement in the Camhrtan, of Swansea :
" Dr. Rowland Williams, D.D., has left his valuable library under
the conditions hereafter specified. In the first place, his wife is to
have what portion of it she pleases for her use, during her lifetime ;
and the residue at once, and after Mrs. Williams's death, the whole of
it, he bequeaths to the first town in Wales or Monmouthshire, which
shall provide a suitable repository, and the means of paying a guardian
for it ; giving the first offer to Swansea, and the second to Caernarvon.
Secondly— The library is to be open to persons of all creeds, colours,
and nativities whatsoever."
Swansea is a town so distinguished by the intelligence and public
spirit of its inhabitants, that we have no doubt of a proper use being
made of this munificent bequest. The Royal Institution of South
Wales, which our members will recollect as forming a distinguishing
feature of that place, already contains the nucleus of a good generid
library, supported and augmented by the annual contributions of the
Literary Society, and placed in a highly suitable building ; so that,
we presume, the main conditions of this bequest are already de /acio
complied with. The men of letters and science, who confer so much
distinction on the town of Swansea and the county of Glamorgan, are
quite worthy to be the guardians of such a treasure.
Castell Dinas Bban, Llakgollen. — We are informed that some
ancient weapons have recently been discovered in this famous old
stronghold ; and we shall hope to learn more about them from some
of our correspondents in that district.
Ruabok, Denbiohshibe.. — ^The church of this parish is now being
repaired, under the care of Mr. Ferrey, the eminent architect. Some
fresco paintings of the thirteenth century are stated to have been found
256 MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES.
on one of the south walls, and will no doubt be properly cared for, with
any other objects that may be discovered during the operations. The
account in the local papers is as follows — *' Oswestry Adv., Ruabon,
11 th May, 1870. Discovery of Fresco Painting.— On Thursday last, as
the workmen were pulling down the wall on the south side of the
church, they discovered, under a coating of plaster, a portion of ancient
fresco painting, and upon stripping the wall found a complete subject
represented in colours of yellow and red. Mr. Ferrey, the architect,
who happened to be present with Sir Watkin, traced it as illustrating
Matthew xxv, 35, 86 — ' I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat.'
Here one figure, supported by an angel, is offering a portion of a fowl.
' I was thirsty and ye gave me drink ' — a female handing a cup of
water, also supported by an angel, as all the figures are. ' 1 was a
stranger and ye took me in, naked and ye clothed me ' — illustrated by
a richly garmented figure bestowing upon the unclad a long robe. In
the same manner ' I was sick ' and ' I was in prison ' are represented
by the artist's brush in figures denoting kind relief with angelic assist-
ance. Mr. Ferrey was of opinion, from the style of the painting and
the costumes of the figures, that it was the work of the twelfth or the
thirteenth century, so that it has eidsted some six or seven hundred
years. The form, character, and expression of the figures are excel-
lent, and it is a great pity that the fresco should have been plastered
over. Steps are being taken to preserve it, and it is not improbable
that it may be seen in the restored church. Already it has been
traced. It seems that only along one wall is it to be found, which
points to that wall as being the most ancient, the church having been
many times enlarged or restored. The emblem of Death at the other
end of the wall is just discernible, with a portion of Latin."
The Golden Gbovb Book. — This valuable collection of Welsh
genealogies, made early in the last century by Hugh Thomas, Deputy
Herald for South Wales, has been placed by the Earl of Cawdor in
the Public Record Office, in London, on loan. Sir Samuel Meyrick,
in his introduction to Lewis Dwrm, speaks of heraldic collections by
the same hand in the British Museum. There are, among the Har-
leian MSS., three volumes of Hugh Thomas's remains, numbered
respectively 6823, 6831, and 6870 ; but they chiefly consist of sketches
of pedigrees, brief drafts of letters, and other scraps ; and are in no
way comparable to the voluminous and digested collection so gene-
rously placed by Lord Cawdor within reach of the public.
Plas Mawe,Conway. — We observe, in the North Wales Chronicle,
that this ancient house, once the town or winter residence of the Mos-
tyn family, is advertised for sale along with the county mansion of
Bodyscallan, on the road to Llandudno. If sold, it is to be hoped
that this, the grandest mansion in Caernarvonshire, of the time of
James I, will fall into the hands of some one who will duly appreciate
its historical and architectural importance, and that it will be carefully
preserved. But, after what has been witnessed in Caernarvon, Beau-
maris, and even in Conway itself, the situation of affair^ for this fine
old mansion cannot but be considered criticaL
REVIEWS. 257
Notice to Members. "Goweb Survey." — The third and con-
cluding portion of the volume of the " Gower Survey" is now ready
for distribution. All members who are not in arrears of subscription,
and have already the first two Parts, may, on application to the Rev.
E. L. Barnwell, have the third Part. A large paper reprint (fifty
copies), on fine paper, may be procured of Mr. Parker, by members and
others, for the price of one guinea.
Womankind, op all Ages, in Western Europe. By Thomas
Wriqht. Groombridge & Sons, London. 1 vol. small 4 to.
Whatever our readers may think, d priori, of the title of this work,
they will most probably confess, after perusal, that it is one well
worthy of the literary and antiquarian reputation of its author, though
such as to demand, on their part, no small amount of archeeological,
or rather mediseval, knowledge to enable them fully to appreciate all
its rich details. In any other publication of a kind different from our
own, and at a time such as the present, when a morbid influence is
trying to undermine national morals and national taste, the very title
might easily mislead shallow readers to expect some of the trashy dis-
sertations on women* 8 rights, female suffrage, and so forth, which nau-
seate all those who are not led away by popular madness or revolu-
tionary scheming. The truth, however, is that, though we do not
willingly associate womankind with musty antiquity, the author has
here worked out a most interesting and solidly based history of the
outward changes and pursuits of womankind, more particularly during
the middle ages. He has filled his pages with a connected account
of how women have prospered (we hate the ambiguous word " pro-
gressed"), how changed, how occupied themselves, how distinguished
themselves in the discharge of their peculiar duties, how maintained
their real rights from Roman times down to the seventeenth century.
He has done all this by diving into the literature and history of the
middle ages ; by using his extensive mediseval knowledge, acquired
from ancient monuments and illuminated M8S. ; and he has done all
in his power to vindicate women from the libellous imputations of
neglect and inferiority, so commonly bandied about in the disastrous
times during which we live.
It is always a task of delicacy for one of the opposite sex to under-
take an account of the manners, occupations, amusements, and dresses
of women ; so many an opportunity may be given for insidious cavil
and frivolous objection. But our author has treated his subject with
such perfect fairness, and with such a thorough veneration for docu-
mentary and monumental proof; above all, with such a spirit of
respect* and admiration for women of all ranks, that he has steered
clear of many a sunken rock ; and he deserves the thanks of the ladies,
more especially, for the great mass of curious information here col-
lected. Mr. Wright observes in his preface :
"I have endeavoured, therefore, to trace from sources which are not
commonly known, and many of which are not very approachable, the history
258 REVIEWS.
of Womankind in Western Europe, and to describe the condition, character,
and manners of the sex through the yarious revolutions of Western societj.
My desire has been to give, as far as possible, a true picture of female life
in each particular period, and I have avoided as much as possible all specu-
lative views. In the earlier ages of history, the materials are too scanty to
enable us to give more than an imperfect view of the subject, yet they are
sufficient to show us the female sex holding a very important position in the
world*s history, not only in a social point of view, but even in its political
agitation and movement. When historical records and literary monuments
come to our aid in greater abundance, in the different branches of our race,
especially in France and England, we can draw our picture of Womankind
with far greater accuracy and with far more of detail. When we enter
upon the feudal period, this latter class of materials, — ^literature, and espe-
cially the poetry and romances, — presents a vast field for exploration, but
one which is little known but to the few who have made it their especial
study. I have endeavoured to make as much use of these materials as I
could without overloading my book with references and quotations. I am
not aware that any writer has previously attempted, otherwise than very
briefly, to give a picture of woman's life in the feudal castle, yet it is that
which has contributed probably more than anything else to the formation
of her character in modern society."
And again, a little farther on, —
^' I consider that the line of division in Western Europe between the old
society and the new, as far as we can make anything like a line, lies through
the earlier years of the seventeenth century, the commencement of the
reign of Louis XIII in France, and that of Charles I in England. When I
entered upon this subject, my idea was to write a complete history of Wo-
mankind in the West, and to continue it down to our own time ; but I
found, as I advanced with it, I was undertaking a task which, to be carried
out properly and completely, would require a much greater extent of re-
search and labour, and a much larger space, than could be given to the
S resent volume. I thought it, therefore, advisable to limit my period, and
ivide the subject. I have traced as fully as I think the materials would
permit, the history of the female sex in Gaul and Britain during the Roman
and the Frankish and Anglo-Saxon periods. I have entered at far greater
length into the history of the women of the feudal ages, because I believe
that, in spite of the richness of the materials, it is but little known to readers
in general, and perhaps I may venture to say that it is the period which has
been more the subject of my own study than any of the others. I have
given, as hinted before, a sketch of the great period of transition, and I
have stopped at the line of division I have just laid down, leaving the his-
tory of Womankind during modem times to be written at some future
period."
This sketches out the general bearing of the work ; and the earlier
chapters of the book are on ** Women in Gaul and Britain under the
Celt and the Roman" (a chapter particularly recommended to the
notice of ladies on the other side of Ofifa's Dyke) ; on the '' Women
of Teutonic Mythology and Romance" (equally recommended to
'' Blues'' and ladies of all other colours in London). There are some
highly curious researches concerning domestic manners and dress
in these chapters ; and some interesting illustrations are introduced
among the engravings, from monuments still existing, such as those
of a " Family at Moguntiacum*' (Mayence), p. 16 ; a " Maiden of Bur^
digala^^ (Bordeaux); the "Potter's Daughter of Burdigala," p. 17;
REVIEWS. 259
and & " Lady of Liadwm or IJncoln"; all of which will atrike the eye
of the archeeological reader. We wish, however, that Mr. Wright had
made more frequent reference to the coina of the Roman period. Per-
hapa he thought this mode of illustration rather too hackneyed ; and
so it is, in truth, for numismatologista have rather overworked their
peculiar department of antiquity, at least in former days.
In the succeeding chapter, " The Franks in Gaul," Mr. Wright feels
himself more at home ; and we borrow one of his illustrationa (for the
uae of which we are indebted to the courtesy of the puhlishera,
Messra. Qtoombridge & Sons), as giving a spirited and yet favourable
idea of the costume and manners of the period. The elegance and
refinement of the personages ao well drawn or represented (p. 46) con-
trast atrongly with that of the earlier Saxon MSS.
FimnUih Noblfli In CoDTamUoD.
After mentioning Hrotawith, the poetess, who was a nun of the
Abbey of Oandersheim, Mr. Wright observes :
" The comedieB of the Saxon nun of Oandersheim are six in number ; they
tfe simple enough in plot, and are conducted with ease and grace, though,
as may be supposed, the language is not entirely pure in its Latinity. But
tbej show a cultivated mind, far superior to wb^t we are accustomed to
Buppo&e was to be found in that age, and above all thej display a wonder-
ful Knowledge of the world, when we cousider that the writer was a Udy ,
the inmate of a convent, and, it is believed, not much more than twenty-five
years of age. She informs ub that it was her intention to write in imitotion
of Terence, whose works enjoyed ^reat popularity, and were much read
among her contemporaries. Erotswith's object in all these plays is to extol
the virtue and celeoiate the triumph of chastity ; and it leads to scenes that
it required a very skilful hand to depict. Tet the Saxon maiden has been
singularly successful, and there ia a degree of tenderness and delicaev in
her pictures, and these combined with a knowledge of human nature and an
intimacy with human life, which we should hardly expect. Her subjects
are Bometimes calculated to alarm our feelings of modesty, but the; are al-
ways treated with great tact and delicacy, and without any of the pretenti-
ous modesty which we might look for from the pious recluse."
The author, all through his book, does not give ns so many details
of the conventual life of ladies as we, in our vu^ar curiosity, could, per-
260 REVIEWS.
haps, have wished ; but the reason no doubt is, that life of this kind has
varied much less from age to age than life in the world. A woman^
who becomes a nun, no doubt acts from the purest and holiest motives.
Her occupations and her religion remain unchanged, and the internal
history of convents varies but little, even in the present tumultuous
times, from what it was in the days of Faith. There is little to be said
about nuns, and it is well that it should be so ; their lives have always
been intended to be lives of religious retirement ; and — ^to the honour
of their sex be it said — their profession has, on the whole, been most
devoutly and honourably adhered to.
We recommend our readers to look carefully at the sixth and suc-
ceeding chapters of this work, in which the condition of women dur-
ing the transition to the feudal period, during the twelfth century, and
as represented in Feudal Romances, is treated of in great detail.
Some of the illustrations, all derived from MSS. of the several dates,
are very interesting, and such as will attract notice, not from dry
musty antiquaries only, but also from fair readers of our own time.
In the chapter devoted to Provence, its poetry, and the courts of
Love, we iind a little bit of information which we are bound to tran-
scribe: —
" But to return to the subject of the system of love taught by the troba-
dors, or, as they called it, the science of love, sabar de drudaria {le savoir
de druerie), it was full of rules and nice distinctions, and quibbles. Thus
we are told that there are four degrees in love : —
Quater escalos a en amor : There are four degrees in love :
Le premier es de fegnedor, The first is that of hesitating,
B V segons es de preiador. And the second tha^ of supplicating,
E lo ters es d' enteridedor. And the third that of being listened to,
E lo quart es drut apelatz. And the fourth is called that of ac-
cepted lover.
" The anonymous trobador who wrote this, goes on to explain : ' He who
has a desire to love a lady, and goes often to pay his court to her, but with-
out venturing to speak of his love, is a timid hesitator. But if the lady
honours him so much, and encourages him, that he ventures to tell her his
pains, then he is justly called a supplicator. And if, through talking and
supplicating, he does so well that she retains him, and gives him bands,
gloves, or girdle, then he is raised to the degree of one listened to. If,
finally, the lady is pleased to grant by a kiss her love to him, she has made
of him her lover.' It must not be supposed that all these directions were
mere playful theory and poetical talk, but we have plenty of evidence that
they were carried strictly into practice. A formal ceremony was prescribed
for the acceptance of a lover, in which was imitated exactly that by which,
in feudalism, the vassal acknowledged his suzerain, and the knight or squire
who had gone through it, had contracted similar obligations towards his
lady. He placed himself on his knees before her, with his two hands joined
between her hands, before witnesses, and he, by words, devoted himself en-
tirely to her, swore to serve her faithfully to his death, and to defend her
against all assailants to the utmost of his power. The lady, on her side, de-
clared that she accepted his services, engaged to him her tenderest affec-
tions, and, in sign of the union now established between them, she usually
gave him a ring, and then she kissed him, and raised him on his feet. This
ceremony was termed, on the part of the lady, retaining her lover ; on his
part, making himself her man, or her servant."
REVIEWS. 261
Under the bead of " Womankind in the feudal castle," we find all
the riches of the author's stores of mediseval history fully drawn upon,
and the numerous illustrations of this part of the volume are highly
interesting. At p. 160, Mr. Wright remarks —
'' Under all these circumstances just mentioned, there arose a peculiar
tone of sentiment between the two sexes, one which had not been known in
the same form before. The lady of the castle, as the head of the household,
represented Womankind in full consciousness of independence and self-con-
fidence, and this consciousness had been communicated to the rest of the
sex within the castle-walls. When woman obtains this position, it imme-
diately makes itself felt upon the other sex, and under it the harshness and
ferocity, which were naturally among the first characteristics of feudalism,
were gradually exchanged for elegance of manners and sentiments which
were new to society. Out of this new state of things arose two words which
will never be forgotten. The first of these is courtesy. Every great baron's
household was a court, and courtesy meant simply the manners and sen-
timents which prevailed in the feudal household. One of the modem, but
almost mediaeval, Latin writers has said, using the Latin form of the word,
* Curtalitas est quasi idem quod nobilitas morum ' — * Courtesy is the same
thing as nobility of manners. ' Courtesy was, over everything, that which
distinguished the society inside the castle from that without, from the peo-
ple of the country, and from the bourgeoisie; and the middle ages univer-
sally allowed that it was the influence of the female sex which fostered it.
A little poem of the thirteenth century, published by my friend M. Jubinal,
in his volume of Jongleurs ei Trouvdres, expresses this sentiment in strong
terms : —
Assez i a reson por qui There is reason enough why
L*en doit fame chi^re tenir ; We ought to hold woman dear ;
Quar nous v6ons poi avenir For we see happen very little
Oortoisie, se n'est par fames. Courtesy, except through wo-
men.
Bien sal que por Tamor des dames Well know I that for the love of
the ladies
Devienent 11 vilains cortois. The very clowns become cour-
teous.
I know nothing more beautiful than the sentiment of the chapter of the
hook of the Knight of La Tour-Landry, in which he recommends the duty
of courtesy to his daughters."
In all this part of his work, the author's details are uncommonly
careful and copious ; and we may safely say that a more complete pic-
ture of the life of '* Womankind in the Feudal Castle " has not been
hitherto attempted. At p. 188 we find —
'' After the washing of the hands after dinner, a drink was usually served
round, and then, as stated before, the younger portion of the family of the
castle rose from the table, and proceeded in groups to amuse themselves in
different ways. Some went in couples, apart, making love. Many formed
parties, who conversed, told stories, and sang songs. Minstrels, and jong-
leurs, and mountebanks found a welcome at the castle, and always received
their reward. Others spread through the chambers, and in the gardens, and
out into the meadows, and joined in dances, and in games of various de-
scriptions."
*^ In the Eoman de la VioUtte, the young gentlemen and ladies are
described as, after dinner, 'spreading similarly through the castle, at-
262 REVIEWS.
tended b; minitnla with music. The iftdiea of the feudal ftgei were pM-
aian&telj fond of dancinK. Thej danced in the chunbera, and ia th« gta-
dens, and they even wandered into the fields to dance. The fftvourile daoce
was the earole, in which those who joined in it danced in n ring and accom-
panied their movement with singing, and this dance was so universall; used,
that the common word for to dance, was caroUr — to carol. Tn the Bomanees
□f the Round Table, one of the heroines, the lady of the TeTre-Lointaine,
lost in admiration at the fair dancing in themeadowof the FoiSt Ferilleuse,
■ays to the enchanter, Guinebaut, "Think yon not, fiiir air, that one would
be very happy to follow these earoles all the days of one's life 1" and, to
t lease the lady, Quinebaut placed the earole under a charm, which pro-
inged it to a very indefinite period. The accompanying cut ia taken irom
one of the illustrationB in the illuminated manuscript of the Aoman dt la
Ficlette, and represent! a carol at one of the grand feaeti of the joyal court
of Loui»-le-Qro»."
Some curiouB delineations ftom M8S. of parties playing at cheai
and other games are given in this part of the book, and theae are fol-
lowed by accounte of the ladies in the gardens of their castles, which
throw great light on the domestic occupations of "Womankind in the
Feudal Castle." The illuHtrationa here are numerous and peculiarly
good. Indeed, Mr. Wright has been fortunate ia his selection of
MSS., and in having the illuminations faithfully rendered by the wood
engraver. Some details are here given of festivals in the open air,
with some illuminations of medieeval pic-nics, as well as of the ens-
REVIEWS. 263
torn to sit on pavements in chnrclies— for, as the author slilj remarks,
the churches were open, and the sittings free — pens and appropriated
seats being almost unknown in the earlier part of the fifteenth centnrj.
We find, too, some curious observations, with several good engravings,
of the custom of ladies when riding on horseback to sit on the right
or offside of their palfries, though, by the times of Queen Mary and
Queen Elizabeth, as evidenced by their Qreat Seals, the present and
more sensible fashion had been adopted. After the above follow many
curious details of the part taken by ladies in the sports of the field ;
and delineations are given from MSS. of their manner of chasing deer,
hares, and rabbits. One of the Utter is so characteristic that we here
insert it. The droll air of the rabbit, turning round in astonishment
at the impudence of the lap-dog in running after him, will not escape
notice. It occurs at p. 228.
We have a full account of the fashions of dress, and their never-
ending changes in this part of the book, and the illustrations are wor-
thy of being consulted by all our fair readers. Modem fashions are
in reality not so modem as some suppose them, nor are all the arts of
perfumery, painting, and false hair peculiar to ladies of the present
day only ; they were much in request in almost all feudal castles.
The state of literature among the ladies of the middle ages is
treated b; Mr. Wright with his usual ability and in great detail. But
we must refer our readers, in this respect, to the work itself, rather
than supply them with scanty extracts. But we would most strongly
recommend them to read, at p. 288, the biographical account of Chris-
tine de Pisan, a poetess and a thorough woman of letters, of the early
part of the fifteenth century. A beautiful full-page illustration in
colours, from a MS. copy of one of her works in 'Uie British Musenm
(MS. Harl., No. 4431), contains her own portrait. Mr. Wright says:
" This manuscript appears to have been written in 1404, for presentation
to Isabelle of Bavaria, the queen of Charlea TI, and it begins with a pro-
logue to the queen, at the head of which is an exquisite iUumiuatioD repre-
senting Chriitine in the act of presenting it. We give a copy of this illu-
mination in its coloun in the accompanying plate ; and from the care with
which it is executed in the original, we have every reason to supjwse that
the figures of Christine and the queen were intended to be portraits. It is
probs^ly the first portrait of a poetess of our Western regions that we
The condiUon of females among the middling and lower classes is
264 REVIEWS.
next noticed ; but not at so much length, for the materials and anthor-
ities for illustration are far less copious ; still this division of the sub-
ject is not neglected ; and some of the illustrations given are, even
from their comparative rarity, highly interesting.
Our author continues his account of womankind during the six-
teenth and seventeenth centuries ; but at much less length, for the
obvious reason that so much more is already known about it from the
printed literature of these periods. We must content ourselves with
the following quotation, in the time of Queen Elizabeth :
'* It was, as it always has been, the custom of England, perhaps a tradition
of feudal times when France was considered as presentiog the type of every
feudal fashion, to take our fashions in dress from France. The farthing-
gales, or vardingales, of the ladies, represented of course the French vertu-
galle ; they joined the doublet at the girdle, like the hose, and were stuffed
out, not with bran, but with hoops. In fact, they represented the hooped
petticoats of the last century, and our more modem crinolines. They ap-
pear often to have been expanded to a very great width. From the hose,
m the male sex, descended the stocking, called more usually in Elizabeth's
time, the netherstocks, which also were made of rich material, and were
much ornamented, and had ornamental and even jewelled garters, as was
the case also with the ladies, though their stockings and garters were not,
like those of the men, always exposed to view. To the dress of the ladies at
this period, belongs another article of dress, the petticoat. This garment —
which appears by its name to have been a petite cote — originally belonged
to the other sex, and thus occurs not unirequently during the fifteenth
century. In the Fromptorium FarviUorum, an English-Latin Dictionary
of that period, it is explained by tninic%daj a little tunic, and in a record of
the same period, we have mention of a ' petticote of lynen cloth, witbought
slyves,' so that it appears to have been an outer garment, perhaps having
some relation to the kirtle. Its real character, even during Elizabeth's
reign, is not very clear, but it is spoken of as made of silk, and as rather an
expensive article of dress.''
We must conclude our notice of this remarkable book by stating
that the spirited publishers appear to have spared no expense in bring-
ing it out sumptuously, and yet at a moderate price, so as to suit it
for the drawing-room as well as the library. The typographical exe-
cution is remarkable, the woodcuts frequent, and the coloured illus-
trations from MSS. numerous and ably rendered. The artistical merit
of this work is scarcely inferior to its literary value ; and what with
gilt edges and superbly stamped binding, it is a highly creditable
specimen of the good taste and spirit of the house whose name appears
on the title-page.
The Book of Deer. Edited for the Spalding Club by John Stuabt,
LL.D. Edinburgh, 1869.
The Spalding Club has ceased to exist. That it has not lived to small
purpose, we have only to glance at the many valuable books it has
issued ; conspicuous among which, no less for the richness and fidelity
of the illustrations than for the learned dissertations that accompany
them, are the two grand folios of The Sculptured Stones of Scotland, and
with which the name of John Stuart is inseparably connected. Some, if
REVIEWS. 265
they had accomplished even a moiety of what Mr. Stuart has done,
would have followed the advice of a certain Earl, and would have thank-
fully rested. That he has not done so, we at least are thankful ; for we
should not, in the present instance, have had the advantage of his edito-
rial experience and erudition. It was, indeed, originally intended that
the late Mr. Robertson should have undertaken the task; but, owing
to the pressure of official duties, he was unable to do so ; and at once
Mr. Stuart, the indefatigable Secretary of the Club, and who, in conjunc-
tion with Mr. Robertson, may also be called its founder, came forward,
undertook, and completed the work. That a Club that has done so
much, should be wound up, must be a matter of great regret to others
besides the members. It is presumed that no alternative was possible.
But however that may be, its last production is certainly not the least
both in interest and importance.
Mr. Stuart has endeavoured to trace the history of this curious
volume, which appears to have been unknown until 1860, when it was
found in the Cambridge University Library, as a portion of the library
of Dr. John Moore, who died Bishop of Ely in 1714. He had left no
record as to how he obtained it, and probably did not understand its
peculiar value. Mr. Stuart conjectures that it may have found its way
from its original home in the primitive monastery of St. Droston, to
the later Cistercian abbey of Deer, whence, on the dissolution, it
somehow reached the south, and the bookshelves of the bishop.
Deer is situated in the north of Aberdeenshire, and was the scene
of one of the earliest conversions of the Picts to Christianity. These
Picts, whoever they were, or to what particular branch of the Celtic
stock they are to be assigned, were visited, in the latter part of the
sixth century, by St. Columba. So much we learn from his life by
Adamnan, one of his successors. But we learn something more from
the Book of Deer, namely that the saint, in his own person, probably
penetrated to the extreme north-eastern portion of this remote dis-
trict.
The MS., as we are informed by Mr. Stuart, is one of the class called
** Irish Gospels"; which, generally agreeing with the Vulgate, seem to
preserve some readings from earlier versions. It forms a small octavo
volume of eighty-six leaves, containing the Gospel of St. John, small
portions of the other Gospels, and of an office for the visitation of the
sick, and the Apostles' Creed. It is, however, so full of barbarous
errors of spelling and grammar, of such interpolations and misarrange-
ments of paragraphs, and various other blunders, that the transcriber
seems not to have understood the language which he wrote. Mr.
Stuart and other competent authorities assign it to the ninth century.
The drawings are exceedingly rude and curious; and much of the
border-ornamentation is of the ordinary interlaced work which was in
fashion for three or more centuries after the date of the MS. itself.
The way, moreover, in which these have been transferred to the pages
of Mr. Stuart's book is not the least curious feature of the volume ; for
so perfectly have the facsimiles been executed, that they look exactly
as if the actual pages of the MS. had been mounted on paper. So
accurately also has the peculiar, soft, yellowish tinge of old parchment
4th 8EB., YOL. I. 18
266 REVIEWS.
or vellum been reproduced, that one is tempted to ascertain by the
touch what the material is.
But the real importance of the volume is derived from later entries
on its blank leaves or margins; for wherever space was found, it
was utilised, so that the MS. became both a book of of&ces and a
kind of register at the same time. Parchment must have been singu-
larly scarce in that remote district at the period; unless, indeed,
greater sanctity or security was thought to be thus obtained for entries
registered in the sacred volume. The dates of these entries vary
from the end of the eleventh and the early part of the twelfth cen-
tury ; and with the exception of the charter, which is in Latin, are in
Gaelic, which was evidently at this period the common language in
use. We must, however, quote Mr. Stuart's own words :
'< These Gaelic entries are of the highest interest and value, as the only
•pecimens left to us of the records of our forefathers at a time when the
people and polity were Celtic, and just before the introduction of elements
which changed the aspect and character of both On various points con-
nected with our early history, regarding which the historical student has
hitherto had to grope his way amid fftint light and doubtful analogies, they
enable ui to discover the condition of the Celtic population of Alba, sepa-
rated into clans under the rule of the tnonnaer (a kind of high steward or
representative of the king), with their chiefs or touechs, and their hrehotu
or judges. We discover the division of the country into town-lands with
fixed boundaries, and can trace the different and coexisting rights of the
ardrigh or sovereign, the mormaery and the touechy as well as the various
burdens to which they were subject. The period embraced in these entries
is towards the conclusion of the Celtic period, when the patriarchal polity
had not yet given way to the feudal kingdom. The monastic system, at
least in the northern districts, was yet flourishing, and the parish and terri-
torial diocese were unknown."
Now, with the exception of some remote comers near the sources
of the Dee and Spey, the counties of Aberdeen and Banff and Moray
are and have been as Teutonic as any part of England itself, as far
bsck as any tangible evidence could reach, although some think that
when Aberdeen is reached they are in the land of the Celts. This is
not so. But how long this has been the case was unknown until
these entries in the Booh of Deer informed us that the inhabitants of
this district, priests and people, were a Gaelic-speaking race as late as
the twelfth century. By what means, and at what period, the change
took place, and the Celtic language was supplanted by the present
one, must be a matter of conjecture. But this was not the only change,
for about two centuries antesior to these Gaelic entries in the Book of
Deer, the Scots or Irish Gael had become united with, and absorbed
the Picts into, their own stock ; so that Gaelic became the language
of the district, although the memory of the Picts had not then perished,
for in the earliest of these entries are references to the former state of
things. Thus, in recording an event, it is stated to have happened
when ''Bede the Pict was Mormaer of Buchan." It is true the actual
entry is some five centuries later than the event recorded; but its
substantial truth is confirmed by what is known from other sources.
Other Gaelic entries refer to grants and benefactions to the monas-
REVIEWS. 267
tery at Deer ; not to be confounded with the later Cistercian abbey of
-Deer near it, and founded in 1210 by William Earl of Buchan. The
foundation-deed has been lost; but from some of its rentals it is
ascertained that it was in possession of certain town-lands which we
know, from these Gaelic entries, were granted by Gaelic tnormaers and
ioisechs to the original monastery, which St. Columba had given to
bis friend and pupil, St. Drostan, and which subsequently became the
parish church of Deer. It is probable, therefore, that this church also
had been granted to the Cistercian abbey at the time of its foundation.
The practice of entering such brief notices in registers and chartu-
laries was common in this and other countries, especially where the
Celtic element prevailed. We might quote the Register of St. Andreiv^s^
the Book of Llandaff, the Chartulary of Redon in Britanny, the Book
of Kelts, and others. These entries were mere notes, and hence called
notiiia, at a time when lands were conveyed by a turf or sod, and more
formal conveyances were unheard of. These notices of grants were
thus registered, with the names of the donors and witnesses to the
grants. Thus the earliest of the entries in the Book of Deer are memo-
randa of offerings made to God and to Drostan, without any reference
to deed or formal instrument. Others, however, appear to be abstracts
of such written documents ; but most of them record the simple gifts,
and are therefore so valuable as specimens of records of a race whose
language and polity were Celtic.
Mention has been made of the toisech or chief. This word is evi-
dently the same as the Welsh ttvysog, which rather means ** prince."
The Prince of Wales of the present day is a genuine ttvyaog. But
totsech, or toshach, is merely '^captain" or '' leader." Those of Buchan
seem to have been heads of clans. The thanes of Ross, Mr. Stuart
thinks, may have been known to the native Celts only as toshach*. In
time, however, the high dignity of the office became so much dimi-
nished, that the name was applied to an official who was something
between a ground-bailiff and a sheriff^s officer. In a charter dated
1410, this ancient title was thought properly coupled with that of the
hereditary smith of the barony (Pref., Ixxxi, note). The Welsh word, '
ttot/soff, appears to have weathered the effect and changes of time,
and still to imply a princely office. Nor is there wanting proof that it
was used in Wales as it was in Pictland in the time of St. Columba.
We refer to the well known stone now in Pool Park in Denbighshire,
one of the residences of Lord Bagot, on which is read, in Roman
characters (which Professor Westwood assigns to the latter part of the
fifth century, or the early one of the sixth), the words aimilini toyi-
SACi, the Latin form of twysog. Who Prince Emlyn (as the name is
spelt) was, is uncertain ; but the late Mr. Aneurin Owen, the best
authority of his time, did not limit the meaning to prince^ but ex-
tended it to leader, such as Mr. Stuart describes the toiseg. A notice
of this stone is given in the Arch, Camb., 1855, p. 116.
But our narrow limits compel us to draw our observations to a close.
We cannot, however, do so without repeating our thanks to the
courteous and learned editor for tliis valuable addition to our shelves ;
and if we lament that, as Secretary to the late Spalding Club he is
268 REVIEWS.
'extinct, yet we hope to congratulate ourselves, for many years to come,
on still retaining him as the senior Secretary of the Society of Anti-
quaries of Scotland.
Flint Chips. By Edwabd T. Stetens, Hon. Curator of the
Blackmore Museum, Salisbury.
This is a work of so much importance, and of such curious detail,
that it is almost impossible to review it ; that is to say, to give any-
thing like a satisfactory account of it to those who do not possess the
work itself. It is, in fact, a catalogue raisonnSe, and a very ample one,
of the great prehistoric museum at Salisbury, established by Mr.
Blackmore. The collection is, we believe, the most extensive and
valuable of the kind that exists in England ; for it contains not only
an enormous number of palsaolithic and neolithic objects from our
own islands and other parts of Europe ; but also the great collection
of similar remains from the valleys of the Ohio and Mississippi, formed
by American explorers, and fortunately purchased, with enlightened
liberality, by Mr. Blackmore. It is under the care of a most acute and
painstaking archaeologist, Mr. E. T. Stevens of Salisbury ; and it is,
under proper precaution, open to all the nation.
We regret greatly that we cannot give copious extracts from the
carefully written preface ; but we must recommend it, with all the
rest of this important volume, to the diligence of the antiquarian reader.
It is a work that must now assume its place, almost as a matter of
necessity, among the books of reference constantly required by all
English archaeologists. The entire matter, which, as Mr. Stevens
rightly terms it, is a '* guide to prehistoric archaeology," is divided
into chapters, corresponding to the actual divisions of the Museum,
with great precision, and yet with much copiousness of detail. The
remains of the neolithic period, and of the lake-dwellings, have ample
space given to them ; and, as might be expected, the American remains
are described with the most satisfactory fulness.
The author's plan is to give a complete catalogue of the contents of
all the cases, and to describe them briefly but clearly as he takes the
reader through his book. It is, in fact, as if Mr. Stevens were him-
self accompanying the visitor through the Museum, and were stopping
before each case to give a vivd voce description, and to point out the
most remarkable contents. • It is not saying too much when we ex-
press our opinion that a visit to the Blackmore Museum will hence-
forth be considered an essential part of archaeological study.
The illustrations, which are chiefly of American objects, are care-
fully executed ; and as a proof of the author's laborious carefulness in
compiling the volume, we may mention that the index alone occupies
thirty-eight pages.
The typographical execution of the book is excellent; and the
manner in which it is laid before the public is highly creditable to
Messrs. Bell & Daldy, who are its London publishers. The city of
Salisbury may be warmly congratulated on the possession of such a
museum, and also on the circumstance of numbering the munificent
donor among its sons.
CAMBRIAN
ARCH^OLOGICAL ASSOCIATION
THE
TWENTY-FOURTH ANNUAL MEETING
WILL BE HELD AT
HOLYHEAD
In AUGUST next, commencing on Tuesday, the 28rd, and.ending
on the following Saturday.
Presid&ni^
THE VEN. ARCHDEACON WYNNE JONES.
The arrangements of the Local Committee have not yet been
completed, but the following is the proposed programme of Excur-
sions.
The Committee will meet at 7 p.m. for despatch of business.
The first meeting will take place on
TUESDAY, AUGUST 23rd, at 8 p.m. precisely,
when the President will deliver his address. The report will be read
and papers will follow as far as time permits.
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 24th
Excursion. — Leave by road to Southstack — Capel and Pfynnon
Gorles (Holy well) — British settlement at Ty-mawr. Those who
prefer may ascend the mountain direct to the Miir Caswallon (a strong-
hold of Cyclopean masonry), by Capel Lochwyd, meeting the other
excursionists at Ty-mawr. In Mrs. Stanley's tower are deposited
various relics of stone implements and pottery found during the late
excavations. Pen-y-bonc — Meini hirion and hut circles at Plas Milo
— DinaB PenrhoB Filo — Forth Dafarch — Towyn-y-Capel [burial
mound) — K«niains of Cromlech at Ty-newydd Rhoscolyn— Dinae
Fawr to fonr mile-bridg^o — cross bridge to TnjB Lyrad (hut circlea)
— returning over bridge to Tref-Arthur, where are retnainB of Crom-
lech and a paved way — Covered Chamber at Trevigneth (Arch.
Camb., vol. xiii, aeries 3, p. 234) — return to Holyhead, whero the
Church and Boman Wall may be inepected. The above inclndes
nearly all objectB of interest nithin Holyhead Island.
THURSDAY, AUGUST 2fith.
EzcuFBion at 9 a.u. — Barclodiad-y-gawres (chambered tnmnlna)
— Camp at Tre Castell — Bryn Maelgwyn (thonght to be a fortified
post, near the Railway) — Castellor on the Crigyll river (plan given
in Arch Camb., 1869, p. 403) — Cromlech at Llanfaelog — thence
N.N.E. (by a road crossing the great Holyhead road near Biyngw-
ran) to a Cromlech at Treban, and to T werthyr (double intrenched
circular work) — MaenhirLlechcynfarwydd — A second Twerthyr, but
smaller than the other, near Llantrisant — Maen-y-gored — A double
cromlech at at Presaddfed.
Evening meeting at 8.
FRIDAY, AUGUST 25fh.
By boat octobb the bay to Llanrbnddlad — ^ancient bell — Gam —
various murian — Llanfairynghomwy Church — InEcription — Cas-
tell Bodronyn, and meinihirion — Llanfechell cromlech and three
in — Tumuli and trenches to east of Llanfechell.
^ meeting at 8, and confined to Members only, for the des-
SATURDAY, AUGUST 26th.
nrsion may be made from Bodorgan Station to Llangad-
hurch (CatamanuB inscription) — Fynwent Llanfeirian
il Ground, vid Bodorgan, to a curious fortified post on
Point, and Dinas Liwyd, near the eame place. — It is also
to make an Sxcuraion this day to visit Sew Grange, near
nmnuications to be addreaaed to the Rev. W. Wyhx
Junior, Menaifron, Carnarvon ; or the Rev, E. L. Babn-
particnlars will be given in the next Programmes.
ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS. XVll
give and bequeath the snme of tenn poands to be distribnted unto and
amongst tenn poore soholars at the dUorecon of the aforesaide Mr. Josias
Chute and my said Cozen Mr. Humfrey Berrington the survivor of them.
Item I give and bequeath the sum of tenn pounds to be distributed unto
and amongst tenn poore widows by and at the discrecon of the saide Mr.
Shute and my saide Cozen Berrington. Item. I give to Mr. Freake Reader
under Mr. Shute and to Mr. Dexter Mr. Shute's Clark to either of them
fortie shillings in money. Item. I give to my manservant John Newton or
to such man servant as shall bee dwelling with mee at the time of my death
twenty shillings. And to such maide or woman servant as shall bo livinge
with mee at the time of my decease fortie shillings. Item. I give and be-
queath unto my neece Margarett Grismond the daughter of my sister Alise
Grismond twenty pounds to bee paid my saide sister for her vse within three
yeeres next after my decease, and my saide sister to pay the saide twenty
pounds unto her said daughter at the day of her marriage or sooner at the
discrecon of my saide sister. The residue unbequeathed of all and singular
my goodes cfaattells money plate household stuffe and P*rsonall Estate what-
soever (the debts owinge by mee and my funeraU charges and legacies herein
by mee given and bequeathed being first sat'sfied paide or deducted) I give
devise and bequeath unto my saide nephewe Harbert Perrott and the fore-
said James Perrott Francis Perrott and Damaris Perrott children of my
saide brother Bobert Perrott to bee equally divided to and amongst them
parte and parte alike And I make name ordaine and appointe my said
Cozen Mr. Humfrey Berrington and my said nephewe Harbert Perrot the
Executo'rs of this my last Will and Testam't desiringe them and either of
them to p'form the same in all things according to my true intent and
meaninge herein set forth and declared. And I doe hereby give unto my
saide Cozen Mr. Berrington for his paines therein to bee taken (ov'r and
besides the aforesaide legacy of five pounds herein bequeathed to him) the
Bume of fifteene pounds And whereas in and by an Indenture bearinge date
the fourteenth day of this instant moneth of March I the said Francis Per-
rott have covenanted to and with the foresaide Humfrey Berrington Humfrey
Tomkyns and Bobert Yalloppe to stand seized of and in all my sev'all man-
no'rs with the lands and appurtenances thereunto belonginge called or
knowne by the sev'all names of Castleleigh Amblestone and Woodstocke in
the County of Pembroke and of and in certaine tenem'ts with the lands
thereunto belonginge lyinge and beinge in a village called the Walles in the
parish of Amblestone aforesaide and of and in certaine lands and houses
thereupon erected scituate and being in Holme in the Parish of Whitwell in
the County of Derby, And of and in all other my lands and tenem'ts with
the appurtenances in the said Counties of Pembroke and Derby, To the
sev'all vses in the saide Indenture expressed that is to say To the vse of my
selfe for and duringe my naturall life w'th out ympeachment of or for any
manner of waste And from and after my decease To the use of such person
and persons & for k, duringe such sev'all Estates tymee and termes and in
such manner and forme and under such charges rents reservac'ons condic'ons
and lymitac'ons and to such vse intents and purposes as I the said Francis
Perrott by my last Will and Testam't in writings or any other writinge to
bee by mee signed sealed published and deliv'd in the p'senoe of two or more
credible Witnesses shall lymitt appointe devise bequeath or dispose all my
saide Manno'rs messuages lands tenem'ts and premises or any parte thereof
4th ser., vol. I. c
XViii ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS.
and to noe other ose intent or purpose whatsooTer as by the sayd Indenture
more pUdnely appeareth Now I the saide Frands Perrott the Testator
acoordinge to the power and anthoritie by mee reserved in and by the saide
Indenture doe hereby lymitt bequeath and dispose all my saide manno'rs
messuages lands tenem'ts and p'mises to these vses intents and purposes
hereafter meno'oned k, expressed (that is to say) of for k oonceminge aU. my
saide lands and tenem'ts with the appurtenances lyinge and being in Holme
aforesaide in the saide p'iah of Whitwell in the said County of Derbie, I doe
by this my last WiU and Testam't will and appointe and I doe hereby give
fall power and anthoritie unto my said Ezecuto'rs Mr. Hum&ey Bening^n
and Herbert Perrott and the surviyor of them and to the heires of the sur-
Yivor of them to bargaine sell and convey all the same lands and tenem'ts
in Holme aforesaide and ev'y p'te thereof within as short time after my
death as conveniently may bee unto such p'son or p'sons or for such sume or
snmes of money as they or either of them can obtaine and gett therefore
And what monies shall be made and gotten by the sale of those lands my
will is and I do hereby appointe that the same or soe much thereof as shall
bee needfull shall goe to and be allowed and disbursed for and towards the
payment of the legacies afore herein by mee given and bequeathed (in case
my p'sonaJl Estate shall fall short and not bee enough to satisfy the same)
And aftev aU my legacies bee paide (any overplus of the same monies shall
bee then remaininge). Then I will and I doe hereby bequeath the same ov'r-
plus unto the saide Harbert Perrott the aforesaide James Perrott Francis
Perrott and Damaris Perrott to be equally devided betweene them parte and
parte like And of for and concerninge all and singular my saide sev'all
manno'rs of Castleleigh Amblestone and Woodstock with the sev'all lands
and appurtenances thereunto respectively belonging^e. And all other my
lands tenem'ts and hereditam'ts with their appurtenances in the saide
County of Pembroke I doe hereby give and bequeathe the same and ev'y of
them and ev'y p'te thereof unto my saide nephewe Herbert Perrott for and
daring the terme of his naturall life and from and after his decease then I
bequeath the same unto the first sonne of the body of the saide Harbert law-
ftdly to bee begotten and the heires males of the body of the saide first sonne
lawfully to be begotten and for default of such yssue Then to the use and
beehoofe of the second sonne of the body of the saide Harbert lawfully to bee
begotten and the heirs male of the body of the saide second sonne lawfully
to be begotten. And for default of such yssue then to the vse and behoof
of the third sonne of the body of the saide Harbert lawftdly to bee begotten
and to the heires male of the body of the saide third sonne lawfully to bee
begotten And for default of such yssue then to the use and behoofe of my
saide nephewe James Perrott for and duringe the terme of his naturall life
and from and after his decease then to the vse and behoofe of the first sonne
of the body of the saide James lawfully to bee begotten And for default of
such yssue then to the vse and behoofe of the seconde sonne of the body of
the saide James lawfuUy to bee begotten and of the heires males of the body
of the saide seconde sonne lawfully to bee begotten And for default of such
yssue then to the vse of the third sonne of the body of the saide James law-
ftilly to bee begotten and of the heires males of the body of the saide third
sonne lawfully to bee begotten And for default or want of such yssue then
to the use and behoofe of my Nephewe Francis Perrott for and duringe the
terme of his naturall life And from and after the decease of the said Francis
ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS. xix
then to the vse and behoofe of the first Bonne of the body of the saide Francis
lawfully to bee begotten and of the heires males of the body of such first
Sonne lawfully to bee begotten. And for defiiult of saoh yssue then to the
nse and behoofe of the seoonde sonne of the body of the said Francis lawfully
to bee begotten and of the heirs males of the body of snoh second sonne law-
fully to be begotten and for default of such yssue then to the vse and
behoofe of the third sonne of the body of the said Francis lawfully to be
begotten and of the heirs males of the body of the saide third sonne lawfully
to bee begotten And for default or want of such yssue then to the vse and
behoofe of the right heires of my said brother Bobert Perrott for ever.
Item. I give and bequeath unto my saide sisster Alice Grismond one annuity
or yeerley rent of tenn pounds of lawfull English money to bee yssuinge
p'ceaved and taken out of all and singuler my saide sev'all manno'rs of
Castleleigh Amblestone and Woodstocke with the lands thereto belonginge
and out of all other my lands tenem'ts and hereditam'ts situate and beinge
in the said County of Pembrooke, To have hold p'ceave receave and enjoy the
Saide Annuity or yeerley rent of Tenn pounds unto my saide sister Alice
and her assignes from and after my decease for and duringe the terme of
her naturall life. To be paide at two feasts or tymes in the yeere that is to
say Att the feasts of St. Philippe and Jacob and All S'ts (commonly called
AllhaUowtide) by equall porc'ons The first payment thereof to bee begun
and bee made at that Feast of the Feasts aforesaid which shall first happen
and come next after my decease (yf my saide sister be then livinge) And
farther my Will is. That yf and as often as it shall happen the saide Annuity
or yeerley rent of tenn pounds to bee behinde and unpaide in p'te or in all
by the space of fourty daies next on or after any feast of the Feasts afore-
saide Wherein the same shall be due and ought to bee paid, being lawfully
demanded att the south door of the Parish Church of All Saints in Hereford
aforesaid, that then and soe often it shall and may bee lawfull to and for the
said Alice Grismond my sister and her assignes duringe her life into all and
eVy the said manno'rs lands and other the p'mises with the appurtenances
to re-enter and distrains and the distresse or distresses then and there
founde to take beare and carry away and in her or their hands to deteine
and keepe untill of the saide annuity or yeerely rent of tenn pounds And of
all arrerages thereof (yf any bee) shee the saide Alice and her assignes shall
be fully satisfied contented and paide. Item. I give and bequeath forty
shillings unto Francis Shephard of London S*o'r to bee paide to him at the
ende of six months next after my death (yf hee bee then livinge). In wittnes
whereof I the said Francis Perrott the Testato'r have hereunto sett my hand
and scale. Dated the day and yeere first above written one thousand dz
hundred thirty seaven.
F&ANCIS PXRBOTT.
23 March, 1637. Will signed.
Memorandum That these wordes vizt. or to such manservant as shall bee
dwellinge with mee at the time of my death, were interlined in the fourth
leafe of this Will before the sealinge and publishinge hereof And afterwards
these p'cents beinge written in nyne sheetes of paper were by the above
named Francis Perrott the Testator signed sealed published and declared as
for his very last Will and Testam't the day and yeere first above written in
the p'sence of John Turlington — Fran. Sheapherd S'c'r London and William
Siddon his servant.
XX ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS.
Probatum fuit Teatamentu' snprascrip' apud London coram venl'i vixo
Johanne Norfcon legnm D'core Sorrt'o ven'lis viri WiU'm Merricke legtun
Etiam D'ooris CnriaB P'rogative Cant' Mag*!! Custodia sive Com'rii oonstitati
duodecimo die mensis Novembris Anno D'ni Millesimo sezcen'mo qaadrage-
aimo aecnndo jaramento Herbert Perrott nepotis ex fratre d'c'i defci meaa
executor in hu'moi Testamento nominat' cui commissa fuit administrac'o
omnium et aiugnlorum bonorum jurium et creditorum eiusdem d'cfci de
bene et fideFr adminiatrando eadem ad s'c'a Dei Evungelia jurat. Seaervata
pFate aimilem commisa'n'r faciendi Humfrido Bering^n alter! Executonim
hujuamodi teatam'to nominat' cum moverit eandem indebitajuria forma peti-
tur' admiaaar*.
The original will ia not in the Court of Probate. It would aeem from a
Note to the copy depoaited in the Court of Probate to have been given on
"the 15th November 1642/' in Dr. Herbert Perrot.
The Copy depoaited in the Probate Court ia a plain paper copy on eight
aheeta of paper. The aignature " fira Perrott " being in the aame hand writing
aa the reat of the Will. There ia no Seal. It aeema from the following note
on the Copy to have been examined with the original Will and found correct.
" Concordat cum or'li teatam'to f 'cea colla'con pe Marcum Cottle. Not'y
pub'l et." H. Y. Tbbbik.
II.— WILL OF FRANCIS PEEROT, SON OF ROBERT.^
ExtrcLcted from the Principal Registry of Her Majesty* » Court of Probate,
IN THE PEEROaATIVE COUET OP CANTEEBUEY.
In the Name of God Amen. — The x^gth day of Auguat in the nineteenth
yeare of the Eaigne of our Soveraigne Lord Charlea the Second by the Grace
of Ood King of England Scotland France and Ireland Defend'r of the Faith
Ac And in the yeare of our Lord God accordiugfe to the computac*on of the
Church of England One thouaand aixe hundred aixtie and aeaven I Francis
Perott of Moniugton uppon Wye in the County of Herefr' third aonne of
Eobert Perott heretofore of Moreton uppon Lug in the aaid County Gtent
deceaaed being aicke in bodie but of perfect aence and memory thankea be to
God doe make and declare thia my last Will and Testament in manner and
forme following revokeing thereby both in deed and in law all and ev^ery other
former Will and Testament Firat I doe willingly and with a free heart render
and give againe into the hands of my Lord God my epiritt which Hee of His
Fatherlie goodnes gave mee when Hee firat made mee a liveing creature, not
doubtinge but that of His infinite merciea aet forth in the precioua blood
death and meritts of his dearly beloved Sonne Jesua Chriat my only Saviour
and Redeemer Hee will receave my Soule into his Glory and place it in the
Companie of the Heavenlie Angells and blessed Saints And my bodie even
with a good will and free heart I give yt over comendinge yt to the Earth
whereof it came to be decently interred in Christian buriail in the Church of
Monington aforesaid according to the direc'n of my Executrixe hereafter
' See 3rd Series, vol. xii, p. 173. See note at end of the will
ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS. XXI
named And for and concerning those worldlie goods which yt hath pleased
my gracious and merciful! Gk)d to blesse mee w'th. All I give and bequeath
as foUoweth First I give and bequeath unto my most worthy and honored
Kinsman S'r Thomas Tomkyns Knight the somme of twenty pounds It*m
I give and bequeath unto the honoured Ladie Dame Lucie Tomkyns Wife of
the foresaid S'r Thomas Tomkyns the some of Twentey pounds It'm I give
and bequeath unto my welbeloved Brother S'r Herbert Perrott Knight the
sume of Tenn pounds and my silver sworde It'm I g^ve and bequeath unto
my Cosen Herbert Perrott his sonne the sum of Ten pounds It'm I give and
bequeath unto my deare Brother James Perrott the some of fortie Ifm I
give and bequeath unto my Brother in law Charles Boberts of Brecon in the
Ck>unty of Brecon the som of Twenty shillings in gould to by a ringe It'm I
give and bequeath unto my Sister Penelope Boberts wife to the said Charles
Boberts the som of Twenty pounds and my gould Bare ringe It'm I give
and bequeath unto John Streete sonne of my said Sister Penelope the some
of Tenn pounds in silvar and five pounds in gould It'm I give and bequeath
unto my Brother in law Mr Owen Edwards of Treoggen in the County of
Pembrooke the some of Twenty shillings to by a ringe Item I give and
bequeath unto my Sister Mrs. Damaris Edwards Wife of the said Mr. Owen
Edwards Tenn pounds It'm I give and bequeath unto my Cozen Francis
Edwards Sonne of the said Sister Damaris Tenn pounds It'm I give and
bequeath unto my Cozen John Edwards another Sonne of the said Sister
Damaris five pounds It'm I give and bequeath unto my Cozen Maiy Edwards
Spinster daughter of the said Sister Damans five pounds It'm I give and
bequeath unto my deare friend Mrs. Mary Moore of Chilson the younger
Spinster a goulden crose a inamell gould ringe a lock of heare with three
diamonds It'm I give and bequeath unto my very good and honoured friend
and kinsman Captaine Edward Cornwall of Mockas in the County of Herefr*
Esquire the som of fortie pounds It'm I g^ve and bequeath unto Mrs Francess
Cornwall his Wife Twinty shillings in Gould to by a ringe It'm I give and
bequeath unto Mrs Marie Cornwall Spinster his daughter Twintey shillings
in gould to by a ringe It'm I give and bequeath unto my verie lovinge
kinswoman Mrs Mary Bosworth of the Cittie of Herefr* Widow five pounds
It'm I give and bequeath unto Mrs Frannces Bosworth her daughter in law
Spinster Twenty shillings in gould t.o by a ringe It'm I give and bequeath
unto Mrs Dorothy Bosworth Spinster another daughter in Law Twentey
shillings in gould to by a ringe It'm I give and bequeath unto Mrs Elizabeth
Bosworth Spinster another daughter in Law Twintey shillings in gould to by
a ringe It'm I give and bequeath unto my very loving Aunt Mrs Katherine
Oregorie Wife of Wm' Gregorie of the Cittie of Herefr' Esquire Twinty
shillings in gould to by a ringe It'm I give and bequeath unto Mr Nicholas
Philpots of the Cittie of Herefr' twentey shillings in gould to by a ringe It'm
I give and bequeath unto Mrs Marie Philpots his wife twenty shillings in gould
to by a ringe It'm I give and bequeath unto my very lovinge kinsman Mr An-
thonie Lochard of the Cittie of Herefr' five pounds It'm I give and bequeath
unto my Cozen Ann Lochard his Wife five pounds It'm I give and bequeath
unto my Cosen Frannces Lochard his Brother five pounds It'm I give and
bequeath unto my lovinge friend Maior Thomas French of the Haywood in
the County of Herefr^ twentey shillings in gould to by a ring It'm I g^ive
and bequeath unto Mrs Marie Smyth Spinster daughter of Mr John Smyth
of the Cittie of Herefr* Mercer Twentey shillings in gould to by a ringe
XXU ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS.
It'm I giye and bequeath unto Fraancie Jones eoime to John Jones of the
Swan and Faloon in Herefr* my Godson five pounds It'm I give and be-
queath unto my Goddaughter Luoie Hodges Spinster daughter of Mr WiUlam
Hodges of Monington uppon Wye aboTes'd five pounds It'm I give and be-
queath unto Charles Tompson of Monington aforesaid the some of fire
pounds Item I give and bequeath unto Elizabeth Tompson his Wife the
some of five pounds Item I g^ye and bequeath unto my lovingo friend
Thomas Bennett of Chadnor Court in the County of Herefr' aforesaid twinty
shilling^ in gould to by a ring It'm I giue and bequeath unto John Bennett
his Ghrandsonne twinty shillings in gpould to by a rings It'm I give and be-
queathe unto Mrs Gteaoe Clerke of Wellington in the said County of Herefr^
Twinty shillings in g^uld to by aringe It'm I give and bequeath to the
poore where I am buried Tenn pounds and to that learned Minister that
shall preach my funerall Sermon Twenty shillings in gold And further my
Will and mind is And I doe hearby declare and soe order direct and appoint
that my Executrize hereafter named doe see and take care that I bee buried
in the Church but not in the night and take speciall order and care that I
have avery handsome and neate statue made by some able and well ex-
perienced Artist in that p'ticular on the side of the Wall iust over the place
where I lye interred with an epigram written in golde letters in marble
underneath according to his discrec'on And alsoe very faire stone layd over
mee with a subscription thereon exactly cutt in fsire letters both of my name
age and day and years of my death And for the doing and making thereof
in sorte aforesaid I leave and allowe twenty pounds And alsoe I leave and
allowe fortie pounds more for my buriall and funerall expenses and other
things p'tinent thereunto And of this my last Will and Testament I do
hereby nominate appoint ordaine and make my deare and faitftill friend Mrs
Frannces Fosbroke of Monington uppon Wye aforesaid in the said County of
Herefr' Widdowe to be my onlie and sole ExecutrixCj To whom I g^ve and be-
queath the residue and remaind'r of all and singular my goods and chattels
whatsoever requiringe and charg^inge her in the name of God and as shee will
answere before the High Judge Christ that shee doe see and take care that
this my Will be faithfully and dilligently fdllfiUed in every p'ticuler and
gpiiefts and legacies duely and truly paid to the severall legatees and persons
hereinbefore named as my trust is in her reposed And I doe allow unto my
said Executrix the tyme and space of one yeare and a day to pay and satiifie
the severall legacies above menooned from the day of my decease.
Francis Pbbbott.
Memorand that the day and yeare within written the within named Francis
Perrott did signs scale and publish the within written for and as his last
Will and Testament in the p'sence of — Eichard Lyde--John Jones — Henxy
Maston^Bobt. Claiyton— Thos. PowelL
Probatum fuit hiigusmodi testamentum apud osdes Exonien in le Strand in
Com Midds Coram Petro Lane in Artibus Mag^o Surrogate venerabilis et
Egregi viri dni Millini Mericke militia legum Doctoris Curie Prerogative
Cantuariensis Magri Custodis sive Comissarii Legitime Constituti vicesimo
Octavo die Mensis Aprilis Anno Dni Millesimo Sexcentesimo Sexagesimo
Octavo Juramento Francisca Fosbroke Executricis in higusmodi Testamento
nominat Cui Concessa fuit Administraco omnium et singulorum bonomm
ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS. xxiii
jnrinni et creditoram dicti defonoti de bene et fideliter AdminiBtrad eadem
ad Sancta Dei E^an^ellia Jurat Lata privis Sententia...Diffinitiva pro Talore
et yaliditate higasmodi T68taixienti...pat actio curis tenet.
The original Will is ingrossed on Parcbment— with a Seal in black wax
much broken, only the three pears (with a crescent for difference) perfect.
Enough broken wax above the pears for a Chief with a demi lion and enongh
stain of wax on the parchment for a crest, but from the shape and appearance
of the wax that remains there does not appear to have been a Crest.
Note. — It is stated in the Arch, Canib., at the passage referred to, that
nothing was known of this Francis. This is not correct. He was, according
to the epitaph on his monument, a distinguished sailor, who foaght for Venice
against the Turks. He died 24 Oct., 1667, aged 48. His monument is in
the Church of Monington on Wye.
"VALOE BENEFIC IN WALLIA."
BmtracUdfrom Harl, MS. 128, /. 27-4i.
(COMMUNICATBD BY J. TOUDB W. LLOYD, ESQ.)
KAEENEUAN EECEYTES.
KoBTHWALLiA. Com' EaemVan'. — B'torie et decime Ac. infra Offio' Joh'ie
Osborne Auditor* Joh'is Salisbury mllitis Beceptor*.
NOBTHWALLIA.
Comitat' Kaem'van'. — Valor o'i'm et sing'lare E'tor* Ecd'ar* x'ar* oblac'on'
penc' porc'on' ac al' consi'liu' in Com' pred' on'at in Bevenc' Beg* ma'te cum
vniu' s's et singulis suis deducc'on' et Bepris' p'ut' inferius p'ticl' p' infra
offic* Joh'ms Osborne Auditor' & Joh'nis Salysbury mi'ss Beceptor*.
Viz' — Terr* et possession' nup' Monaster* de Conweye. — B'toria de Eglois
ros in tenur* Hugon' Pulleston p' annu' xvi^jZi. yjs. Yujd, B'toria de Conweye
in tenur* Will'is Holland per annu' yjU, B'toria de Vaughe in tenur* Bici
Price per annu' idiili. 73s. vi^jd. B'toria de llanpadricke in tenur* d'c'i Bici
p' annu' xiijli. vj«. vi^d. — ]jli, Inde
Procurac' solut' Arohi'no Angles' exeun' de d'c'ie r'tor^s de Vaughe et
Uanpatrioke p' annu' v«. Stipend' CapeUan' celebran' in d'c'a Eccl'ia de
Eglois rosser c«. — cys.
Et reman' xlvli. xy«.
Terr' et possession' nup' Mon'rii de Bardezey. — B'toria de Aberdaron' in
tenur" Bici Bodie per annu' xY^i. xi^s. ii\jd. Inde
Be's'd' ixli. xvi^'<. Yigd. — Stipend' Ynius Capellan' diuina celebr' in eccl'ia
de Vlf u'daron in p'och' de Aberdaron per annu' cyj«. vi^'d. P'cur* exeun'
de d'c'a B'toria Ep'o Bangor* p' annu' xij<.— cxYi\j<. Yi^d.
P'petua penc' annuatim solut' Ep'o Bangor' exeun' de om'ib' d'c'o lg«.
d'c'i nup' mon'rii ii\j li.
Et reman' dare p' annu' cxii^'f. Yi\jd.
ffirm' Capell' de Bryncroes in tenur* Bici Bodye & Thome Joh'nee p' annu'
Y\){t. xi^s. ugd. Inde
XXIV ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS.
Stipend' vinnfl Capellani di'a oelebran' in ead'm per annu' c$. p'cur' inde
ezeun' p' anna' Ep'o Bangor ijs. \jd. — dj's. ^d.
Et rem' clare y<. ijd.
&Tm* Capell' de Tedwellioke p' a'm zxxiijs. iiijd. et Nantgu'nadle per
annu' vjli. xiys. iiijd. in tenur* Bici Dalton p' annu' — viijli. vjs. viijd. Inde
Stipend' unius Capellan' celebran' di'n per anna' cs. p'cur' exeun' de
d*c'a Capella Ep'o Bangor* p' annu* y«. vjd.^-cij«. yjd.
Et rem* clare lziiiJ3. ijd.
Parcel!' possession' Colleif' Cantar* &c. in p'dict* Com' Kaern'van.
Decim' in Glothaith in Com' p'dict'. — Decima garbare bladore et granore
ou' Buis pertin* vniu'ss' in villa de Glothaithe in p'och' de Eglois rosse dimiss'
ad firm' Thome Mosden p' Reill li\js. iiijd.
S'ma to'lis p'miss' in Com' p'd'to iiii'^vZi. yj«. viijd.
Bepriss'nt supra p'tic'l'r patet zxvli. viijs. iiijd.
Et rem' clare lixli. zvi^js. iiijd.
Cantar' cam S'toria de Uanyestin cu' capell' de llanviangell' & llangoid
insimnl dimiss' quar' reUl non diuiditur.
Cantar' S'c'e Katherine in Eccl'ia Cathedral' de Bangor' in com' Eaem'Yau
p'd'. — ffirm' totius Cantar' in Ecdla Cathedral' de Bangor' ac totius r'tor'
de Uanyestin' cum Capell' de llanviangel' et llangoid in Com' Angless' dimiss'
Lodowioo laund' per Indentur' reddend' inde per annu' zvi\]li. zi». yujd.
Inde
B'pris' viz. In red's resolut' Ep'o Bangor' per annu' iijjd. Sallar* cu' Sti-
pend' Tnius Capellan' celebran' in eccl'ia de Uanyestin et CapeUa de Uanvi-
angeU & llangoid p' a'm vi\)7i. — viljli. igd.
Et reman' xli. xvjs. yi^'d.
ANGLESEY BECETTES.
Com' Anglesey viz' Sector' Decim' &c. Infra Offic' Joh'is Osborne Audi-
toris Joh'is Salysbury mi'ts Becept'e.
Nobthwall'. Com' Angless'. — Valor o'im' et singlaru' r'tor* Eccliare
Decim' oblacionu' penc' pore' ac al' consiliu' in Com' pred' onerat in Beven'
Begit' ma'te cu' om'ib' et singl' suis deducc'oib' et Bep'ss' p'ut inferius
p'tic'larit' patet. Infra offic' Joh'is Osbom Auditor & Joh'is Salysbury miU-
tis Becept'.
Terre et possession' nup' 'porat' de Penmon' in Com' pred'. — B'toria de
Penmon' in tenur' D'ne Jane Griffith per annu' cs. vrgd. Inde
Stipend' sive Salar' vni' cap'ni ib'm d'n'a oelebr' per annu' zl«. P'curat'
et Synodal' sol' Ep'o Bangor' per annu' xu. P'curat' et Synodal' sol'
Arch'no Angles pa'm vi\js. iigd. — lzyi\js.
Et rem' clare zzzij«. yi\jd.
B'toria de llandona in tenor' die' Jane Griffith p' annu' v\jli. xm. Inde
P'curac' et Synodal' sol' Ep'o Bangor* p' annu' iijs. iiijd. P'ourac' et Syno-
dal' sol' Arch'no Angless' per annu' zzd — ys,
Et rem' dare Tijli, ▼#.
Eccl'ia de penrhos in tenur* D'ne Jane Griffith p' annu' yiijli, zig«. ii^d.
Inde
P'curac' et Synodal' sol' Ep'o Bangor' p' a'm vjs. yi^d. Pcnrac' et Syno-
dal' sol' Arch'no Angless' vs. xd. — zijs. vjd.
Et rem' clare vi\j2i. zd.
ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS. XXV
Ecd'ia de Bodewred in tena' D'ne Jane Gryffifche p' annu' v^js. vi^d.
P'curao' Ep'o Bangor* exeun' p' annu' xxd. Et Arch'no Angles' p' anna'
xvd. — \j«. jgd.
Et rem' clore ii\j«. ixd.
Eool'ia S'te Eatherine de Bangenyngorith in tenor' Thome Bolkeley p'
anna' yjli. laijs. iigd. Inde
Stipend' vnius Cap'm EccPia p'd' celebran' p' anna' xlyja. P'carac' de diet'
eccl'ia exean' Ep'o Bangor' p' anna' xxigji. iiyd. P'carac'ona' sol' Arch'no
Angles' p' anna' viys. iiyd.— Ixxviys. ii^jd.
Et rem' dar* ly«.
Eod'ia de llangwillock in tenor* Bid Bolkeley milit' p' anno' ula, Inde
P'carac' exeont Ep'o Bangor* p' anno' y«. vjd. P'carac* exeont Arch'no
Angles* p' anno' xvd. — igs. ixd.
Et rem' dare xxrvjs. i\jd.
S'ma to'lis p'miss' in Com' p'd' xxxli. vs.
Bepris' at sop' p'tic'lar' p' vujli. x«. xd.
Et sit rem' dare xxjii. xii\j«. yd.
Terr* tent' dedm' oblac'o'es insimoll' dimis* qoo' Beddit' non dem'dit*. —
Eccl ia Collegiat' de Eaercoby al's hoUyhedd pred' in Com' Angles' ffirm'
o'im* terr* ten'to' dedm* oblac'o'im' et al' p' fie' qoo' co' q' d'c'e Eod'ie Col-
legiat' p'f ment' sine spectant' dimiss' Will'mo lewes Armigero p' Indentor'
Redd' inde vltra xx\js. xd. solot' Ep'o Bangor' et yj«. \jd. solot' Arch'io Angles'
p' anno' xlviyii. xxd. Inde
Stipend' et Salar' Carat'. — Stipend' Will' mi EUys apponct' ad cor* obs'o-
and' infra ecd'iam de Landycare nop' incomben' apod Bewmarres' p' anno'
yjli. Stipend' Owon Hoghs nop' Incomben* Cantar* voc' Gyles Chaontrye
infra Eocl'iam de Clynok Tavre' mo'o apponctoat' ad offlc' in Cor* annoar*
infra ecd'iam de Bodedaro' ap'd Holyhead p' anna' vjli. Stipend' Henrici
Watkins apponct' ad cor' obs'oand' infra ecd'iam de Boderoke apod Holly-
hed p' anno' Yjli, Stipend' Will'i ap' Bob'to mo'o vicar* de Hollyhed' in aog-
men' Salar* s' p' anno' cs. — xxnjU.
Et rem' dare xxvU, xxd.
MERIONETH BECEYTES.
Com' Merioneth' viz' Bector' et Decim' &c' Infra Offic' Joh'is Osborne
Aoditoris Joh'is Salysboiy mi'ts Beceptoris.
Nobthwall'. Comitat' Meryonneth'. — Valor o'i'm et sing'lare B'toriar'
Eccl'iar' decim' oblac' penc' pore' ao al' consimili' in Com* p'd'c'o on' at in
Beven' Begie ma'te co' om'ibus et sing'Hs sols dedocc'oiV et Beps's p'ot
inferi' p'tic'lar* p' Infra offic'm Joh'is Osborne aoditoris & Joh'is Salysbory
Militis Beceptoris.
Teire et possession' nop' mon' de Eymmer'. — B'toria de Uanolltyd in tenor*
Joh'is Powys armigeri p' ann' cxiy«. ii^jd. Inde
Stipend' vnios Cap'ni cdebr' in d'ta r'toria p* anno' ca. Pcorac' inde
solot' ep'o Bangor' p'anno' y«. Visitat' triennal' sol' d'c'o Ep'o ad ^'«. vivjd.
ou' aodderit hie allo't iox'a rat* i^s. ijd. ob. dd. q.— dig*, ^d. ob. dd. qo.
Et rem' dar' ixs. jd. qo. ed.
B'toria de Uanegryn' in tenor' Joh'is Fowes per ann' xigli. idijs, ii^d. Inde
Stipend' Capellan' ib'm celebr' p' anno' cvj«. vigd. P'carac' Ep'o Bangor*
4th rkr. vol. t. d
KXvi OKIGINAL DOCUMENTS.
p* ann' x«. Viaitat' triennal* sol' ep'o ad y]«. v^jd. p' a'm cu* acdd'it hie
allot' iuxta rat' ijs. \j<i. ob. dd. qu.— cicviijs. zd. ob. dd. q.
Et rem' dare y\jli. xiigA. rd, q'a ed.
B'toria de llan7agbrethe in tenor' Joh'niB Powes per annu' vjli. zviy«. iiijd.
Inde
Stipend' capellan' d'c*a celebr' ib'm per ann* c«. Fcarac' sol* Ep'o Bangor*
p' a'm x«. Viflitat' Triennal' sol' d'c'o ep'o ad vj«. vi\jd. per ann* cu' aodd'it
hie tame' allot' iuz' rat' ijs. ijd, ob. qu. — czij<. ijd. ob. qu.
Et rem' dare zx^s. jd. q'a.
S'ma to'lis p'miss* in Com' pred' zzvjZi. v«.
Eep*8s ut sap'iuB p'tic'laf pat' xvjli. xv«. iiijd.
Et reman* dare udi. izs. viyd.
DENBIGHE EECEYTES.
Com' Denbighe viz' Bector* et Dedm' &o. Infra Offic' Johls Osborne Aadi-
toris Joh'is Saljsbury mt's Beeeptoris.
Northwall' . Comitat' Denbigh' . — Valor o' im' & sin g*lar' Bector' Eed'iar'
z'ar' Oblacion* Pencion* porcion' ac al* consir in Com' pred' on'at' in Bevens'
Begie Ma'te cum vninersis & singulis suis Deduceion' & repriss' p'at inferiud
p'tic'lar' p' Infra Offio' Joh'is Osborne Aud' et Joh'is Salysbury mi'ts Becept'.
Terr' <& Possession' nap' Monaster' de vala Cruc's. — Beetor* de Chirke in
tenur' Joh'is Edwards p' annu' zli. Beetoi' de Wrezhame in tennr* Will'mi
Pyckeringe p' annu' tli, Bector' de Bywabon' in tenur' d'c'i "Will'mi p' annu'
zxizli. zyjs. vi^jd. Bectoi' de llangoUen' in tenur' d'c'i Will'mi p' annu'
zzli. Yjs. vi^jd. Capell' de llansanfrayde in tenur' d'c'i Will'mi p' annu' ¥\jli.
ziij«. iigd. — czviili. zvjs. yi^d. Inde
Stipend' vnius presbiter* diuina celebran' in d'c'a Capella de Uansafrayde
p' annu' cs, ffeod' Joh'nis Elton' p'curatore eccl'ie de Bywabon' p' sigillum
Com' diet' p'tin' vit' f de pTto ejusd' Eccl'ie An' p'cipiend' vijli. xb.
Capell' de llandesilio in tenur' d'c'i Will'i F^keringe p' annu' zijH. ijs. iigd.
Inde
Stipend' Capellan' diuina celebran' in d'c'a Capell' per annu' cs.
Et reman' dare v\jli. ^s. ii\jd.
Capell' de Bryneglois in tenur' d'c'i Will'i p' annu' viyli. ij«. iiyd. Inde
Stipend' vnius Capellan' d'na celebran' in d'c'a Capell' p' annu' C5.
Et reman' dare Izxjs. iiijd.
S'ma to'lis premiss' in Com' pred' czzzviij li. x«. iiyd.
Bepris' p'ut sup'ius p'tic'l'arit' p' zvy K. Bepris* etiain p' p'curac' & lectuar'
sol' Ep's Assaven' tam' ez'nt Bector' de vaugh' & Eglois ros in Com' Caer-
nervan' q'am ez'nt Bector' de llanverne in Com' Mountgom'y ac ez'nt Bector*
de Chirke Wrezham Bwabon Uangollen llansanfroyd & Bryngloys in pred'
Com' Denbigh' p' annu' zxjlt. viij«. ob. — ^zzzviyZi. vi\j«. ob.
Et reman' cli. ijs. iyd. ob.
Terr' cu' z'is insimull' dimis' quar' Bedd' non diuidunt.— Colleg' Sc'i Petri
infra Vill' de Buthyn.
Terr' & tenem' z'nt & oblac' Colleg' pred' p't'm dimittunt ad ffirm' Bob'to
Salysbury Armig' p' Beddis' xzzixZi. ziij«. iiyd. Inde
Stipend' Thome Hughes nup' stipend' in Ecoria Collegiat' S'c'i Petri in
Buthyn in Com' Denbigh mode appucctuat' adOffic' Cur' ib'm p' annu' viijW.
ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS. XXvii
Stipend' BoVti ap Mad* nup' altHus stipend' d'c' Eccl'ie ooUegiat' de Buthyn
modo appunct* ad Offic* Cur* in Eocria de Uanr'nth' p* annu* c». Bedd' Beso-
lut' Ep*o & Arch' Bangoren' exeun' de college p'd* v». vd.— xiijZi. va. vd.
Et rem' zxvjli, vy«. ^gd.
FLYNTB EECEYTES.
Com* fflynt viz' Eector* & Decim' et' Infra Offic' Joh'is Osborne Auditoris
Joh'is Salysbury mi'ts Beceptoris.
NoBTHWALLiA. Com' fflynt.— ValoF o'i'm et singular' B'toriar* Eccl'iar*
decim' oblac'on' penc' porc'onu' ao al' consil' in Com' p'd' on'at inter revenc'
Begie ma'te cum om'ibus et singulis sals deducc'ou' et Bepris' p'nt inferius
p'tic'lariter p' Infra Offio' Joh'ia Osborn Auditor* & Joh'is Salysbury mi't's
Eecept'.
Terr* et possession* nup' Monaster* de Basing^erke in Com' p'd*.— ffirm'
decim' ville de Ou'bearington* et Netherbearington in tenur' Joh'is Penante
per annu' xl».
ffirm' Decimar' in vUV de lisle Bagill* in tenur* d*c'i Joh'nis p' annu' xi\j».
* • • • «
ffirm' de Hollywell* in tenur* Will'mi Aldersey Griff* ap Hugh et Badi Sneyd
per annu* xxli. ixs. vi\jd.
P'cell* nup' Mon'rii de Haughmoun' in Com' Salop'.— B'toria de Haugham
in tenure Thomes Samner mi't's per annu' xiij». iiyd. fflrm' x'ar' et al' p'fi-
cuor' in poch' de Haumd' Dauid ap Bob't Wetton Capell' et Griffino Hynton
per annu' zxiiijH. — zxiiijli. xi\j«. iiyd. Inde
Perpet' peno* Ep*i Coven* et Litchfeld r\j». yd. ob. q.
Et rem* zziiylt. xiijd. q.
S*ma to*lis p'miss* in com* p*d* xlvyli. xvja. iigd.
Bepriss' prout sup'ius p' xgs. \jd. ob. q'a.
Et rem' clare xlv\j li. iiys. jd. q'a.
MONTGOMEBE BECEYTES.
Com* Mountgomery* viz* Bector et decim xt* Infra Offic' Joh'is Osborne
Auditoris Joh*is Salysbury M*t's Beceptoris.
Nobthwall'. Valor o*i*m et sing*lar* Bector* EccPiar* decim* Oblac* penc*
Pore* ac al' consiliu* in com* p*d* onerat in Beven* Begie ma*te cum o*ib* et
sing'lis suis deduce* & Bepris* p*ut inferius p*tic*l* p' Infra officiu' Joh'is
Osborne Audit' & Joh'is Salysburye milit* Beceptoris.
P'cell* possess* nup' Monaster' de Uanligan in Com* pred*. — Bector* de llan-
veme in tenur' Mauricij Knevett p* annu* viljli. xv«. iiyd.
Bector* de llanhu*an in tenur* Nich*o Pnrcell p* annu* iiyK. xiy<. iiyd.
Fcell* possess* nup* Monaster* de Strata m*c6ir. — Bector de Beriw in tenur'
Nich'o Purcell* p* annu* ixZi.
Bector de Basses in tenur* Tho. ap lenan lloyd p' annu* iiyli.
P*cell* nup* Prior de Chirbury in Com* Salopp*. — Annuo penc*o*e sine pore*
de Bector de Mountgom'y p* annu* xxxa. Annuo penc* slue pore* exeu' de
x'is hopton ex'ce possess* de Comehire p* annu* viy «. Capell* de Churchstock
in tenur* Bici Powell p* annu* xxjli. x«. — xxiyli. viya. Inde
Stipend* vnius Cap'ni celebran' in d'c'a Capell* p* annu* cvj«. viijd.
Et rem' clar' xviylt. xvjd.
XXVUl ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS.
Capell* de fforden in tenur' Bioi Powell p' anna' xi\jli. xii^<. sjd. Inde
Stipend' vnios CapeUan' ib'm d'ia celebran' p' annn' cyjs. yi^d.
Et reman* clar* vigli. yi^A. i^d.
Bector' de Sneyd' in tenur* Joh'niB Knottesford p' anna' xls. Inde
Stipend' vnius Cap'ni d'ia celebran' in d'o'a capell' p' anna' zb.
Et sic reman' n'L
P'oell' poBsees' nap' Monaster' de Strata fflorida in Com' Cardigan'. — ^B'to-
ria de Uangerike in tenar' d'ne Dorothee Devoroz p' anna' xlt.
S'ma to'lifl p'miss' in Com' pred' Ixzrlt. xjs. v^jd.
Bepria' p'at sap'ias p'ticT p' z\jlt. zi^s. iiigd.
Et reman' dare lz\j li. zviij*. i^d.
S'ma to'lis valoriB Eectoriar' penc' & pore' in Soathwall' et North Wall p'
anna' mcczUjli. zii^'d. vlt'a yjli. zi\j«. iigd. p' B'toria de Uandevaston in Com*
Cam'den in Bend' poet mortem.
Bepris' annaal' de p'miss' exean' oczvli. zv^s. i\jd. ob.
Et rem' clare p' anna mzzyjli. i\ja. zd. ob. vlt'm Bee'd*.
S'm' Bol' To'lis manor* & terre & ten'ts ca' B'torys &, p'nus dimiss' in Soath-
wallia & Korthwallia p' ann' p' Commission Hapands' czvli. Ti^js. zd. Inde
in rep's Izizli. y«. yjd.
Et Bern' cccczlvjli. yi«. ii\jd.
VALOE BENEFIT IN WALLIA.
Earl. M8, No. 128, ff. 1-28.
SOUTH WALES.
Cabbkasdbn Bbcsttbs.
Com' Carmarden*. — Viz' Bector* et decim' &c, infra Offic* Joh'is Osborne
Auditoris Will'mi Wightman Becept'.
Southwall' Nobthwall'. — Liber Bectoriara' et decurran' &c. in South-
wall & Northwall'. In offic' Joh'is Osborne Aaditoris.
Southwall'.
Com' Caerm*then' infra dioc' Minister^ .1 — Valor' omnia' et sing'lar* B'toriar*
Eool'iar' z' oblac'ona* penc'ona' port'ona' ac al' consilia' Com' p'd' on'at int'
Beven' Begie Ma'ts en' om'ibas et eing'lis suis deducc'oib' et Beprise' p'ut
inferias p'ticalariter p' infra Offic' Jo'his Osborne Aaditoris et Will'mi Wight-
man Beceptor'.
Talley naper Monasteriu'. — B'toria de Lannetroi' in tenara Thome Owill'm
assign' Jankyn Lloide per ann' viijli. Inde
Stipend' sacerdote celebrant' ib'm p' an' vjli,
B'toria de Pembran' & Uannegwed vaare in tenara Thome Jones mil's p'
anna' zzviijli. zi^js. ii^d.
B'toria de Talley in tenara eiasd' Thome Jones p' anna' zi^'li. vj<. vi^d.
B'toria de llandilovaare in tenara sap' Thome Jones Milit' p' anna' zz^li.
ymjs, iiijd. — czvZi. vji, vi^'d. Inde
B'toria de Coanwellgaio ca' Capella de Llansawell in tenar* Thome I>'d
ap Howell assign' Eliz' Basset p' ann' zlyjli. ZLg«. ii^'d.
Procar' solut' Griffino Leason ezean' t'm de d'c'is ii^jor B'toriar' ap'm de
1 Menevcn' (?).
ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS. XXIX
B'tx>]ia de Barwick et Uangoinior' in Com' Cardigan p' ann' Ijs. id, q' Kep's
xyZi. xj». xd. — Stipend' Curat* de Talley p* ann' yjli. — ^viijZi. xjs. xd.
P'tentatori & capitTs eccl'ie cathednU.' Meneven' Ep'o d'o'a de possessro-
nHi)* d'c'e nup* mon'rie p' ann* iigli.
Et rem^ clare p' ann' c\jlt. xii^s. xd. q'.
B'toria de llansademe com oapella de Uan'rda in t^nnr* Thome Jones niilit'
p' anno xvW. ag». irjd.
B'toria de llannyhangeld' Ablethe iii tennr* Griffith ap Henzy Vanghan
per anna' xi^jZi. vjs. vi^jd.
Bes'd*. — B'toria de Uandevaston in tenor' Joh'is D'd d'ici p' anna' yjli,
xi\j«. m^d, q'.
Conoed' eid' Joh'i D'd ad term' vite & absq' aliquo inde reddend*.
Carm'then' nap' Friorat' Eccl'ia S'ci Mioh'is de Orroth in tenar' Or' Ley-
son p' ann' xxlt.
Eccl'ia in Aba'ant oa' capella de Conwellagio in tenora Jenkyn lloyde p'
anna' xxxjli. vjs. ob. i^d.
Eccl'ia S'c'i Petri de Carm'then' ca' oapell' de Mano'gayne' llangaine et
Newchorche in tenar" Gr' Higgon p' anna' xlvig li. B'toria de Uan'mblethr'
in tenara Edward Manxell p' ann' xii^jZi. — cxvli. xyjs. ob. iyd.
Capell' de llandilo in tenara Joh'is Morgan p' ann. i^.
Stipend' sacerdotis celebrant' infra ecd'iam S'c'i Mich'is Giroth' p' ann'
▼jli. Stipend' sacerdotis celebrant' infra eocl'lam S'c'i Petri de Carm'den
p' ann' v^lt. Stipend' sacerdotis celebr* infra d'c'as tres capellas de Mano'-
gaine llangaine et Newcharche p' ann' ex. Stipend' sacerdotis celebran'
infra eccl'iam de Uanebethor' per ann' lx«. P'petaa pens' solat' Ep'o Mene-
ven' et Saco' f nappam' exean' de om'ib' x'mis sap'a p' anna' xls. Procarat'
et sinodal' sol' Ardiidecano Carm' den' exean' de s'd' B'toriis eccl'is et capeU'
p' ann' xlvi^j^. vi\jd. — txyU, vig». viyd.
Q' alls'or sap'ios int' possess' Mon'rii de Talley.
Et rem' clare p' ann' iii^^xZi. vuis,
Whitlande nap' Monasteria'. — Decim' oblac'ona' in p'ochia de Uanwedy
et Uanwedo cu' aliis in tenor* Joh'nis Yaogh'n milit' p' ann' c^^.
Decime in Uanwenock in tenor' d'c'i Joh'nis Yaoghan milit' p' ann'cxs. iTJd.
Tertia pars decimar' ib'm in tenor* sop' Joh'nis yaog*n Milit' p' ann' x«. i^d.
Decime in Blanwethos per ann' ^s. — xzvZi. xi^x. jd. Inde
B'toria de llanhangell Ab'towey ca' capella de Uantewe in tenora d'c'i
Joh'is Yaogh'n Milit' p' ann' xi\js.
B'toria de Pentareck in tenora Jev'n lloide ap Bothero'the et Owen ap
John per ann' viyZi. xvs. iii^d.
Stipend' sacerdotis celebran' infira B'tor'am de llanhihangell Ab'towey per
ann' iigZt. Indempnit' solot' p' scrotator' S'c'i D'd exu' possess' d'c'i nop'
monasterli per ann' xx\js. — c|j«.
Et rem' xxU. rjs.jd,
Terr' Cant'.^Penc' exeun' de B'torie sine p^bend' Uandewey xx«. Prefleche
et Bettos xxs. — Us.
S'ma to'lis o'nis p'miss' in com' p'd' Carm'then' viz' d'ne Fobs* ooii\j"x7Zi.
xii\js. vi^'d. Bep' inde xlixZi. \j«. vjd. q'.
Et rem' viz' ccxlvZi. xig». jd. q' olt' rem*,
fi'tor' co' al' terr' in simol dimiss' qoar' redd' non dividontor.
Kydwelly nup' Prioratus. Com' Carm'then'.— Scitos p'd' nop' Priorat' cum
XXX ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS.
B'tor' iVm dimiss' D'd Vangh'n & Joh'ni Morgan p' annual* redd' zzxli. ^s,
yiiid, S*ma xxzZi. yjs. vijjd.
Oaad'on' yisitar' triemial' solut' Ep'o S*o'i David ad zk. ex' qnorit omni
Bolabil' idt, ext\
Somma &c. xrxli. yjs. vi^'d. BeprU' xls.
Bern' zzvi^li. yj<. vi\jd.
CARDIGAN EECETTES.
Com' Cardigan viz' rector' et decim' &o. — Joh'is Osborne Aaditoris. Will'-
mi Wightman Beceptoria.
SouTHWALLiA. Comitat' Cardigan' infra dioc' Meneven'. — Valor' om' et
sing'lar' Sector' Eccl'iar' decimar' oblac' penoion' porcion' ac alior' consil'm
in com' predict' on'at inter reven' Regie Mat' cum omnibns et repria' p*at
inferius p'tic'Iarit' p' infra offic' Joh'is Osborne Aaditoris et Will'mi Wight-
man Receptoris.
Yidel't p'cell possossiona' nup' Monaster^ de Talley in com' Kar'merden
ffirma terr' &c,
Rectoria de Barwike in tennr* Edward ap Hoell & vl'tus resid' p'tinen'
nnp' p' erat' de Cardigan' p' annu' vi^lt. ezt.
Rectoria de llangoidmore in tenur' Thome Brouyn p' ann' Izvjs. vi^jd.
Colleg' de Uanthecoibrevee'. — Penc' ezeun' de Rector' de Uangeby p' ann'
zzs. ezt.
Penc' ezeun' de Rector* de Heywode p' ann' zzvj<. vi^d.
Penc' ezean' de Rector* de Uanbemheden p' ann' xzvjs. vigd. ezt.
Penc' ezeun' de Rector* de llanvyharon p' annu' zz<. ezt.
Penc' ezeun* de Rector* de Blaneporth* p* ann* xzyjs. vi^d.
Penc' ezeun* de Rector* de lltindynell al* capell' p' ann' zzvj«. vigd. ezt.
Penc' ezeun' de Rector* Lylkeunon per ann' zls.
Penc* ezeun' de Rector* de llanvenock per ann* zls.
Penc' ezeun* de Rector* de Tresgaron* p* ann' zzs.
Penc* ezeun* de Rector* de Lscard' per ann' zb.
S'ma to'lis premiss* in Com* predict* zzvli. zi^s. iigd.
To*li8 yaloris R*tor* penc* et pore' in Com' Cardigan' p' ann' zzvlt. joijs.
iiyd. Reso* null* rem* n*.
D'mss' terr' cum Rector' et decime insimul' diuiss* quar* Redd* non diui-
duntur.
Monaster* de vala Royal* in Com' Cestr*. — ^Man*ii cu* Capell' & R'torijjs de
lampademe raure cu' al' dimi'tit' inter D'm'ss* teir* & tenemen* Thome Jones
Milit' p' annual' Redd* czz/i.
Com' Cardigan'. — Strataflorid' nup* Monaster*. — Soit p*d*c'i nup' Monaster'
cu* capell' de Strataflorid' cu' om'ib' terr' & possession' eid'm nup* mo*rd'
p'tinen* dimittit* d'ne deneu' vid' p' annual' Redd' qjZi. vi\J3. vi^jd.
Com' Cardigan'. Cantar'. — Lib'a Capell' de Mounte Lecheryd cum om'ib'
decim* eid*m p't'm dimiss' Thome Sydbothome p' Redd* c».
Terr' nup' Will'i Cavendyshe Milit' flSrm' scitus nup' Priorat' SteDe sine
R'tor* de Cardigan* cu* om*ib' p' decimi' oblae'o'ib' & emolument' quibuscu'q*
eid'm Stell' sine R'tor* p*t'm dimiss' Joh'ni Powell p' redd' zzzi^M. vjs. riyd.
S'ma to'lis cclizli. zy«. ii^d. Inde
Stipend' Curat' celebran' infra Eccl'iam de Strataflorid' p'cell' nup' monas-
ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS. XXXI
ter* de Strataflorid' p' annu' cvj«. viijd. Fcurat' & Sinod* aolut* Archi'no
Cardigan' exun' possession* d'c'i Monaster* p' ann* vs. ixd.— cx^'<. vd.
S*ma to'lis valoria Manor* & Beet' annex* in Com' Cardigan
p' ann* cclixli. vs. iiijd. Bep'r* crljs. v<i.
Et rem* ccliigli. \J5. xjd.
RiDNOE BECEYTES.
Com* Badnor* viz' Bector* & decim* z* inira offic* Joh*iB Osborne Aaditoris
'Will*m Wightman Beceptoris.
SoTTTHWAiiLiA. Comitat* Badnor* infira dioc* Meneven* et Hereff*. — Valor*
om'i et 8ing*lar* Bectoriar' Eccl'iar* decimar* oblao'ona' penc'onu* porc*ona'
ac al' consi'liu* in Com* predict* on'at inter Beven* Begie Mat'is cum om'ibos
& sing'Iis suis deducc*on et Bepris, proat inferius p*ticalarit* infra offic* Joh*ia
Osborne et Will'mi Wightman.
Viz' Malvern Maior nup* Monasterin* Beotor* de Knighton & Stowe in
tenur* Jacobi ap Mered* p' ann* vi\jli. xijjs. iiyd. Inde
Begard' die ffirm' ex convene' Indontur* p* ann* xiij<. ii^d.
Et rem* viijli,
Wygmor* nap* Monasteria*.— Pore* decimar* in Oaerkeynsham et Neither
Keynsham in tenura Bob'ti Coterell per ann' Ixvjs. vi\jd.
Pencion* exeun* de Bectoria de Sjiyll p' ann* iijs.
Pore* decimar* in Norton & Bullibroke in tenor* Waltere ap Thomaa &
Petri lloyd p* anna* livj«. iigd.
Penc* exenn* de Vicar* de Prestende p* ann* cau' q* cent' Joh*m Bradshaw
8en*ar* et hered' &c.
S'ma to'lis premiss* in Com* pred' xii^li. xvj<. iiijd.
Bepris* p'at sap'ios p*ticalarit* p* xi:\j«. uijd.
Et reman* xivU. igs.
Com* Badnor*. — P*ceU' possess' nap' Mon'rii de Wigmore in Com* Here-
ford*, ffirm* om* x'ar garbare in Combe in Com' Heref infra B'm'm de Prest-
end in tenar* Bic'i Gwin d'ici et Bic' gitto per ann' cas'q* vendite Joh'm
Bradshawe sen* Ar* hered* Assig* s*nupp*m.
ffirm* o*im* x*are gran* et feni* ac o*im' al' x'are apud le Nash et Brompton
in Com* Heref p*tin* B'torie' de Prestmear' et existen* in p'och' de Prestend
in tenor* Will*i Bode de Pembrig* in Com* Heref p* anno* cau' q' con* at
sop'a.
ffirm' x'are garb' de Haye al*s Heth in d'c'o Com' Badnor in p'och' de Prest-
end in tenur* Elizie Hales p* ann* cau* qu* con* ut sap*a.
ffirm* o*im* x*are gran* feni et al* gran' quor'cumq' cuiuscumq' gen'is fue-
rint in vill* de Wylly in Com* Heref pertin* Priorie de Prestend in d'c'o Com*
Heref in tenur* Thome ap Bice p* ann* cau* q* con* Joh'm Bradshawe et
hered*.
ffirm* x'are in Stokinge in d*c*o Com* Heref p'tinen* B'torie de Prestend
p*d' in tenur* Petri lloyd p* ann' cau' q* con* ut sup*a.
ffirm' X* in Stapleton et Bode in Com* Heref vnacu* x'is in Dyscote & x'is
in Prestend in Com* Badnor in tenura David Thomas p* ann* cau' q' con' ut
sap'a.
S'ma manior' terr' et ten't ou' Beet* &. x*mis annex* in Com* Badnor* p*
ann' null' ext'.
XXXn ORIGINAL DOCUMi*:NTS.
PENBROK EECETTES.
Com* Pembr' viz* Bector' et Dedm' &o, infra offio' Joh'is Osborne Audito-
lis WiU'mi Wig^btman Beceptoris. .
Soxtthwall'. Com' Pembr* infra dioc' Meneven' — Valor* o*im' et singular'
B'toriar* deoim* penc* et porcion* in Com' pred' on'ate inter Seven* Segie
Ma*ts* vnacu' sep'alib* b* dedacdon* & repris* p*at inferias p'ticTer p' infra
officia* Job'lB Osborne Auditoris et Will'mi Wigbtman Beceptoris.
Viz* Pill' nnp' Monaster*. — Penc* ezeun' de B'toria de Hoskarde p' ann*
TXXJ8. Yiiid, Penc* exenn* de B*toria de Hubston p* ann' i^s. iiyd. Penc'
ezean' de B'toria de Ganyston p' an' yjs. yvjd. Penc' ezeun' de B'toria de
Nolton p* an* i|j«. Penc*o ezeon' de B'toria de Pontaven' p' anna' vi^d.
B'toria de Nova Castra & Bupa anglice Newcastle & Botbe in tenur' Manri-
cij ap Cwey p' anna' zvli. B'toria de Stainton in tenara Margarete Griff* p'
anna' zzzy\jli. zvigs. zd. B'toria de Newmote in tenara WOl'mi Phylyppes
p' ann' ca, — ^lizlt. zizs. yd. Inde in
P'carat' solat' Arcb'nis Cardigan ezean' de possession' diet' nap' Monast'r^j
p' ann' zziij«.
Et rem' p' ann' Izvi^jli. zyjs. ^d.
Haverfordewest nap* prioratas.— Capell' de Cresewelle in tenara Julian
Barlo p' ann' vs,
B'toria de llamvin in tenara Will'mi ap Bese assignat Henrici Jones per
ann' z\j li.
Ecd'ia de lain'ston in tenur' die* Will* ap Bese p* ann* vjli.
Stipend* saoerdot' ib*m celebrant p* ann* cs.
Et rem* p' ann* xxs,
B*toria de Uanstadwell in tenara Juliani Barloo p* anna* zy^li.
Eccl'ia S*c*i Ismael de Harralston et Eccl*ia Thoma Becket in tenur* Job*is
Parrot Milit* p* annu' z\jli. Inde in
Stipend' duor' sacerdot' ib'm p* ann* izZi.
Et reman* p* ann* Izs. p'
B'toria de Dale in tenara Tbome Voyle p' annu' xZi. p'.
Bectoria de Banalton in tenara Pb'i Jermyn p' annu' li\js. iiigd. p*.
Eccl'ia b'te Marie de Haverfordeweet in tenur* Maior et Burgens* ib'm p*
ann' ^2i. zi\js. ii^d. Inde
Stipend* sacerdot* ib'm p' ann* yjZi.
Et reman* vltra p' ann* zi^c. iiijd.
B*toria de Camrose in tennra Arnold Buller p' ann* xvli.
B'toria de S*c*i Ismael de Bose in tenur* Besei Morgan p' ann' ziglt.
Eccl'ia 8*01 Martini de Hanforde in tenur* d*c*i Besei Morgan p* ann* cs.
S*c*i Dogmall* nup* Monaster*.— B'toria in Vill' S'c'i Dogmall' dimiss*
Joh'i Bradsbawe inter al' p' annu' zzli. Bectoria de Eylefore in tenur' d'c'i
Job'is Bradsbawe p' annu* vijli, vj«. vi\jd. B*toria de Barrill* in tenur* d'cH
Job'is Bradsbawe p' annu* uijli. zi\j<. iiigd. B*toria de Molegrave in tenur*
d*c'i Job*i8 p' annu' vjU, zi\js. ii^d. Bectoria de llangod* & S'c'i Micb'i in
tenur* d*c'i Jobis p' annu' vjli. zi^s. ii\jd. B'toria de ffisgard & Graunngis-
ton' in tenur* pred' Job'is p' annu* xli. vJ9. viijd. Capell' de Penkeyangbaa
in tenur* eiusd' Job'is p' annu' zzt«. Capell' de Nun'tgfwin Tbisparow &
Newton in tenura p'd' Job'is p* ann* v^li. yjs. vujd, B*toria de Manoglog
llandilo et llancolman in tenur* Antboni^' Lecbep*ann*vi\js. — ^Izziili.vs. Inde
Jtut Publishedy in SvOy doth, 128.
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FOURTH SERIES.— No, IV.
OCTOBER, 1870.
THE ANCIENT FOREST OF DEEEFOLD.
{Read hrfore the Woolhope Naturalista' Field Club.)
" * Now, goode men/ quod our Oste, ' herkneth me.
I smell a Loller in the wind,' qnod he.
*Abideth for Goddes digne passion,
For we shall have a predicacion ;
This LoUar heer wolde prechen ns somewhat.* " ^
The ancient Forest of Deerfold, or Darvold, as it is
now more commonly called, is situate in the northern
part of Herefordshire, between Aymestry and Lingen,
and between Wigmore and Shobden. It is chiefly con-
tained in the parish of Wigmore, but partly also in that
of Aymestry. It is not large in size, about 2,500 acres,
and consists of high ground, with one chief valley sloping
to the south-east. Its situation is extremely secluded,
and its scenery on the northern side, where it is boimded
by a steep descent to the plains beneath, is very fine.
The highest portion of the forest is a hill to the south,
and it is the highest ground in the district. Six other
counties may be seen from it, viz., Gloucestershire,
Worcestershire, Shropshire, Montgomery, Radnorshire,
and Brecon. The summit of this hill shows the remains
of a circular camp, and there are the traces of a ditch
which enclosed a much larger portion of the round top
of the hill. The inner circle is planted with a row of
Scotch firs, probably fifty years old.
^ Chancer, " The Schipmannes Prologne."
4th SEtt., VOL. I. 19
270 THE ANCIENT FOREST OF DEERFOLD.
The Forest of Deerfold with the adjoining chases of
Brindgewood, Prestwood, and Mochtree, formed a por-
tion of that large tract of woodland, then in Shropshire,
but now in the northern part of Herefordshire, in which
Edric, Earl oi Shrewsbury, "Edric Sylvaticus/'the fores-
ter, successfully mamtained the Saxon cause for some
years after the Norman conquest of England. Edric
subsequently swore allegiance to King William ; but
owing to some offence given to him by the king, he re-
volted between the years 1072 and 1085. Ralph de
Mortimer was deputed to reduce him, and having with
considerable difficulty succeeded in doing so, he was re-
waxded by WilUam with a large share of Edric's pos-
sessions.
At the time of the Domesday Survey (1085) the whole
district was little more than a wild chase, and was other-
wise wholly unproductive. "In his wastis terris excre-
verunt silvse in quibus iste Osbemus venationem exercet,
et inde habet quod capere potest, nil aliud." This Osbom
was Osbom Fitz Bicnard, the Lord of Richard s Castle
and Ludford, who was associated with Ralph de Mor-
timer in the overthrow of Earl Edric.
Wolves aboimded in these forests, and continued to do
so for two centuries later ; and the Himdred Rolls abound
in curious laws and customs which prevailed in them.
" Hugh de Mortimer, a Lord of Richard's Castle, on
the death of his step-father, William de StutevUle, in
1259, was an active partisan of Henry III in his wars
with the Barons, being temporarily deprived of his castle
by them ; and for his heroism at the battle of Evesham,
was granted the privilege of hunting the hare, the fox,
weasel, and wild cat in any of the royal forests of Shrop-
shire." — Rohinsoris " Castles of Herefordshire^' (p. 119).
For many a long year these imited forests formed
the hunting grounds of the Lords of Wigmore. Deer
abounded in them, and it is a fair presumption that the
Forest of Deerfold owes its name to the fact of the deep
narrow valleys on its western side, being favourable to
the formation of "Hayes." The "Haia so frequently
THE ANCIENT FOREST OF DEERFOLD. 271
mentioned as occurring among the sylvse in Domesday
were ambuscades, into which the game was driven by
beating the woods with horns and dogs, and which were
so fenced in at the sides and end as to prevent escape
when once the animals had entered.
" The dryrars thorowe the woodes went
For to reas the dear ;
Bomen bickarte nppone the bent
With their browd aras cleare.
'* Then the wyld thorowe the woodes went
On every side shear ;
Grea-hondes thorowe the greaves glent
For to kyll thear dear." (jOhevy Chase.)
The narrow valleys on the slopes of the forest near
Lingen were admirably adapted for .this purpose. In
Domesday (vi Shropshire), in enumerating the lands of
Ralph de Mortimer at " Linghan," it is said ^' ibi dimi-
diiim leinia silvse et iii haie capreolis capiendis" — ^three
Hayes for taking yoimg deer or kids.
Game of anotner kind was also amply afforded by the
Forest of Deerfold. The small streams and marshy
pools of the Dickendale meadows and the Haven dingle
would be the frequent resort of herons, and it is scarcely
possible to imagine a more beautiful district for the
noble sport of falconry.
At this distance of time it is not possible to say
whether any heronry existed in the forest itself, but it
is well known that a fine colony of herons occupied a
•ove of lofty oaks, growing in a hillside dingle at Willey
iodge, about two miles from Lingen, up to as late a
period as 1828. There were from one to two hundred
nests there, and often three or four in the same tree.
The grove was felled by the owner, and thus unfortu-
nately waa destroyed one of the last of the heronries of
Herefordshire. The herons probably went to the Plow-
den heronry near Bishopsmouth, which was greatly in-
creased at this time.^
1 The existing heronries nearest to Herefordshire are the large
one of Plowden, Salop ; another at Treowen, near Monmonth, where
19«
272 THE ANCIENT FOREST OF DEERFOLD.
The name of the hundred in the time of the Conqueror
that most closely corresponds with the present Wig-
more Hundred, which includes the Forest of Deerfold,
was the " Hegetre" or Hightree Himdred.
The Forest of Deerfold attached to Wigmore Castle
and Honour formed part of the vast possessions of the
Mortimers from the time of their presentation by Wil-
liam. They were twice forfeited for short periods in the
reigns of Edward I and Edward III, but were restored
ana remained in possession of the family until they
became a royal demesne on the accession of Edward IV
to the throne (1461).
At the close of the fourteenth, and for some time in
the fifteenth century, the complete seclusion of the
Forest of Deerfold afibrded a refuge to some of the
earliest and most noted followers of Wycliffe. They
must have obtained the permission of the Mortimers,
and very possibly their protection also ; for they remained
eighteen pairs of birds are now incubating (April 1870) ; and another
large one at Ragley Park, near Alcester.
The attention of the Woolhope Club was drawn to the Forest of
Deerfold by the discovery of a new instance of a mistletoe -oak, the
eighth in the list of those remarkable trees known to be in exist-
ence at the present time. A visit to this tree gave rise to the disco-
very of another rarity, Asarum Europoewm (the Asarabacca) ; and an
account of both these discoveries was read at the first meeting of the
Club this year at Ledbury. The Asarabacca is a medicinal plant of
considerable virtue. It is only known to grow in four or five other
places in the kingdom, and always in the neighbourhood of some
religious institution. This ecclesiastical association has, singularly
enough, been the means here, too, of opening up an interesting^
chapter in church history, though of a character very different from
what might have been expected. On the eastern side of the Forest,
juniper (Juniperus communis) grows wild. There are a few large
bushes there still. It may be also noticed that the neighbourhood
of the Forest has ever been celebrated for its breed of horses. So
late as 1660 it was specially so ; and it is supposed that they were
the descendants of some Spanish stock introduced by Robert de
Belesme at the close of the eleventh century. Giraldus Cambrensis
speaks of their fame in Powysland in his time, and no doubt the
wild nature of the country favoured their breeding. The late Lord
Bateman and Lord Oxford, in recent times, were great horse-breeders,
and to this day there is a good horse-fair at Brampton Brian, in the
immediate neighbourhood.
THE ANCIENT FOREST OF DEERPOLD. 273
here for many years comparatively undisturbed ; and
this, too, is the more probable, since it corresponds with
the characteristic policy of the House of York. Roger
Mortimer, Earl of March, was the Lord of Wigmore at
this time. He spent the chief part of his time in Ireland
as the king's lieutenant, and is not specially known to
have been a patron of the Lollards.
That this forest should have been a centre from which
the earliest doctrines of the Reformation were spread in
this part of England is a fact so little known and of so
much interest, that the history of the men who came
here, and the circumstances which prove it, deserve to
be dwelt upon at some length.
In 1390, William de Swynderby, or "WiUiam the
Hermit" as he was at one time called, took up his resi-
dence in the Forest of Deerfold with several companions.
He made use of a chantry where mass was said a few
times in the year, in which he not only preached without
any license from the Bishop of Hereford, but also ad-
ministered the Holy Communion to the laity.
William de Swynderby first comes into notice as a
priest in Leicestershire. The earliest and fullest account
of him is given in the chronicles of his contemporary,
Henry of Knighton, a canon of Leicester Abbey. Kjiigh-
ton wrote in opposition to the views of the WycHfiites,
and some allowance must therefore be made for the tone
of his chronicles.
Swynderby was a disciple and personal friend of
Wyclme. He seems to have gone to Leicester in a mis-
sionary spirit without any cure of souls, or other church
appointment, and was shortly afterwards allowed to re-
side in the abbey. He preached in the chapel of St.
John Baptist without Leicester, near the Leper's Hos-
pital, and in the churches of St. Martin and St. Mar-
garet of that town. He did not remain very long as an
inmate of the abbey, most probably on account of the
very decided manner in which he adopted and preached
the new views for the reformation of the Church.
He was one of the many priests who received the
274 THE ANCIENT FOREST OF DEERFOLD.
protection of the Diike of Lancaster, John of Gaunt, and
lived for several years as a recluse in his park at Lei-
cester. Here he lived a life of great sanctity and self-
denial "refuaing the gife and presents," says Knighton,
"which were sent him by some devout people of Leices-
ter," and hence he became known as "William the Her-
mit." He continued, however, constantlv to preach the
Gospel, "running sometimes into the tcJwn, and some-
times going into the country."
Swynderby was a man of good abiHties, and weU
educated, probably at Oxford. He was gifted with a
good voice, with great natural eloquence, and knew by
heart much of the Bible in the vulvar tongnie. He was
simple and unaiFected in manner, Ernest and persua^
sive, and withal so strict and austere in his own Ufe, as
quickly to gain for himself considerable influence with
the people. Wherever he preached, crowds flocked to
hear him; whether in the streets or in the market-
places, like the mendicant friars of the period ; or in the
churches of Leicester and the neighbouring towns, which
seem at this time to have been open to him. **By his
preaching," says Knighton, " he so captivated the affec-
tions of the people, that they said they had never seen
nor heard any one who so well explained the truth to
tJhem, and so they reverenced him as another God" (foL
2667). Swynderby is usually represented as a man of
little learning; but this is certainly a mistake, and pro-
bably due to detraction. Not only the common people
but learned men were attracted by him, and he was
able to keep them in close companionship for lonff periods
of time, feis writmgs. it is true, are in EngSsli; but
this was evidently not because he could not write Latin,
but because he made it a point to write in the vulgar
tongue, that everybody should understand him.
Swynderby preached with great boldness and simpU-
city ; and yet, with a considerable amount of tact and
caution, avoiding the more dangerous topics, he preached
against the vanity and pride of the people, against the
luxuries and vices of the rich, and denotmced openly
THE ANCIENT FOREST OF DEERFOLD. 275
those sins of the priesthood and the Church which,
thou^ but too common at that time, were yet too gross
to be capable of defence. " He so provoked the women,"
says Knighton, " that the good and the grave women,
as well as the bad, proposed to stone him out of the
place; and but for the divine clemency he had driven
some honest men of the town into despah-." His preach-
ing certainly made a very great impression on the
people; and it was probably, in great measure, due to
Swynderby's eloquence, that the "Reformers' sect,*' as
the chronicle states, "was held in the highest honour in
those days, and was become so numerous that you would
scarcely see two persons in the highway, but one of
them was a disciple of Wycliflfe." (Knighton, fol. 2665.)
Swynderby seems to have remained in the Park at
Leicester until John of Graunt lefb the country on his
Spanish expedition in 1386. In the preface to the edi-
tion of the Bible of Wycliffe and his followers, by For-
shall and Madden (published at the Oxford University
Press in 1850), Swynderby is named as one of the prin-
cipal associates, with Hereford, Ashton, and Parker, and
Purvey in the preparation of the edition of the Bible
which has Piursrey's "General Prologue." At this time
he may have been engaged upon it with these leading
Lollards. He is next heard of in a mandate issued by
the Bishop of Worcester against the preaching of Lol-
lards in his diocese, dated August 10, 1387. The fol-
lowing are the names of the Lollards given in the man-
date, which describes them as leagued together in an
imlicensed college : '*Nic. Hereford, J ohan Asshton (duo),
Job. Puruey, Joh. Parker, et Rob. Swynderby, insania
mentis perducti ac suae salutis immemores sub magnae
sanctitatis velamine veneniun sub labiis in ore mellifluo
habentes, zizaniam pro frumento seminantes," etc. {Reg.
Wakefield Wigom. fol. 128; Wilkins, iii, p. 202.) The
best authorities agree in believing that " Robert Swyn-
derby" is a mistake of the bishops notary for "William
Swynderby."
On the death of John of Gaunt (1389) an active per-
276 THE ANCIENT FOREST OF DEERFOLD.
secution of the Lollards was commenced. Richard II
issued a commission against the inhabitants of Leicester;
and Archbishop Arundel made a visitation there, sum-
moned several of the leading inhabitants before him,
and excommunicated them from the high altar of the
abbey church. Swynderby, who at this time was again
at Leicester, did not escape. On the representations of
friar Frisby, an observant; friar Hinceley, an Augustine;
and Thomas Blaxton, a Dominican; he was cit^ to
appear before John Bokynham, bishop of Lincoln, in the
cathedral church of that city, to answer certain articles
drawn up against him. These articles were eleven in
number, and were chiefly directed against his attacks
on the priests and the Church. Swynderby's caution,
however, had been so great that his accusers preferred
to invent charges against him rather than to bring for-
ward the true ones :
" I neur prychyd, helde, ny tauhte yes conclusiones a articles
ye whyche falsly of frerers were put upon me to ye byshoppe
of lincoln," writes Swynderby himself to the Bishop of Hereford,
" for I was orde}aied be p*"cesse, yei seyde, of here lawe by ye
byshoppe a hysse comyssaryes, so as I deneyd hem to brynge my
purgacion of xiii p'^stes of gode fame, a so I dyde, w^ a letter a
twelfe seles y^by, frome ye meyre of leycestr a from trewe bur-
geyses, a thrytty men to wy ttenes w* me, as ye Duke of lancastr
knywe a herde, ye erle of Derby a oyer mony grete y^ weren
y' tyme (in) ye tone so as I fully forsoke he a neuer graunted
yt I seyde heme, ouer yis yei madeh me to swere neure to holde
heme, teche he ne p^eche hem prueyly ne aptly a y* I schuld go
to certeyn churches to reuoke ye conclusions y' I neuer seyde in
sclander of me selfe, by gret iustaunce of ye freres. And so for
drj^de of dey (death) a for fleyshly consail y' I hadde 1 assented
and so I dyd, a alsso yei maden my to swere y' I schuld not
p''che, by instaunce of ye freres, w^in (the) diocese, w^outen
licence axed a grauntyd in, neur sethen I dyd." {Reg. Trefnant.)
Knighton gives the result of Swynderby 's examina-
tion before the Bishop of Lincoln as follows : " At length
he was publicly convicted of divers heresies and errors,
and deserved to have been made fuel for the fire. Then
did his followers lament, and strike their hands and
THE ANCIENT FOREST OF DEERFOLD. 277
heads against the wall, making a mournful noise. For
a great many of the town of Leicester accompanied him
every time, to give him their assistance ; but all was to
no purpose. But by chance the pious Duke of Lancas-
ter was at Lincoln the same day, who was always ready
to assist all the Lollards; for he believed them to be
holy men of God, on account of their fair speeches and
assurance, although he was deceived as well as many
others. He interposed with the bishop in behalf of
Swynderby,and the bishop jdelded to the duke's request,
and let him off on the condition of his making a '"retrac-
tation" in several churches named. (Knighton, fol. 2671.)
Walsingham says : " When the Bishop of Lincoln had
made preparations to correct this man, the mad multi-
tude raged in such a manner as frightened the bishop,
and deterred him from proceeding against him." {Hist.
Ang.y p. 284.)
Swynderby left Leicestershire, and next appears at
Monmouth, then in the diocese of Hereford. John of
Gaimt held the castle at Monmouth, and Swynderby
had very probably visited the town before, and made
friends there. Tne friars, however, followed him up.
Copies of the proceedings at Lincoln were sent down to
the Bishop of Hereford, who forthwith issued a monitory
letter inhibiting any one to preach in the diocese with-
out his license. The terms of the inhibition are general ;
but it was without doubt specially directed against the
LoUard preachers, and Swynderby in particular. It was
served upon him personally at Monmouth, early in the
year 1390. He is next mentioned as preaching at Whit-
ney on Monday, Aug. 1, 1390, and at that time had
doubtless taken up his residence in Deerfold Forest.
The following year he appeared before the bishop him-
self, on Wednesday, June 14th, 1391, "in the parish
church of Kingeton," These facts all appear in the
records of the process issued by John Trefnant, bishop
of Hereford, against William Swynderby, in the cause
of heretical pravity, in the year 1391, given in the epis-
copal Register.
278 THE ANCIENT FOREST OF DEERFOLD.
Swynderby had evidently very powerful firiends and
supporters in Herefordshire. Under their protection he
seems to have met the bishop at Kington without any
formal citation, and he there agreed to attend again
before him (to use the bishop's words, translated from
the Register) " at a day and place for him meet and
convenient, of his own choice and firee will : that is to
say, on Friday, being the last of the same month of
June next following, assigned to him, at the church of
Bodenham, of the same oiu: diocese," to answer certain
"cases and articles exhibited to us by many of Christ's
faithfiil people, zealotis followers of the Catholic faith."
These articles were seventeen in number, and besides
the general charges of heresy and schism against him,
his attacks on the sins and wicked practices of the
priests; auricular confession; hmiting the usurped power
of the Pope, and preaching without license; they in-
cluded also his disbehef in the doctrine of transubstan-
tiation (which, it is remarkable, had not been alluded
to in the articles drawn up against him at Lincoln), and
then come the two laat charges, which refer to Deerfold
Forest and the neighbourhood, and which, therefore,
chiefly concern us at this time:
" XVI. — Item. That the same William, immindful of his own
salvation, had many and often times come into a certain desert
wood, called Dervoldswood, of your diocese, and there in a cer-
tain chapel not hallowed, or rather in a profane cottage, hath in
contempt of the keys presumed of his own rashness to celebrate,
nay rather to profanate.
" XVII. — Item. The same William hath also presumed to do
such things in a certain profane chapel, being situate in the Park
of Newton, nigh to the town of Leintwarden, of the same your
diocese." (Translated from Bishop Trefnant's Register)
A copy of these articles was sent to Swynderby, who
drew up "A Protestation, with his Answers to the
Articles," at considerable length. The statement is veiy
characteristic of himself. It is written simply, but with
considerable ability, and with a constant reference to
Scripture throughout. He maintains his opinions with
THE ANCIENT FOREST OF DEERFOLD. 279
great boldness, and yet with much greater tact and cau-
tion than appears on the surface ; nor does he hesitate to
meet his accusers on their own ground, by the introduc-
tion of a little evasion and special pleading when it suits
his purpose to make use of either. He exposes the false
charges and misrepresentations brought against him at
Lincoln ; as a priest he claims the right to preach without
the license of the bishop ; he points out the practices of
wicked priests and friars ; justifies non-payment of tithes
to such as are so; declares the inefficiency of their ser-
vices; and finally, he maintains that the Pope is Anti-
christ. His caution is very clearly shewn by his passing
over, without notice, the articles vi and vii, which charge
him distinctly with holding the heretical opinions on
the doctrine of transubstantiation, and thus he avoids
the point which afterwards brought so many of the Lol-
lards to the stake. His answers to the charge of preach-
ing in the Forest of Deerfold and Newton are equally
evasive. Here they are, in the language 'and spelling
in which they appear in the Register, —
"Ye xii article is yis yt our Byshoppe putes to me yt y mony
tymes and ofte haue come, he sals, to a desert wode cleped der-
woldeswode of his diocese and yr in a chapell noght halwed but
accurset, sheperdeshulke be mjm owne foly, he sais, haue p^sumet
to syng but ray' to curse in contempte of ye keyes; here to y say
y* )ds is falsly put upon me of him y* tolde yow yis, for hit is a
chapel where a p*"st synges c^in dayes in ye yere w^gret solemp-
nitee, and c^es y song neur y' ymie seth y was born yn to yis
world.
" Ye xiii article is yis y* y should also p'sume to syng in an
unhalwet chapel y^ stondes in ye parke of neuton bisides ye
toun of leyntwardy of his same dioceses. Trewly y wot not where
y* place stondes." {Heg. TrefnaifU)
Swynderby attended personally at Bodenham on the
day appointed, " about six of the clock,'' and read his
protest and answers to the articles " before all the mul-
titude of faithful Christian people.'' They were by no
means satisfactory. The bishop evidently felt that he
had been taken at an unfair advantage. He did not
know Swjmderby's power. He had summoned a large
280 THE ANCIENT FOREST OF DEERFOLD.
congregation, and came himself, to hear a retractation ;
but instead of this had to listen to the defence of the
Lollard doctrines by their most eloquent advocate. The
bishop did not like it, but he could not help himsel£
In his report he goes on to say, with careful precision,
** which thing being done, the same William (without
any more with him) did depart from our presence, be-
cause that we, at the instance of certain noble person-
ages, had promised to the same William free access ;
that is, to wit, on that day for the exhibiting of these
answers, and also free departing, without prej&xing of
any term, or without citation, or else any other offence
or harm in body or in goods."
The bishop, however, lost but little time in preparing
a formal citation for him. Five days after, one was
issued, dated July 5th, 1391, from "our house at Whit-
born"; " and because," says the bishop, " the said William
Swynderby conceals himself, and cannot be served per-
sonally with it, we have caused him to be publicly cited
in the places where the said WiUiam had been accus-
tomed to officiate." It, therefore, is addressed " to his
dear sons, our dean of Leamster, to the parsons of Croft,
Almaly, and Whitney; and also to the vicars of King-
ton, Eardersley, Wiggemore, Monmouth, Clifford, and
of St. John's Altar in our cathedral church of Hereford,'*
etc., charging them " to cite or cause to be cited peremp-
torily, and under the pain of excommimication, WiUiam
Swynderby, pretending himself to be a priest," etc., " to
appear at North Lodebury on the 20th of this present
month of July." {Reg. Trefnant)
Swynderby heard of it quickly, and though he did
not appear himself, he sent a servant with "a certain
schedule of paper, made like an indenture, to excuse
him." He was then ordered to appear on the 29th of
July, in the church of Ponsley or Pontesbury. He did
not appear there, and was pronounced "obstinate," and
the 8th of August was appointed for him to appear at
Cleobury Mortemere. He was publicly called for in vain
here ; and was then ordered to appear, August 1 6th, in
THE ANCIENT FOREST OF DEERFOLD. 281
the parish church of Whitbom. He did not appear,
and then was read out the process against Swynderby
sent from Lincoln, and witnesses were examined as to
his proceedings in the diocese of Hereford ; and on the
2nd day of September he was formally excommunicated,
and the faithful forbidden " to believe, receive, defend,
or favour the said William, imder pain of the law."
Against this sentence Swynderby made a long appeal
to the king and his coimcil, " for the king's court, in
such matter," he says with some polity, *^ is aboue the
bishop's court." He contrasts " Christe s law" with the
" Pope's law," and says " that if the bishop or any man
couthe she we me by God's lawe, that my conclusions
or myne answeres were error or heresie, I would amendet
and openlie reuoke yem before all ye peepple." He also
sends a letter to the nobles and burgesses, which is
copied in the ecclesiastical Register. It is simply a
strong sermon on Christian duty, and concludes thus :
"Deere worshypfull sires in yis world,! beseche you for cristes
loue, as ye y* y trowe louen godes lawe and trouthe y* yes dayes
is gretly boren-a-bak, y* ye woln vouchsauf yes thinges y* y sende
yow written to godes worshyp, to late yam be schewet in y* parle-
ment as youre wittes can best conceyue to most worshyp to oure
god and to shewing of y* trouthe and amendyng of holy churche,
my conclons and myn appele and oy' trewe matters of godes
lawe. Yef any man can fynde y' ynne eith"^ falsnesse or defaute
p''uet by y* lawe of crist clerly to c'"stenmennes knowyng y shall
reuok my wrong conceyt and by godes lawe be amendet and redy
to holde w* godes lawe openly and p''uely w' godes grace, and no
thing to holde, teche, or maintene yat is contrarie to his lawe.
" Ye poure lege man of ye kynges and
youre poure p^st, Willia' of Swynderby."^
It was at the beginning of this year (1391) that the
highest tribute was paid to the eloquence and success-
ful preaching of Swynderby. It consists in the fact that
a special inhibition was issued against him by Arch-
bishop Courtney. It is called "An Inhibition of the
Archbishop of Canterbury, lest any one should presume
to listen to the preaching of WUliam Skynderbye," etc. ;
and it was " given at our Manor of Maghfeld," May 1 8th,
^ Reg. Trefnant.
282 THE ANCIENT FOREST OP DEERFOLD.
1391. {Reg. Courtney, foL 338a; Wilkins, iii, p. 215.)
It cites his examination at Lincoln, and his retractation
afterwards, and threatens all that go to hear him, " after
this notice and intimation lawfiilly made," with the
penalty of " the greater excommimication." The differ-
ent spelling of the name is due here, as in other places,
to clerical Lor.
Swynderby did not live as a rednse in the Forest of
Deerfold : he brought with him, or was quickly joined
by, several companions ; some of them able and learned
men, who, since they do not bear Herefordshire names,
very possibly came here to escape the persecution which
was then being exerted so energetically by Archbishop
Courtney against the LoUards in Leicestereiire and else-
where, —
"Are not these woods
More free from peril than the envious court ?"
His companions in Leicestershire had been Master Rich-
ard Waystach, chaplain of St. John's ; Peter Patershall,
called John of Gaunt's chaplain; William Smith, the
metal foimder; and many others. Here the names of
Walter Brut and Stephen Bell are made known to us
by the record of the proceedings taken against them;
but "others" are several times referred to.
Walter Brut was a graduate of the University of Ox-
ford (Merton College), and in the processes against him
is always styled " a layman and learned". He is a true
Briton, as he takes care to shew. His zeal against the
Pope is said to have been aroused chiefly by the
pardons and indulgences of Pope Urban VI, granted
to Henry Spencer, bishop of Norwich, to fight against
the rival Pope, dement VII. He had adopted fuUy
the views of the Wycliffites, had attached himself to
Swynderby, and came with him or joined him in Here-
fordshire. He was veiy indignant at Swynderby's con-
demnation, and did not hesitate to express his opinion
about it with the utmost freedom, in the city of Here-
ford, to the canons themselves.
Two instruments were drawn up against him, and
THE ANCIENT FOREST OF DEERFOLD. 283
•
carried to the bishop by Master Walter Pride, the peni-
tenciary of the cathedral church of Hereford, " They
were exhibited before us," says the bishop, " sitting in
our judgment-seat in the parish church of Whitbom of
our diocese." The first instrument stated that ^' at sup-
per time, on Oct. 15, 1391, in the dwelling-house of the
worshipful man, Master John Godemoston, canon of the
cathedral church of Hereford, in the presence of Master
Walter Ramesbury, precentor; Roger Hoare, canon;
Walter Walle, chaplain (beiog a vicar choral), and cer-
tain other witnesses of credit ; and in presence of me,
Richard le Whylare, clerk of Worcester, being a pubUc
notary by authority apostolic," Walter Brut '^stiffly main-
tained" that Swynderby's condemnation was " naughty,
wicked, perverse, and imjust," and that his conclusions
were true and catholic ; and ftirthermore, that the Pope
was the very Antichrist. {Reg. Trefnant.)
The second instrument stated that Walter Brut, on
January 19th, 1391 (1392 by modem computation), per-
sonally appeared before the Lord Bishop at Whitbom,
and ia his presence, and in the presence of Mast' Regi-
nald of Wolston, canon of Hereford ; Mast"" Philip DU-
esk, parson of Llanuwryn (Montgomeryshire) ; Tnomas
Guldeffeld, parson of English Bykenore; John Cressit,
parson of Whitbom; and Thomas WaUewayne, house-
hold servant ; especially called and desired as witnesses ;
and in the presence of me, Benedict Come, a public
notary of the diocese of St. Asaph, he did maintain that
Christians were not bound to pay tithes, nor might law-
fully swear by the Creator nor the creatmre ; that S wyn-
derby s conclusions were just, and that he did eat, drink,
and communicate with Swynderby, the bishop's sentence
against him notwithstanding. {Keg. Trefnant.)
Walter Brut was served with a series of seven charges
against him, which are given at full length in the Regis-
ter, and he was summoned to appear before the bishop
to answer them. Mr. Brut, "partly appearing" (says
the account in the Register) " by his own self before us
sitting in our judgment-seat, and partly by his witnesses
284 THE ANCIENT FOREST OF DEERFOLD.
specially appointed for that purpose/' presented his
answers to the articles and conclusions drawn up against
him "on divers scrolls of paper, written with his own
proper hand," in the form of two '* suppositions". This
failed to satisfy the bishop, who pronounced " his writ-
ing too short and obscure, and begged him to write
more plainly and more at large." Whereupon Mast'
Walter Brut, nothing lothe, draws up a "declaration"
covering a dozen skuis with small writing, and which
may be said to consist of a general argument from Scrip-
ture against the Pope and the Romish Church.
The Bishop of Hereford then appointed Friday, Octo-
ber 3rd, 1393, for the said Walter Brut to appear before
him, sitting in commission in the cathedral church of
Hereford, at six o'clock or thereabouts, having for his
assistants in the same place divers prelates and abbots,
and twenty bachelors of divinity (whereof twelve were
monks, and two doctors of the law), accompanied "with
many other prelates and worshipful men, and wise
graduates in sundry faculties." The following is the list
of the members of the commission, as translated from
the Episcopal Register, — John Grene, prior from Wor-
cester; John Newix)n, Chancellor of the University of
Cambridge ; Everard, a monk, prior of the Monastery of
St. Peter at Gloucester; William Trewellys, treasurer
of the chiu'ch at Exeter; Thomas Cranly, Warden of
New College, Oxford; Wilham Colvyll, lately Chancel-
lor of Cambridge; John Myddelton, canon of Hereford;
Nicholas Hereford ; John Taclo, rector of Westbury ;
Brother John Bromzor, prior of the Preaching Friars,
Hereford ; Brother John Ude, warden of the Friars
Minor, Hereford ; Brother Walter Warde of the order
of Minors, Worcester; Brother John Lendon of the order
of Minors of the convent ; Brother (Robert MayaP), order
of Minors ; J. Dudley, monk of Worcester, — Masters in
Theology. Master Ludovic Aber, treasurer of the church
of St. David's ; Master Adam Uske, — Doctors of Law.
Brother Walter Chadesley of the order of St. Augustin;
Brother Philip Gudin of the order of Preachers ; Master
^ Name filled in with different ink at a later period.
THE ANCIENT FOREST OF DEERFOLD. 285
(a blank) from Cambridge, — Bachelors in Theology.
Master Walter Ramesbury, precentor of the church of
Hereford; Master John MaJune, — Master of Arts and
Bachelor of Theology.
The discussion and arguments continued " for all that
day and the two days following (that is to say, Friday,
Saturday, and Sunday, Oct. 3rd, 4th, and 5th)"; and so
cleverly and well did Master Brut hold his own in this
trying ordeal, that fix>m his declarations and writings
' * the monks did gather and draw out certain articles,
to the number of thirty-seven, which they sent to the
University of Cambridge to be confuted by those two
learned men, Master Colvyll and Master Newton, who
sat upon the commission, and they did both labour in
the matter to the uttermost of their cunning." These
articles are copied into the Register, and marked all of
them as " heresy" or "error." Walter Brut, on his part,
agreed to make a pubKc submission to the Church in the
following general terms, which are mild as compared
with the extreme views of Swynderby :
*^Y, Walter Brut, submHie me p'ncipaly to the evan-
gely of Jhu criste, and to the determinacion of holy
chyrche and to y® general consayles of holy chyrche, and
to y* sentence and determinacion of y* four doctors on
holy wryt ; that ys, Austyn, Ambrose, Jerom, and GG
(Gregory). And y meklyiue subm'te me to your correc-
tion as a sojet ougte to y* byshop."
He read out this scroll "with a loud, intelligable
voice {sic\ at the cross in the churchyard, on Monday,
that is to say, the sixth of the said month of October,
in the presence of the bishop and his assistants, as also
other barons, knights and noblemen, and clergy, and
also a great multitude of people"; and immediaterjr after-
wards a certain Thomas Cranley, Master of Divmity, a
member of the commission, made a sermon unto the
people, taking the second chapter of Romans for his sub-
ject, — " Be not over wise in your own conceits," eta
{Reff. Trefn.)
(To he continued.)
^TH BER., VOL. I. 20
286
THE OPPIDUM OF CASTEL COZ.
BEUZEC-CAP-SIZUN (FINISTERRE).
About halfway between Douamenez and the Pointe du
Raz, and following the Roman road, which runs parallel
to the coast-hne, the traveller reaches the hourg (or what
in England would be called a village) of Beuzec-cap-
Sizun. This hourg, situated on the summit of an almost
uncultivated plateau, from which the sea is visible, was
formerly the chief pla/cje of a deanery and territory known
in the middle ages as Pagus-cap-Sizun. It embraced
within its limits eleven parishes, and must formerly have
been a place of considerable importance, if one may
judge from the number of Roman and Celtic monu-
ments still remaining. It is bounded on the north and
west by the sea, on the south by the Bay of Audierne
and the river of Pontcroix, and on the east by the small
streamlet called Riz, which runs into the Bay of Dou-
arnenez.
The ancient parish of Beuzec, so called from Budoc,
a Breton saint of the sixth century, has become so much
reduced since its transformation into a commune at the
end of the last century, that the traveller can find no
accommodation of any kind. The church, with the ex-
ception of the tower (a copy of the remarkable one at
Pont Croix), is devoid of all details of interest.
The hourg is little more than a mile from the sea,
which is reached by a narrow path across a wild heath,
rapidly descending as it approaches the shore. At
this point an immense rock with almost perpendicular
sides, and rising to the height of about 150 feet above
the level of the sea, forms a small peninsula connected
with the mainland by a narrow tongue, which is not
always safe to cross with a strong west or north-west
wind. This work is called by the natives Castel Coz,
or old castle ; and its claim to be called a castle is fiilly
^ =* 1
CASTEL coz. 287
borne out by the strong defences eflfected by men at a
period, when such a work, in connexion with its natural
defences, was impregnable. These defences consist of
five entrenchments, and two lines of stones set up edge-
wise, and running right across the tongue of land which
gives access to the rock.
The following is the arrangement of the various de-
fences. At the entrance of the peninsula, and where
the slope of the ground is such as almost of itself to
serve as a defence, two banks start from a common point
above a little creek, and nm divergingly towards the
south-west, thus forming an angle. They have no ditch
or foss on either side of them, and are about a yard
high. The one which runs a little more to the south is
composed of stones and earth, and loses itself on the
hill which commands the beach at a distance of forty-
four yards from its commencement; the other, formed
almost entirely of blocks of granite, runs right across
the strip of land. Beyond these two lines of defence
the ground slightly inclines towards the north as far as
that part of the isthmus, where it rises to the platform
of the rock terminating the peninsula. It is exactly at
the spot where the ground thus commences to rise, and
nearly one hundred and ten yards from the two lines
just mentioned, that a system of defence occurs which
I have not observed in other ancient fortresses in Lower
Britanny. It consists of two rows of stones, from 2 to
3 ft. high, set upright, like little menhirs, in two rows,
4 ft. 8 ins. apart, and running across the whole breadth
of the neck of land. Some of these have been removed,
principally in the central portion of the lines ; but are
very perfect at each extremity, and reaching to the very
edges of the precipices on each side, thus completely
intercepting all approach to the interior.
The escarpment which separates these lines of stones
from the rocky platform has three entrenchments accom-
panied with fosses, and placed about 13 or 1 4 yards from
each other. The first two are composed of earth and
stones, one of them measuring in height, from the bottom
202
288 CASTEL COZ.
of the foss, 2 yards 8 inches ; and the other, 1 1 yards
4 inches; the third and innermost one, which touches
the platform, serves as the base of a wall, 2 yards 2 inches
thick, of dry but regular masonry. In its centre is the
entrance, 5 ft. wide, the sides of which are flanked by
two large blocks of stone. The height of this third line,
including the wall on its siunmit, is 20 ft.
On the other side of this line stretches the platform,
divided by a rocky crest into two slopes of unequal
extent, the western one of which is not very steep,
while the other forms an escarpment on the eastern side.
It is on this crest that the buildings of the semaphore
and corps de garde now stand. A parapet with its
chemin de ronde, constructed of earth and stones, some
of them being of considerable size, runs roiuid on the
west, north, and east sides of the platform, and continues
following the precipice as far as the entrance to the
peninsula, where it ends after having tinned the little
creek, from which start the two diverging lines already
mentioned. In this particular portion it is formed en-
tirely of large upright stones placed near each other.
This parapet, which is in its highest parts about a yard
high, appears to have been made, not so much with a
view to defence, as to prevent dangerous accidents to
the inhabitants, especiaUy during storms, and at night
tune, when a false step might cause immediate de-
struction.
The whole surface of the platform, and especially
the western slope, is marked with shallow depressions
of a somewhat rectangular outline, and surrounded
with a ridge of earth of greater or less height. These
depressions are the sites of ancient dwellings, and
are so numerous and so regularly arranged that they
remind one of the cells of a beehive, or the cellular tissue
of certain plants. More particularly in the evening,
when the sim's rays fall obliquely, is this arrangement
conspicuous. Notwithstanding, however, the care ex-
hibited in this economical use of aU available space, still
there was apparently not sufficient room, for several
CASTEL COZ. 289
dwellings have been established outside the parapet on
the steepest slopes, giving the appearance, as it were, of
hanging over the sea. Some of these have been partly
destroyed by the falls of rock, which are constantly tak-
ing place in diflTerent parts of the coast.
A group of six houses alongside of the third wall which
defends the entrance to the platform on the south side
deserves more particular notice. The first two, of tri-
angular form and very small dimensions, have been built
inside the wall one each side of the entrance-gate a.^
The third (b), situated a little more than two yards to
the east of this entrance, is of rectangular form, thirty
feet long by nearly seventeen broad, touching the ram-
part, and constructed of flat stones of a moderate
size sunk in the groimd with their sides touching.
Other stones are placed above this first course, or
range, so as to form as regular courses as the material
permitted.
About thirty-two yards to the west of the main en-
trance occurs the most important structure of the whole
fortress (c). Rectangular in form, like the preceding
one, and also resting against the ramparts, it measures
fourteen yards long by nine broad. The walls, nearly a
yard thick, are of dry naasonry, but the stones are
smaller than those used in the building B, and are ar-
ranged very carefully. An enclosure, the banks of
which at present are very low and composed of earth
and stone, runs from the north-west angle and connects
it with a building, E, of the same rectangular form as
the preceding, placed about twelve yards further to the
west, and constoucted exactly in the same manner as B,
but measuring only five and a-half yards by three. A
kind of court, in which a depression of the ground in-
dicates the remains of a house, hes between the ram-
part and the enclosure which connects the two houses
c and E.
In company with M. Grenot, in the month of June,
^ These two houses are simply forked ends of the walls. They
seem more like gaard chambers. See plan. — Editor.
290 CASTEL COZ.
1 868, 1 first visited Castle Coz, which, up to that period,
seems to have been unknown to antiquaries. In 1869
I made several other visits, and on one occasion with
Mr. Burtt, one of the honorary secretaries of the Royal
Archaeological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland,
but without discovering anything which could throw
light on its origin and history. Some small fragments
of pottery, which were evidently ancient, but of no de-
cided character, and a few irregular flint chippings,
which had been brought by moles to the surface, did
not give sufficient grounds for forming any opinion.
There was, indeed, a striking resemblance between this
fortress and the entrenchments so common in Finisterre,
and usually assigned to the middle ages, and in or
near which are constantly observed traces of dwellings
similar to those at Castle Coz, in connexion with the
conical butte or mound, which is surmounted usually
with the remains of a rectangular tower. On the other
hand, there was little analogy with the fortified places,
enclosing traces of circular habitations as lately noticed
in France, and more particularly in Wales and Scotland,
and which are sometimes regarded as places of refuge
for the inhabitants, anterior to Roman times. In this
difficulty I thought the spade and pick-axe would
answer such questions more satisfactorily than the most
ingenious conjectures ; and, having been provided with
the means by a small grant firom the CouncU-Greneral of
the Department, I, with the assistance of M. Grenot,
commenced operations in September, 1869.
During the past fifteen days' digging, the houses
(b, c, e, among others) were proved to be rectangular,
with one exception, which, abutting against the rock,
was semicircular. The ordinary dimensions of the
rectangular ones were five and a-haJf yards of length
and three yards one foot of breadth. They had not the
carefully executed masonry of the houses B, c, E, but
were simply hollows sunk in the ground down to the
bare rock, varying in depth from two to two and a-half
feet, and the outline marked by a low ridge of earth.
CASTEL COZ. 291
The walk are simply the sides of the natural rock,
except where in some instances occurs a kind of dry
masonry of small stones roughly put together. In the
majority of cases the fire-places are of a circidar form,
ana of little more than a yard in diameter, and placed
about six inches above the level of the ground, beinff
surrounded by pointed stones placed upright in the
groimd.
At the time of the discovery, one of these hearths
still retained some cinders mixed with animal bones
and a great number of common limpets. A second fire-
place was also found in the house B, with cinders and
chaW upon it. It is formed of a large stone plax^ed
against the wall on the south side.
The fireplace in the house c differed altogether from
those of the other houses. It occupied the south-west
angle of the chamber, and was of rectangular form.
Two blocks of unwrought stone bounded it on the north
and east sides. A third stone inserted in the wall near
the angle projected about a foot above the level of the
floor, as if the hearth or fireplax^e had been originally
covered entirely with stones. Interiorly its breadth is
four feet eight inches, its depth three feet three inches,
and the opening between the two stones one or two
inches more than the depth. No traces of doorway or
staircase were found in any of the houses examined for
the open space in the eastern wall of the chamber c,
and which, at first sight, might be taken for a doorway,
has been caused by the falling of the stones. Hence it
is probable that the occupants descended into their
abodes by means of ladders or wooden stairs. It is also
to be remarked that each house is complete in itself,
and in no case has been divided into two parts by a
cross wall, as is frequently the case in similar dwellings
in Wales and Scotland. Excavations were made in ten
houses, which led to the discovery of a great many
objects, an account of which here follows : —
I. — Twenty mill-stones, or rather large stones on which
grain is crushed — of these seven are entire — the others
292 CASTEL COZ.
have been more or less broken in very early times.
They are all of granite, and from variety of form may
be divided into five sets.
1. Two rather thin and long with straight sides.
Their extremities equally romided and raised, and of
the same thickness. The upper face hollowed out,
somewhat like an English saddle, and the lower one
smooth and rounded. Their lengths slightly exceed
sixteen and twelve inches, and their breadth is about
seven. These millstones have been formed of flattened
stones, the sides of which have been cut away to
diminish the breadth. The depression on their faces has
been produced by the friction of a muller, pushed back-
wards and forwards by the two hands. When used,
they were probably placed on the knees of the person
crushing the grain. ^
2. Five stones, four of which are incomplete, thicker
at one of their extremities than the other. The under
side is slightly flattened, the upper one hollowed out,
but in an oblique direction. These belong to the most
common type of primitive implements. Mr. Albert
Way has described several in his interesting account of
the objects discovered by the Hon. W. O. Stanley, of
Penrhos, in circidar dwellings near Holyhead (see
Journal of the Royal Archaeological Institute and
^ Two similar miUstones and one muller were found, two years
<igo, by M. Bnot in digging up a wood on his estate of Kerlagatta,
about two miles from Qaimper. A bronze stataette of rude charac-
ter, representing the god Mars, many portions of Gaulish jars or
vases enclosing burnt bones, were also found at the same time. A
few months back M. Grenot and myself fonnd several flint chips and
qaartz pebbles, which had served as percussors. The ground which
held all these objects occnpied an elevated position, and was formerly
surrounded with entrenchments, traces of which still remain. On
the same estate, and within a short distance from this fortified place,
M. Briot, from twelve to fifteen years ago, has destroyed several
graves, consisting of hollows of little more than five feet long, covered
with flat stones, the sides being formed of stones placed edgeways
on the ground. These graves, which are of a type common in Finis-
terre, and which are, in fact, nothing but little dolmens entirely
bnried in the ground, contained, at the time of their discovery, some
polished stone celts.
CASTEL CO/. 293
ArchcBologia Cambrensis),^ I have myself mentioned in
the latter publication some that have been found in
Britanny,^ under menhirs and dolmens, and the subter-
ranean gallery of La Tourelle, near Quimper. Since
the publication of that account M. Grenot has dis-
covered four more of the same kind in a covered alley
near the village of GouesnacTi, about ten miles from
Quimper. These kinds of mills are still in use in parts
of Asia, Africa, and America, and have been accurately
described by Mr. Livingstone in the account of his
travels. He states that they use a block of granite,
syenite, or even schist, from sixteen to eighteen inches
square by five or six thick, while the muller is a piece of
some similar hard rock about the size of an ordinary
brick, and convex so as to fit the hollow of the under
stone. The woman grinds, kneeling, and with her two
hands moves the convex stone, much as a baker does
his dough, backwards and forwards. From time to
time she adds a little grain, which, when crushed,
falls on a mat placed there for the purpose. In the
specimens I have seen, the surface used in this rubbing
and crushing the grain is frequently regularly worn
away.^ Through its whole extent sometimes, however,
^ Arch, Joum,y xxiv, p. 229 ; Arch, Camh,^ Third Series, xiv, p. 385.
* Arch. Gamhy Third Series, xiv, p. 305. The Maseum of St. Ger-
main possesses two similar millstones, — one from Abbeville, the other
from a tnmulas near the Ghreat Salt Lake, in Utah, of the United
States of America. They have also been found in the lakes of Nenf-
chatel (Materiaux poiir VHistoire de VHomme, iii, p. 268) ; in the
grottoes of Boissy (Hante Loire) ; and of Sacarry, near Tarascon
(i&u2., ii, p. 390 ; iii, p. 212) ; in the Cave of BodeiUac (Aridge), col-
lection of M. le Comte de Limor at the Mnseam at Yannes, etc.
^ The Zambese and its afflMerUs. In that part of Algeria where
the Arabs still live a wandering life, the women who have the duty
of preparing the food of the family make use of Roman mills, which
are composed of two stones, — one convex, the other concave. The
former she turns with her right hand, inserting the grain with her
left hand, through a small aperture made for that purpose. The
meal is caught on some material placed for that purpose. When the
tribe is on it-s travels, the woman carries the mill on her shoulders.
M. Olivier of Quimper, and formerly a sub-officer of Spahis in Algeria,
is my authority for this account.
294 CASTEL COZ.
it is hollowed out in the centre and furnished at the top
and sides with a rude moulding of greater or less pro-
jection. The museum at Vannes contams one or two
of these millstones which have been foimd in dolmens.
When the mill has long been in use, this surface gets
worn away, and the extremity by which the meal or
flour escaped is very much reduced in thickness. This
portion is, therefore, almost always found broken.
3. A mUlstone with its upper face perfectly flat. It
is the only specimen of this kind that I have seen.
4. Eight small flat millstones, of oval form, and
measuring about twelve inches by seven. The upper
face of tnese is either flat or very slightly convex.
These millstones from their lightness were probably
supported on the knees by the left hand, while the right
hand worked a flat muller-face. They are almost alwaj^
foimd more or less fractured. A similar millstone was
found some few years ago in the oppidimi of Castell
Mur on the sea-coast between Castell Coz and the
Pointe du Raz. In the month of April last M. Grenot
has discovered a second near Audieme in a place near
the coast called Trez-Goarem^ where among some chips
of flint and quartz, and pieces of very coarse pottery
there were indisputable traces of Koman occupation.
5. Four round granite pebbles, ten inches long and
of a breadth of from five to eight inches, bearing on one
of their faces evident marks of friction. These appear
to be millstones in a half-finished state.
6. The half of a kind of spoon or ladle, nearly nine
inches in diameter, holding an intermediate place be-
tween millstones proper and the stone mortars found in
circular habitations in England, but which are entirely
wanting in Castle Coz. It is made out of a hard reddisa
granite with a quantity of quartz crystals. It is
also well polished by long use. It was found in the
chamber E. A similar spoon, both as regards its form
and dimensions, was found a few years ago under a rock
near the town of Tregunc (Finisterre), where are so
many menhirs and so-called rocking stones.
CASTEL coz. 295
With the exception of the last mentioned article, all
these millstones came from the great chamber c.
II. — About a hundred mullets, the greater part of
which are more or less broken, some being round, others
flat, and measuring from two to eight inches in diameter.
These are simple rolled stones collected from the beach,
and require no particular description. One of them,
however, has been worked with considerable care, and
reminds one of the ordinary mullets used by painters in
grinding their colour.
III. — Twenty pestles (pilans), formed of straight long
stones brought, like the last mentioned, from the shore,
some being round, others flat, from foiu- to eight inches
long. All of them have their extremities marked with
traces of percussion. Some of them present on each side
towards their upper extremity little hoUows to receive
the thumb and middle finger, while the index finger
pressed strongly on the instrument when in use. In
one of these implements, the sides of which are un-
usuallv flat, these little cavities have been replaced by
dotted work {pointilU)y and evidently with the same
object, namely to prevent the fingers slipping on the
smooth face of the stone.^
IV. — Eight small quartz oblong stones, a little more
than three inches long, and narrower in their middle.
These seem to have served as burnishers.
V. — Sixty hammers or percussors, being mostly ir-
regular pieces of granite, more or less angular, and
having natural depressions, such as to receive the fingers.
Others are formed of flattish quartz boulders, or com-
pact gr^s, of oval form, and very smooth. Several of
these last mentioned have an artificial cavity, or kind
of fretted work (pointillej, which is excellently adapted
for assisting the grasp. They all of them bear marks
of percussion, so as to leave no doubt of their use and
^ M. Paolo Livy Has fonnd in a dwelling on the Lac de Fimor
(Venice) a stone celt, in which a small hole has been worked, near
the handle, to receive the finger. (^Materiaux pour VJHstoire de
VHomnief i, p. 323.)
296 CASTEL coz.
object. One of them, however, is of a different form,
being spherical. It is a pebble of quartzose grr^, and
has many traces of hard usage as a hammer. These
various types of hammer were also found in the subter-
ranean chambers of La Tourelle.
VI.— Nineteen sharpening stones, many of which are
of a fine hard grain. They have evidently been used
for a long period, and are furrowed with Unes produced
by some sharp-pointed implement. The largest of them
bears on its surface marks of oxide of iron. Their length
varies from two to ten inches, and one or more of them
were found in all the excavated chambers in Castle Coz.
They are exactly like those found at La Tourelle.
VII. — Buttons or spindlewhorls of baked clay, without
any ornament, and measuring in diameter from six- to
eight-fifth parts of an inch, and four- to six-fifths in
thickness. Some of them are equally convex on both
sides ; others having on one side the form of a truncated
cone, and more projecting than the other. They all
came from the large chamber c except one, which was
found in a kind of enclosure, or court, contiguous to the
chamber, but about a yard from the wall of it. Archaeo-
logists are not yet agreed as to the intended use of
these objects. They are considered to be either spindle-
whods, or buttons of vestments, or amulets, or marks
of distinction. It is possible that they have served
more than one use ; but it is certain they are found in
large numbers in caves, in dolmens, or cromlechs, and
iii lacustrian remains.^ They have also been found in
Palestine associated with the most primitive produc-
tions of human industry. They must, moreover, have
continued in use during the occupation of Britanny by
the Romans, for I found seven or eight specimens while
excavating a Roman settlement a little more than a
^ In the Museum at Yannes are spindle- whorls of burnt clay ex-
actly similar to those found at Castel Coz. These were discovered
in the dolmens of Keriaval, of Mane Kerlnd (Camac), of Er Hourich
(in La Trinit^-sur-Mer), of Resto (Moustoir-ac), and of Maue-luil
and Mane-er-Hroeg (Locmanahcr).
CASTEL COZ. 297
half a-mile from Quimper. Mr. W. O. Stanley also has
discovered several in the circular habitations of Ty-mawr
near Holyhead, mixed up with Roman coins and pot-
tery. A large number of those found in Northern
Europe are made of stone, while those fo\md in Britanny
are more frequently of baked clay.
VIII. — A button of bone with a central aperture, and
which has served the same purpose or purposes as the
articles just described. Its interior diameter is nearly an
inch, and its thickness about half an inch. One of its
faces is conical, and the other convex, and bears traces
of fire.
IX. — A ring of white glass, having a slight violet
tinge, and broken in two pieces. The interior diameter
measures two-fifths of an inch, the exterior about twice
as much. There was also foimd part of the blue bead
of a necklace.
X. — Half of a bead of necklace in blue glass.
XI. — ^A plain bronze ring, having an interior diameter
of about an inch. It has on its inner face a kind of
projecting moulding.
XII. — A very small bead of a bronze necklace.
XIII. — A bronze implement two inches long, terminated
at one of its extremities by a ring. It is difficult to
conjecture the use of it, unless, perhaps, it may have
been a kind of punch or a bodkin.
xrv. — Twelve portions of stone celts or axes, among
which are three cutting edges. One of them is of flint,
three of quartz, and the others a fine and compact
gris.
XV. — ^The lower part of a bronze sword, still having
one of the pins with which the handle was secured.
XVI. — Ten fragments of swords of oxidised iron. They
appear to have belonged to two different weapons, one
of which was curved, and little more than an inch in
breadth. The second, which had only one cutting edge,
was somewhat less broad.
All the above objects, commencing with No. viii,
came from the chamber c.
298 CASTEL COZ.
XVII. — Several flint chips, which have served as points
of arrows, knives, or scrapers. These flints have been
procured by the inhabitants of Castle Coz from the
pebbles found on the sea-shore near their abode. These
pebbles, which are generally of small dimensions, give a
somewhat irregular cleavage, and hence the implements
thus manufactured do not display that excellence of
working as occurs in other parts of France, where flint is
not only much more abundant, but occurs in larger
masses. These chips were found not only in all the
excavated houses in the castle, but throughout the
whole extent of the fortress, and even on the outside of
the entrenchments. Close to these chips were found a
great many of the cores from which they had been
detached.^
xviii. — More than a hundred sling stones which have
been worked into their present form by natural agency
alone. Their average length is about two inches, and
were discovered in dl the houses, especially in c, where
they were heaped up in a mass. In addition to these
there was in all the houses that were examined a great
^ It is not always safe to trust flint chips, if found near the sea^
unless accompanied with objects of such a kind as to furnish some
pounds for assigning to them a high antiquity. In examining, a
few years ago, one of the finest covered alleys in Finisterre, in the
commune of Plouhinec, near the Bay of Audieme, I noticed in the
interior several flint chips, which I could not understand, as the floor
of the gallery bore no traces of recent excavation. A peasant, how-
ever, soon solved the mystery by informing me, when they wanted
a flint for their tinder-box, they took some flint pebbles from the
shore, and broke them on the massive stones of this gallery. Even
to this day the Bretons, in some remote districts where the common
match-box has not yet penetrated, obtain their fire by reducing the
thoroughly dried roots of oak and other trees to charcoal on a strong
and quick fire. This charcoal is then placed quickly in a little horn
or bone box secured with a cork attached by a small copper chain.
By means of a steel fire is obtained either for domestic purposes or
lighting pipes when employed in the field. The carbonised roots
are called tonty and the tont-hox was once an indispensable article in
a Breton farmhouse. Pelletier, in his dictionary of the Breton lan-
guage, at the word tont, says that at the commencement of the
seventeenth century this kind of tinder was almost universal in
Higher as well as in Lower Britanny.
CASTEL coz. 299
number of larger stones of a round form, but which ap-
peared to be too large to be used with a sling, although
they may have been intended to be thrown by hand
against the enemy.
XIX. — ^An immense niimber of fragments of hand-
made pottery, as various in form as in the quality of the
earth of which they had been made. They may be
divided into three groups.
1. Vases of considerable dimensions, from fifteen to
twenty inches across, and in height from twenty to
twenty-four inches. They are made of coarse clay con-
taining Uttle silicious pebbles, and are badly baked.
They are of various coloui-s, grey, brown, and reddish,
all three colours sometimes being found in the same
vase. The bottom is flat and thick, and slightly pro-
jecting, and bearing all round it marks of the pressure
of the thumb in joining it more firmly to the body of
the vase. Some of them have a spheroidal form, with
a pattern formed by the impression of a finger or nail,
surmounted by a short neck. The neck is frequently
surrounded by one or two projecting fillets marked by
obhque impressions so as to give the appearance of a
twisted rope. Others more or less resemble the form
ollaire and that called pot-d-Jleur. They terminate with
straight or slightly curved rims, which are ornamented
either with finger-marks or by oblique lines, which in
some instances are crossed by others, thus forming the
cross of Saint Andrew. None of these vases had any
traces of a handle.
2. Vases of a small or moderate size, of fine day well
baked, without traces of silicious particles, with a few
exceptions, where they exist in very minute quantities.
These were also hand-made, but made with great care
by means of stone or wood implements, which have left,
both on the inside and outside, numerous traces of
their employment. Some of these are of brown or grey
earth, frequently covered with a black coating called
vemis de graphite^ and which readily disappears by
washing. Others again are of a more delicate material
300 CASTEL COZ.
and reddish colour, and, if dry-rubbed, exhibit a brilliant
red patina, not unlike some kinds of Samian ware.
These vases are, for the most part, cups with receding
stands and projecting brims, and are not more than
three inches deep, with diameters from six and a-half to
twenty inches. Similar vases have been found in the
dolmens of the Morbihan and of Finisterre. Some have
a spheroidal form with the rims frtmished with a small
moulding, the form of which appears to be an imitation
of the ornamentation of Roman pottery, and consists of
chevrons and parallel lines, sometimes separated by
rows of points. Two fragments have impressions of a
circular form, which seem to have been effected by the
pressure of a round tool with a flat end pressed on the
soft clay.
3. Thick vases, of large dimensions, of red clay, where
the silicious particles have been replaced by others of
schiste talqueux presenting numerous white specks. The
material is soft, greasy to the touch, easily scratched with
the nails, and cut with a knife as easily as soap. The
very numerous fragments of this kind come from large
flat-bottomed shallow bowls and spheroidal-shaped vases,
very similar to the vessels still commonly used in many
communes of Finisterre for carrying milk to the towns.
The rims of both kinds of vases nave projecting flat lips,
the upper face of which is hollowed out into indenta-
tions, which go all roimd the edge. Their ornamenta-
tion consists of spirals, or circles with a central disc,
and a series of parallel lines cut obliquely by other lines.
A kind of dolmra made of the same clay, a little more
than an inch in thickness, and which, in its entire state,
must have had its greatest diameter measuring one yard,
is ornamented with a series of impressions measuring
two inches across, representing wheels of eight spokes
reminding one of the bronze Gaulish wheels whicn are
found so frequently in France. The edge is also hol-
lowed out by a deep indentation, and furnished with an
upright handle, pierced with a small hole of nearly an
inch in diameter.
N-k 1 <p »l|. Ktotia on *blc<i gnin wh
H|HM>r III Anilnai. In or mr- •■»
Xn.9.
CASTEL COZ. 301
Lastly, there is a very large vase, the exact form of
which it is not easy to determine from its remaining
fragments, which have projecting ribs or mouldings
about the size of a little finger of ordinary dimensions.
Those ribs occur only in the interior of the vessel. This
vase is of white clay, and is totally dissimilar from any
of the preceding ones. These fragments of pottery
were found in all the houses that were excavated, and
especially in c ; and, although nothing but fragments
were found, they occurred in such numbers that it was
not difficult to ascertain the exact forms of the principal
type.
XX. — Eight discs of clay, of which the diameters
vary from two to five inches. These are, in fact, nothing
but portions of vases ground into their present form.
They were foimd in several of the houses, but their use
seems uncertain, Similar objects were found in the
tumulus of Mane-Rumentur, in Camac, and are at
present in the museum of Vannes.
XXI. — Several hundred little round poKshed stones of
different colours, and which were collected from the
shore, as well as some of the houses to which they had
been brought from the beach, but for what object is un-
known. Mr. Stanley, who has also found similar ones
during his excavations at Tymawr, near Holjhead, asks
if they might not have been intended for some kind of
play. The conjecture is very plausible, but it is still a
conjecture, to which I take the liberty of adding
another. There exists in the Indian Seas, the Moldavian
Islands, etc., a little yellow shell of the division Cypvcea^
and vulgarly known as Monnaie de GruinSe (CyprcBa
moneta, etc.) These shells are picked up by women
three days before and after the new moon. They are
then sent to India,Siam, Africa, etc., where they are used
as money by the Negroes. Is it not impossible that these
little pebbles might have been employed in a manner
somewhat analogous to the Cyprcea moneta, or, at least,
have served as counters ?
XXII. — Twelve portions of clay, burnt into brick, and
4th 8BR. TOL. I. 21
[M)'2 CASTEL COZ.
bearing impressions, probably of wicker work, and found
in chamber c amidst charcoal and burnt bones.
xxni.-A large number of the common limpets
(patella vulgata), which are excessively common among
tne rocks of Castle Coz and the whole line of sea-coast.
They were found embedded in a mass on the hearth of
one of the small habitations, and also in c. From the
effect of time, they have become brittle to the greatest
degree.
XXIV. — A great many bones of mammalia of various
kinds and sizes, which, from my imperfect knowledge
of comparative anatomy, I am not able to assign to
their different species. Among them, at least, is the
tusk of a wild boar, about three inches long. They are
are all more or less broken, many of them longways, and
many in consistence are like rotten wood. These were
found in the same places as the limpets.
XXV. — A portion of the rim of a vessel of Samian
ware, and certainly of Roman make. It was found just
below the turf in such a manner that it may easily have
been brought to the place after the habitations had been
demolished.
These numerous objects here described were foimd
very unequally and differently scattered among the
different houses of the fortress. The smaller houses
contained only mullers, percussors, sharpening-stones,
flint-chips, sling-stones, and some few fragments of pot-
tery scattered about on the ground. Not a single one
contained a millstone, or ornament, or sufficient frag-
ments of pottery to make up a single vase. The houses,
in fact, were apparently stripped of the most important
implements, ana of all objects more particularly valued
by their owners. On the contrary, in the large chamber
c, besides hammers, mullers, sling-stones, flint-chips,
which were found in great numbers, there were found
twenty mill-stones, stone-hatchets, arms of metal, divers
ornaments, and, lastly, the debris of hundreds of vases.
I use the term dSbns as there was not found a single
entire vessel, although among them were some which
I
CASTEL COZ. 303
must have been nearly half-an-inch thick. The greater
part of the mill-stones, mullers, stone-hatchets, and
all implements, which might have been adapted
either for defence or other personal use, were broken to
a greater or lesser extent. Most of these objects bore
manifest traces of a tool, either a pointed hammer or
metal punch, which had been employed in breaking it.
It is clear, therefore, that this aestruction must have
been intentional. On the other side, the collection of
arms, implements, and vases found in chamber c was so
large, that in their entire state they could not have found
room, even supposing that the four walls of the chamber
had been fiimished with ranges of shelves over one
another. These, therefore, may have been brought out
of the smaller houses and collected into the principal
one for the more secure and speedy destruction of all
the resources of the castle. To make certain of their
object they made an immense fire, which extended along
the south side of the building. Into this they threw
the various implements, having previously broken them.
This appears to have been the case from the cinders and
charcoal among which they were found, and from the
fact that all of them bear marks of the violent heat to
which they have been exposed. The same thing had
occurred on the hearth where the burnt bones and shells
mentioned above were discovered. These facts seem to
warrant the conjecture that the same persons who took
this castle were the authors also of this destruction.
One thinff, however, appears to me, from a careful ex-
amination of the wholl ^und, that, after the sackinj
and destruction of the castle, it was then finaUy an<
for ever abandoned.
After this description of this castle and the objects
contained within it, follows naturally the question, who
were the inhabitants ? They could not be Bretons of
the early middle a^es, because their arms and imple-
ments were totally mfferent from those of the occupants
of Castle Coz. I do not wish to suggest that, as regards
industrial details, they were much more advanced ; but
212
304 CASTEL COZ.
I am convinced that in some respects (as, for example,
that of pottery) they were their inferiors ; nor were their
habitations better constructed. But iron, which was
so rare in our fortresses, was in general use with them.
They had besides borrowed from Koman civilisation
certain implements and forms of vases, which are en-
tirely wanting at Castle Coz, Nor was it the Roman
who left such extensive traces of their residence in
so many parts of our coimtry of so lasting and decided
a character. The Romans besides were too skilful tac-
titians to establish themselves in such situations as that
of Castle Coz, where they could not take advantage of
their military superiority. We have, therefore, no al-
ternative but to place as far back as the time of Gaulish
independence, the occupation of this fortress.
The comparison of these habitations with others no-
ticed in France and in certain other localities, the Gaulish
origin of which is established by historic documents,
does not permit us to doubt that Castle Coz was a
Gaulish oppidum, analogous to those which Caesar has
described in his CommentaHe^, The place was, more-
over, admirably calculated for a place of refuge to a
population accustomed to rough weather, and to whom
the most simple conveniences of life were unknown.
Not only were the inhabitants safe from all attacks of
enemies, but nature had supplied them with resources
which would permit them to sustain a siege without
fear of being starved out. ; for, from the middle of a
large rock, which rises to the west of the fortress, is a
sprmg of water very abundant the greater part of the
year, and never dry in the hottest part of it. It was
from this source that the workmen employed in the ex-
cavations supphed themselves ; and, although it was
the end of the summer, yet it still furnished a satis-
factory quantity. On the other side there was a plen-
tiful supply of shell-fish close at hand, and even at the
present time this part of the coast is celebrated for its
abundance of fish, so that one is almost sure of meeting
with fishermen at the extreme north of the Peninsula,
CASTEL COZ. 305
the only spot where a descent to the sea is possible.
About one hundred and fifty yards to the east is an
abundant stream, whence in ordinary weather a supply
of water could be had ; and, even in case of a siege, it
was possible to reach it by means of boats.
It was not easy to ascertain the precise number of
houses in Castle Coz ; but I endeavoured to arrive at
some approximation by placing small squares of paper,
securea by a stone wherever a depression in the groimd
marked tne site of a house. When I had placed all the
squares of paper I had, namely, one hundred and eight,
there yet remained a great number of houses not thus
marked out, so that 1 was not able to complete my
operation. But I think I may, without any exaggera-
tion, place the whole number at from one hundred and
fifty to two hundred ; which, allowing five persons to a
house, would give us a population between seven him-
dred and fifty and one thousand.
R F. Le Men.
306
SOME PARTICULARS CONCERNING THE PARISH OF
GLASBURY,
IN THE COUNTIES OF BRECKNOCK AND RADNOR, OBTAINED FROM
AUTHENTIC DOCUMENTS, LOCAL TRADITION, BOOKS,
AND PERSONAL OBSERVATION.
Cynidr,* a Wekh saint, who flourished A.D. 433-464, and
lies buried at Glasbury, founded the parish church there ;
this, like other sacred edifices of the ancient British
Christians, was doubtless a rude structure, and occasion,
ally renewed in the course of the six following centuries.
Bernard Newmarch,^ the Norman adventurer, who in
1092 subdued Brecheiniog by the sword, gave the ad-
vowson of the living of Glasbury to the monastery of
St. Peter's at Gloucester, from whence this parish church
derived its second dedication, and to which its rectorial
tithes were appropriated. The 29th of June is still
observed by the villagers as a day of festivity, being
St. Peter's day.
By an exchange with the monks of the Gloucester
monastery, in the year 1144, the manor of Glasbury
pajssed into the hands of the ClifFord family: and having,
ETthe sixteenth century, become vested ki the crowS;
it was granted to Sir David WUliams by Queen Eliza-
beth.
The name of only one of the persons appointed by
the abbot of St. Peter's, at Gloucester, to the parochial
charge of Glasbury has been preserved, that of John
Coxton, who was instituted as vicar for that monastery
in the year 1495. St. Peter's at Gloucester resigned, or
was suppressed, January 2, 1540.^ Its privileges, being
transferred to King Henry VIII, were conferred by him
upon the Bishop of Gloucester, so far as regarded the
1 Rees's WeUh Saints, pp. 148, 149, 325 ; Williams's Enwogion
Cymru, p. 93.
* Jones's History of Brechwckshire, vol. ii, art. "Glasbury.**
* Bumot's History of tlie Reformation, vol. i, Part II, Appendix.
THE PARISH OF GLASBURY. 307
patronage of the living of Glasbury ; and the bishop's
successors in that see have ever since presented to the
benefice, with one exception, in which instance it lapsed
to the crown. What incumbent succeeded John Cox-
ton does not appear. Lewis Rogers was instituted in
1567, Henry Rogers in 1612, John Lewis in 1613. He
died in 1639, three years before the breaking out of the
civil war. In the parish chest is a book in which entries
are made of the disbursement and distribution of the
charities of Rees Jones, clerk, bequeathed in the year
1612 (the same year with theGwenddwr charity); and
of the disbursement and distribution of the charities of
Walter Meredith, scrivener, bequeathed in 1607. The
account of Mr. Meredith s legacy is kept with great
exactness. From 1614 to 1638, inclusive, it is attested
by Jo. Lewis, vicar. In the latter year Alexander Grif-
fith appears to have possessed the living, for under the
date of 7th January, 1639, he gives an extract from the
will of Walter Meredith concerning his bequest to the
parish, and signs the copy *' Alexander Griffith, vicar of
Glasebuiy." From that time until 1643 the mode of
distribution is particularly stated, and the several state-
ments are signed by several parishioners and by the
vicar. No signatinre is armexed to that of 1643; and
the following note, in the handwriting of Mr. Griffith,
is dated "l^Junij 1647:
*' In the years 1644, 1645, 1646, being troublesome by reason
of the wars, the legacy was detained ; but by petition to the
Committee of Sequestration in London, with the care and solicit-
ation of CoL Sylvanus Taylor, the whole £12 was received, and
in the beginning of June, 1647, distributed as followeth," etc.
Signed Alexander Griffith, minister. He likewise
entered the account and signed it sometimes merely with
his name, and sometimes with the title of " Minister",
for the years 1648, 1649, and 1650. He wrote, but did
not sign, that of 1651; and with the exception of the
year 1655, when he paid the money througn one of the
churchwardens, he regularly disbursed and entered the
particulars of this charity s distribution mitil 1661, when,
308 SOME PARTICULARS CONCERNING
having siirmounted the troubles of the times, he once
more signed himself "Alexander Griffith, vicar of Glase-
bury,*' that parish over which he had evidently watched
assiduously during a long period of abasement and pen-
ury. In 1661 he was instituted to the Uving of Llys-
wen, on the presentation of Sir Henry Williams, Bart.,
of Gwemyfed; and in 1670 to that of Uanelieu (pro-
perly Llanelyw), which appears to have been in the gift
of V aughan of Porthaml.
In Bichard Symonds s Diary of the Marches of the
Royal Army during the great Civil War^ local particu-
lars are set down concerning many parts of Wales, more
especially the churches and churchyards. Having de-
scribed the remarkable cross at Margam, S3nnonds adds,
" Almost in every parish the crosse, or sometimes two
or three crosses, perfect in Brecknockshire, Glamorgan-
shire," etc. This notice affords evidence that the cross
at Glasbury, and other crosses in the neighbourhood,
were probably destroyed by the Puritans.
The following entry corroborates local tradition, and
bears witness to the loyalty of the Gwemyfed family :
" Monday 4 Aug. — King's guards marched towards Brecknock.
Tuesday 5. — His Majesty left Cardiffe, and went that night over
the mountains to Brecknock. Wednesday to Radnor. By the
way djrned at Sir Williams, Baronet's house and faire seate
in Brecknockshire."
Sir Henry Williams, who hospitably received King
Charles in 1645, was the eldest son of Sir David Wil-
liams, Knight, one of the judges of the Coiuii of Kings
Bench, who in the year 1600 purchased the estate, with
tne mansion, from its old possessors, the Gunter family.
Sir David Williams, Knight, =
1. Margaret, daa. and heir of Sir David Gam, 2. Dorothy Lut-
Knight, of Aberhrin in the co. of Brecon ton, widow
1. Sir Henry Williams, of Gwemyfed in = Eleanor, dau. of Eustace
the CO. of Brecon, created a baronet.
May 4, 1644. Died abdint 1652
Whitnev, Esq., of Whit-
ney in the co. of Hereford
THE PARISH OF GLASBURY.
I
2. Sir Henry Williams = Dan. of Sir Walter Pye
309
6, SirOabertof
Rose Hall, HerU.
I
4. Sir Walter
3. Sir Henry Williams = Miss Whitchurch
Two daughters, of whom Elizabeth = Sir Edw. Williams, Knt., 2nd
had Gwemyfed son of Sir Thos. Williams, Bart.
of Eltham
Williams of Eltham, Baronet,
I
I
2. Sir John, Knt.
and Bart.,= and
left two daughters.
Died Jnnel7, 1723
Sir Edw., Knt., M.P. =Elizabeth, dan. and co-
for the CO. of Brecon
during forty years.
Died 1721
heir of Sir Henry Wil-
liams of Gwernyfed
I
Henry,;
died
1723
:Mary, d. of John Walbeoffe,
Esq. ; she married, 2ndly,
Sir Humph. Howarth, Knt.,
and died in 1742
I
3. Sir Da-
vid
Susannah, d. of
Thos. Wither-
stone, Esq. Sir
David d. 1740
4. Sir Henry, 5. Sir Edw.
died Aag. 15,
1741
:l.Mary,d.<&coh.
of John le Heep,
Esq. Sir Edw.
died in 1804
Mary = 1. S. Watkins
2. Be V.Henry
Allen
Ed wd. d. 1800 Mary = Thos. Wood, Esq., of Littleton, co. Middlesex.
Williams (Baronets) of Gwemyfed bore, argent ^^l chev-
ron between three cocks gules \ on a chief sa6fe, three
spears' heads argent embrued.
Williams (Baronets) of Eltham bore, argent^ a stag
trippant proper, hoofed and attired or, bearing between
his horns a royal crown proper.
Considering that from the year 1642 the bishops had
been deprived of all political and ecclesiastical pri^eges,
and the churches spoiled and desecrated ; that the last
prelate of St. David's, Bishop Mainwaring, had been a
zealous and indiscreet royalist, and that the see had
been vacant nine years at the Restoration, — it cannot
be matter of surprise to find that the parochial church
of Glasbury was then in a ruinous condition. But it
appears highly creditable to Ml*. Griffith that while sub-
\
310 SOME PARTICULARS CONCERNING
sisting upon a diminished income, he had so faithfully
watched over his pastoral charge as to be able, immedi-
ately after the Royal Declaration was promulgated, for
the re-establishment of Church discipline, to obtain the
signatures of all the principal people in the parish to
the following document :
" To the Right Reverend Father in God, WiUiam Lord B'p of
S'ct David's, or in his absence, the Wor*p'll his Chancellor
& Commissarie g'rall in sp'uall matters & causes ecclesias-
ticall, & to his venerable Surrowgate w'thin the Archdea-
conrie of Brecon.
•
" We the p'ishoners and inhabitants of Glasebury within the
dioces of S*ct David & counties of Brecon & Radnor (wliose
names are hereunto subscribed), doe hereby certifie 70*1 Lor'p.
That s'd pish Church of Glasebury by ye late inundations & vio-
lent floods of the river Wye is in a most imminent & inevitable
danger to be utterlie demolished & destroyed (the one halfe of
the steeple being alreadie imdermined & fallen into the hver,
the churchyard (well nigh) to the very Church door, consumed
& washed away, the graves opened, & the bones carryed away),
so that unles some speedie course be taken, all the materiaUs of
the s*d Church, as timber, iron barrs, windowes, freestones, lofts,
seates & doores, w'ch amounteth to a great sum of money, will
be utterlie lost & taken away, the next or second flood, by the
violence of the s'd river.
" O'r humble request is, that you will be pleased upon this
our certificatt in this suddajme & unexpected exigency to im-
power & co'mand the Church Wardens of s'd parish to take some
speedie & immediate course to draw down the rest of the s*d
Church (itt being impossible to be theare p'served). That the
materials may be secured & kept safe towards the building of
another.
"And we shall be bound to pray for you.
Radnorsf. Brecons9.
Alex. Griffith Will. Jones Henry Williams
Vicar of Glasebury James Watkjne Milbum Williams
Hen. Williams
Richard Badam ) Church- Wardens Roger Reed } Church- Wardeus
John Watkins ) in RadnoVss pt. John Lewis ) in Brecon*ss pU
James P'bert Thomas ap Entn Robert Phillipes
John William Badam John Williams James Frees
David William John Blaynej Walter Williams
William Watkins Thomas Powell John Prees
William Jo'n Prees Elizabeth Eustanes Evan John
David Wm. Badam Lewis Gunter Harry Phillip
THE PARISH OF GLA8BURY.
311
Radnarss.
WUliam Pritchard Thomas Watlc^es
Wm. Pritcharcl Watkins John ap ETan
Richard Tho. PoweU
John Mathew
Jenkin Madock
William Lewii
Roger Pritchard
Thomas John Jenkjn
John Thomas
Roger Sollert
Owen ap Evan
Roger Walter
Thomas William
Henry William
William Williams*
Phillip Walter
William Probart
Hugh Thomas
Wm. Lewis
Robert John
John David
John Leyson
Roger Thomas ap John
Widow Gunter
Thomas Coventry
William Lewis
Thomas Gery
Evan Phillip Prosser
David William
John Travers
William Travers
Rees Thomas
William Be van
Evan Duggan
Howel Travers
Paul John
Watkyn Prosser
John Watkyn dd*
Edward John*
John Wm.
William John
Phillip Sands
Harry Phillip David
John Morgan
Richard Edward
Rees Thomas
William Probert
Phillip Prosser
Harry Thomas
Thomas Prosser
Thomas Lloyd
Phillip P5ll
Evan Lewis
Wm. Bevan
William Thomas
Tymothy Woodford
John Woodford
Thomas Walter
Paul Hugh
John Prees ap Evan.^* >
kde
Saunders P. En.
This petition is copied from a manuscript in the
handwriting of Mr. Griffith, probably the duplicate
which he kept in his own hands when the original was
presented to the Bishop. The church to which it refers
is the first in this parish of which record or tradition
preserves any memorial. It stood between the present
channels of the rivers Wye and Llyfni, not far from
their confluence, and within the meadow ground called
the Stonces or Stances, which probably acquired this
Saxon name from having been used by drovers as rest-
ing-places for cattle on their way to the English mar-
kets. A few mounds and stumps of trees still mark
the site. There is a local tradition, strongly corro-
borated by circumstances, that Wye and Llymi used to
meet more than a quarter of a mile higher up, and that
the chiurch and vicarage-house w^ere then divided only
by a shallow rill passable on stepping stones.
^ In the paper from which the above Petition is transcribed, the
names are set at the foot in two parts: the first containing one
column of signatures, headed *' Radno'ss"; the other containing three
colnmns headed " Breconss'." The names marked end the respect-
ive columns on the first page.
312 SOME PARTICULARS CONCERNING
According to Theophilus Jones/ the river Uyfiii takea
its name either from rippling over the rocks of Llande-
failog tre'r graig, from the old verb Llyfnu to babble, or
from Llvfiau to channel or harrow ; but the local pro-
nunciation of the word is Llynfi, and thus it is often
spelled.
The oldest register of the parish of Glasbury extent
commence in 1660, and are earned on in the same
parchment book to 1695. Up to that date there occur
several entries of burials at Felindre, and in Aberllyfiii
churchyard and church. Marriages and baptisms in
Aberllyfni Church and in Felindre Chapel are entered in
the years 1660 and 1661. No churchwarden has been
appointed for Aberllyfni since the Restoration. In the
course of the eighteenth centuiy^ Aberllyfiii Church and
Felindre Chapd fell to ruin. Even tradition has for-
gotten the site of Pipton Chapel, of which every vestige
was effaced during tne same century from Pipton Green.
The site chosen for the new church and churchyard
of Alexander Griffith was a piece of ground called Clas
dan Coed y Bolin — the Close under the Pole Wood. It
was the gift of Sir Henry Williams, but Lord Hereford,
being the present proprietor of the smaU selvidges of
land which lie outside the sacred enclosure, and from
which it seems to have been separated, while the manor
continues in the Gwemyfed family, it is probable that
Sir Henry purchased the site from the contemporary
owner of the Tregoed property.
The following quotations mark the date when this
church was first used for sacred purposes, probably
under the Bishop's licence.
" David, the son of Thomas Pugh and Alice his wife,
was baptised the IS"" of Januar. 1664, being the first
baptised in the New Chiutjh." "Watkyn Prichard and
Mawd Prichard were married the fourteenth day of
January 1664 in the New Church."
' Hist, of Brecks,, ii, p. 388.
' See note to the accoant of Glasbary iu the Hist, of Brecks.^ ou
the authority of the Rev. J. Hughes, M.A.
THE PARISH OF GI.ASBURY. 313
A manuscript, endorsed in the handwriting of the
Rev. John Hughes, and found with the petition among
his papers, contains the "Form of Consecrating Glase-
bury Churchyard," which is another holograph of Mr.
Griffith's. It is ptiged 1 to 14, affords a remarkable
picture of the social state of the times, and begins
abruptly with the Bishop's address to the lay and
clerical representatives of the parish.
" S'r Henry Williams & you Mr. Griffith, w'th the rest of the
parishe. I have binne often intreated by you to come & conse-
crate a Church and Churchyard. I pray you declare unto me
the reasons of it."
*' Eight Reverend Father, & o'r Diocesan, we humbly beseech
yo'r acceptance of our Reasons in this paper.
" Heretofore wee had a Church uppon the other side of the
water, w'ch lyeing low was inundated upon by this river, & soe
devoured & tome down as the mines may expresse to yo'r eye,
that it hath binne longe unusefull to the parish for those godly
purposes to w'ch it was intended. We have thought it therefore
fitt for the securing from such like future mischeife to build
another in its steade upon this side the water, where the inun-
dation of this river cannot hurtfully reach it ; and God having
pleased to give a blessing to o'r endeavour, wee have now brought
it to such a perfection qb will lack nothing to be used for divine
offices, but only yo'r episcopall consecration, w'ch therefore wee
humbly begg you wilbe pleased to grante."
" 1 am ready by the grace of God to doe this, or anything con-
ducing to God's glory & the good of anie in my diocesse, & for
that purpose am come thither : therefore show me the ground for
the Churchyard, & the house intended for the Church."
A. " This & this."
B, " Lett us walke about & see the ground, & uppon that con-
sider the fitnesse of it to these holy purposes."
**In ihe perarnlmlation the&e sentences are to be reade :
"Gen. iii, 19. — *In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread
tUl thou retume to the ground, for out of it wast thou taken; for
dust thou art, & to dust thou shalt retume.'
" Dan. xii, 2. — 'And manie of them who sleepe in the dust of
the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, & some to shame
,& everlasting contempt.'
" Eccles. xii, 7. — * Then shall the earth retume to the earth as
it was, & the spirit shall retume to God that gave it,'
314 SOME PARTICULARS CONCERNING
" Jo'n xii, 24 — ' Verily, verily I say unto you, that except a
corne of wheat fall into the ground, & die, it abydeth alone; but
if it dye, it bringeth forth much fruite.'
" Cor. XV, 24 — ' It is sowen in corruption, it is raised in incor-
ruption/
" 43. — * It is sowen in dishonour, it is raised in glory : it is
sowen in weakness, it is raised in power.'
"44 — ' It is sowen a naturall body, it is raised a spiritall body.'
"Job. xix, 25. — * I know that my Redeemer liveth^ & that he
shall stand att the latter daie upon the earth.'
" 26. — ^^ And though after my skin, worms destroy my body,
yett in my flesh shall I see Grod.'
" 27. — ' Whom shall I see for myself, & mine eyes shall behold,
& not another, though my reines be consumed Vthin mee.'
" Eccles. bcxi, 26. — ' Whatsoever thou takest in hand, remem-
ber the end, & thou shalt never doe amisse.'
" Es. i, 6. — ' My sonne, lett teares fall down over the dead, &
beginne to moume as if thou hadst suffered great harme thyseK,
& then cover his body according to the custome, and neglect not
his burialL'
" Jo'n, xi, 25. — ' Jesus saith unto her : I am the resurrection
and the life ; he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet
shall he live.'
" 26. — 'And whosoever liveth & beleeveth in mee shall never
dye.'
" These sentences out of holy writt I have read unto you, that
you may consider the frailnesse and earthynesse of yo'r bodyes,
that you may consider one day whither at the last you must
come, as likewise the great power and goodness of God, who,
though you lye here covered & shutt upp in the bowells of the
earth, yett one day the angell of the Lord shall blow a trumpet,
and the dead shall arise againe. They who have donne well to
eternall glory, and they who have donne ill to etemall misery.
" These churchyards are the bedds of nature, where every one
must lye, and every one shall arise againe to receive judgments
And, good Christians, I would advise you to frequent these places
w'ch are apt to preach this doctrine to you, & putt you in mind
of such thoughts ; or if it doe not, yet that you study this Booke
when you come hither, & you will find how aU yo'r forefathers
have slept in such beds as these, how you must, & yo'r posterity,
one day lye in this or the like. And doe not make this Church-
yard only a passage to ye Church ; but by such thoughts a pr'pa^
ratory sermon, to fill yo'r soules w'th heavenly meditations, to
make you fitt for that blessed society & those holie dutyes to
w'ch you are goinge.
THE PARISH OF GLASBURY. 315
" Well, by these you consider death and the judgment in gene-
rail ; but that you may in particular reflect uppon this duty wee
are goinge about, & consider the religious practice of the Church,
wee will begin w'th the father of the fBiithfull.
" Sead the 23 cap. of Genesis. You may observe in this cap.
that Abraham, the father of the faithfuU, bought att a great price
the field of Machpelah, of Ephron the Hittite, for a buryinge-
place, where att the first he buried Sarah ; & as you may observe
in the 49 of Genesis, there was Abraham buryed, there Isaake
and Rebecca his wife, there Jacob buried Leah, & in the last cap.
there was Jacob likevdse buried himselfe. Soe that we may
observe, even from this act of Abraham, that holy men dedicated
places of purpose for the buryinge their dead. And those holy
men chose such places to co'mitt their bodyes to. Nay, in this
cap. wee may observe that this was not only a propheticall reve-
lation to Abraham, or a positive lawe of God to the Jews, but
the lawe of Nature. The very Gentiles did soe likewise. You
may observe in the sixth verse of this chapter that the children
of Heth answered Abraham, ' Heare me, my Lord, thou art a
mighty prince amongest us ; in the choyce of o'r sepulchres bury
thy dead, none of us shall Vthold from thee his sepulchre.' Soe
then they had sepulchres & places sett apart to bury their dead
in. Well, wee go on. As Abraham, Isaake, & Jacob, soe did
likewise Joseph, as you may find in the last cap. of Genesis,
co'mand his bones to be carried into the holy Land to be buryed
there, Vch was afterwards performed, as you may find Joshua
the xxiv, 32.
" Well, then you may disceme that these holy persons are a
precedent to us of this duty, as well as others, & you may yet
perceive how sacred these places, & of w't esteeme in the world
they were ; that when Abraham bought this field, he was but a
sojourner there ; and two hundred years after, when Jacob was
buried there, although the posteritie of Abraham were inhabit-
ants in another country, 8c held no commerce w'th them, yet the
right of his purchase was preserved for his posterity untouched.
O, how much more faithfuU, how much more carefuU of pious
dutyes were these, then those of o'r latter tymes, where nothinge
dedicated, yea consecrated to holy purposes, was free from their
injury!
" Thus much I note to you out of this chapter. Let us goe on.
In the last of Deut. you shall find God himself proviifinge a
buryinge-place for Moses. Look amongest the Kings of Israel,
& you shall co'monly finde them buried in the sepulchre of their
fathers. Yea many private men had buryinge-places set apart
for that purpose. You may have two instances in the 13 cap.
316 SOME PARTICULARS CONCERNING
of the first Book of Kings, verse 22. The old prophet told the
man of God that for his sinn he should not come into the sepul-
chre of his fathers. His fathers, then, had sepulchres, and not
to be buryed there was a judgment. But in the 30th verse, see,
the old prophet is said to lay that man of God in his owne grave.
These were buryinge-places where families were buryed. Let
us come to the New Testament, & we may find there that o'r
Saviour himselfe was buryed in a prepared burying-place by
Joseph of Arimathea, as you may read Matt, xxix, 60; and that
costly ointment was bestowed uppon him by Mary in the 26 cap.
10 verse. You shall find he commended that cost as a thinge in
order to his buriall, Vch should be glorious. Isaiah xi,10,C. B.9.
Well, then, the patriarchs before our Saviour, & he himselfe,
honored these solenme burying-places, we need no more : yet to
shew that this was the practice of the Church, we may find that
the Xtians, even in the daies'of cruell persecution, had their
dormitaries and cemetaries in w'ch they layd their bodies to
sleepe their longe sleepe untill Christ shall call, ' Lazarus, arise T
And att the first, when they were forbid their oratories in their
Christian meetinges, they then fled to their cemetaiyes out of
the city to performe the religious dutyes in, untill they were
persecuted thence alsoe. Wliich may be found in a litle more
than two hundred yeares after Christ, where it is reported in the
tyme of Calixtus, the first Bpp. of Eome, who was liAonge in that
age, & dyed a martyr, that there were 43 cemetaryes about
Rome. Therefore that you may observe in that litle tyme how
pr'tious in the eyes of that glorious Christ w'th whose blood the
future Church was watered, these Churchyards were, soe that
men, multitudes of men, in that age when their Churches were
deadly, made their Churchyards not their buryinge-places only,
but their places of confession, yea their martyrdome. I will not
trouble you with the story of their deameanure. See wee how
they were fenced w'th lawes & canons. It will easily appeare
from thence to descend downe to us.
" But now it may be answered, Why soe ? Wt neede of any
such thing ? When the soule is gone, let the bodie dye in the
field, & be devoured w'th birds or beasts ; let a man dye in the
sea, & the fishes devour him, let him be burned to ashes by fire,
God can quicken att the last all these scattered atomes togeather
as well as make them att the firsts & can extract their essences
and beings out of the stomacks and maws of fishes, birds, &
beasts. There is noe difficulty to him in it. This is true. It is
not in regard of God, but o'rselves that wee doe it, & in a reli-
gious honor of God. 0, beloved ! God made o'r bodyes after an
especiall manner (Gen. ii, 7). He formed us of the dust of the
THE PARISH OF GLASBURY. 317
earth. Other things, att his word, leapt out of that matter in
w'ch potentia they lay before ; but he formed man, that is his
body, for the breath of life. His soule was putt in afterwards,
in honour of that work w'ch God soe honored. Let men take
care of these bodyes ; & this being a thinge writt in nature, I
might be longe in enlarginge uppon the manner of the Gentiles,
but majora cano,
" I have greater thinges than this to speak of. These bodyes
of o'rs are members of his body (Ephes. v, 30) ; we are members
of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. As then Joseph &
Nicodemus, who had the advantage of us, & were before us, did
care of his naturall body in the burpnge of it, soe let us take
care & follow their blessed steps in piously buryinge these parts
of his mistical! body. Nay, I Cor. vi, 19, our bodyes are called
the temples of the Holy Ghost. 0, let us take care of those
sacred places w'ch he hath chosen to inhabite in, yea o'r bodyes !
Although they are not masters and governors of the mysteryes
of holynesse, yet they are excellent servants of righteousnesse,
as St. Paul calls them, Eom. vi, 19. W*t should I say more, or
w't can be sayd more ? Christ dyed to save yoY bodyes, O, take
a care of that w'ch Christ held so deare ! Att the last day he
will glorifie yo'r bodyes. Neglect not that w^'ch Xt will exalt,
& held at such a price. I will add one heavenly passage out of
St. Aug'e : * Thou wnlt hold pr'tious thy deare ffriends ringe or
any memorial! thou hast of him, shalt thou not much rather his
body w'ch is dearer ?' Not, for God*s sake, therefore, to save
his eyes the seekinge, or his power the labor to gather togeather
the crumbs or digested peices of o'r bodyes, doe wee thus bury
them in these places ; but honoringe his glorious worke, to shew
o'r utmost affections to that Vch he held soe deare, & to awake
the hope of o'r resurrection att the last day. Thus you have
scene the practice of the Church, & the reason why wee sett those
pieces of grounde to these purposes, w'ch now wee seeing pr'se-
dents & reasons for w't wee doe, lett us attend the worke ; &
that wee may doe the better, & have a blessing uppon, lett us
call uppon AUmighty God in the humble & hearty prayer, —
" ' Our Father,' etc.
" 0, most blessed and glorious God, who givest bounds to the
sea, & hast established the heavens in their course ; who settledst
the limits of all thinges, whether spirittuaU or corporaU, assist
us, Lord, in this duty of apropriatinge this place to be a rest-
inge place & depository for the dead of this parishe. That by
thy acceptance & blessinge of this duty, what wee shall conse-
crate uppon earth may by thee be confirmed in heaven ; & that
wee, thy poor unworthy servants, may be accepted by thee in
4th seb., vol. I. 22
318 SOME PARTICULARS CONCERNING
this holy office, not weighing o'r merritts, who are dust & ashes,
sinfull, offending wretches, but pardoninge o'r sinne, & accepting
this o*r bounden duty, for the merritts of Jesus Christ o'r only
mediator and redeemer.
" ' Sir Henry Williams, since, like Abraham, you have bought
this place for the buriall of the dead of this parish, it is fitt you
should resigne yo'r interest in it for this godly & religious inte-
rest ; and to that purpose, in the name of the whole I entreat
you to deliver me a turfe in token of yo'r resignation.' Tlien let
him digge a turfcy ic give, it into the ^pp's govmCj vfch he haulds
for that purpose, sat/inge, * Eight Beverend Father, by this turfe
I resigne upp all my interest in this circuit of ground, to be a
buringe-place (or ever for the dead of this parishe of Glasebniy,
into y'or hands, intreatinge you to accept of it to that purpose.'
" * S'r, I doe accept it, & w'th my acceptance beseech God to
bless you in this pious worke ; and be confident, if you be not
weary of well doinge, but persevere in honoringe him, he will
bless you.'
" ' This noble gentleman haveing delivered upp his interest in
this place for this duty, I, William, by the providence of God
B'pp of this diocesse of St. David's, doe by the authoritie co'mit-
ted to me, in the most blessed name of the Father, the Sonne, &
the Holy Ghost, consecrate this circuite of ground to be a rest-
inge place for the bodyes of those who shalbe buried here, untill
the last day of doome.'
"And now I acquainte you of this parishe, from henceforth
here must be none of yo'r parishe feastes, noe lawe courtes, noe
musteringe of soldiers, noe prophane & common uses be exercised.
Nay, this place must not be abused by the buriall of heathen
people here, w'ch dyd without havinge given their names upp to
the Lord. Nor any person who haveing forsaken his faith, hath
binne, for contempt of the Church, iustly excommunicated, &
before his death hath not made an himible confession acknow-
ledginge his offence, & received absolution ; for w't communion
hath light w'th darknesse, or those bodyes w'ch have served the
Lord in this life, w'th those who have contemned him. This
wilbe yo'r duty to take care of. And that you may doe it the
better, lett us pray to God for a blessinge uppon :
" O most mighty & powerfull God, from whome all power is
derived both in heaven and earth, soe that noe man hath pro-
priety in any thinge but w't is ratified by thy authority, con-
firme, heavenly Father, wee most humbly beseech thee, this
dedication and appropriation of this place to thy service. Be
thou a wall of defence to it, that the enemy may have noe power
to annoy, nor the wicked approach to hurt ; pr'serve these bodyes
THE PARISH OF GLASBURY. 319
w'ch shallbe committed to this earth, untill thy glorious cominge
att the last day to judgment, & cause them to arise. God, the
Father, who madest these bodyes, & didst p'serve them . alive,
guard them when they are dead. God, the sonne, who hast
redeemed these bodyes w'th thy most pr'tious blood, keepe them
& pr'serve them by thine infinitely wise providence. O God, the
Holy Ghost, who didst pleaae to inhabite & dwell in these bodyes
liveinge, guard them when they are dead in the grave. O holy,
blessed, and glorious Trinity, three Persons & one God, who hast
provided etemaU blessinges in heaven for them, guard them w'th
thy allmighty providence when they are here in this earth, that
they & wee, att thy glorious appearance to judgment, may meete
thee w'th jojrfull triumph & hallelujah for these unspeakable
mercyes & goodnesse. But, God, since by the frailnesse &
wealaiesse of man's judgment, such may be admitted to these
societyes who have not a wedding garment, wee pray not for
such, they have their portions w'th the Devill and his angeUs.
But, O Lord, wee pray thee for them who have binne sanctified
by thy Spirit, & resigning their soules into thy most blessed
hands, shall have their bodyes committed to this earth. And wee
pray for o'rselves that wee dayly increase more & more, by thy
favour, in sanctification, untill wee come to such a measure of
perfection as shalbe accepted of thee.
" These thinges, most glorious God, grante us, & w*tsoever
els thy infinite wisdome shall know fitt for us, for Jesus Christ's
sake, in whom thou art well pleased."
On the cover of tlie old Register-book are the words —
" The New Church of Glasebury was consecrated by the R.
Eev. Father in God William Lucy, Lord Bishop of St. David's,
the 29th of June, 1665, being St. Peter's Day, & soe called St.
Peter's Church
"Timothy Halton (S.S. Th. Bacch. & Coligij Eegina Alum.
Oxon. Alum.) preached the consecration sermon.
"Alex. Grifi&th, vicar.
" Henry Williams of Penyllan ) rii, r. j »
" Eichard Edwards j Churchwardens.
Before this great parochial event the active vicar had
performed an essential service to the locality by certi-
fying the boxindaries of the several parishes and chapel-
ries comprehended under his pastoral charge as in-
cumbent of Glasbury.
A fly-leaf of the Parchment Register-book bears the
following curious and interesting record of
22 «
320 SOME PARTICULARS CONCERNING
" The Meares between Aberllyfni & Glasebuiy & Pipton :
"1. It begins at Llyfni, in the upper end of Gwerladd Fawr,
where the bridge once stood, at a hollow gullet, & soe along the
old ditch downwards the meadow ; all w'ch, to the lower end, is
in Pipton, except about two dayes math, w'ch is in Eadnorss'e
& Glasebury p'r'sh, & then to Glis meadow, w'ch is in Glasebury
p'r*sh & Radnorss'e.
" 2. Then over the way to the middle of the highway leading
to Glasebury Bridge, taking in Wm. Eichard's new house built
upon the highway being in Glasebury.
" 3. Then along Richard Eustane*s lands unto Coed Bollin, Vch
is whollie in Glasebury p'r*sh.
" 4. Then to Penydduall joyning upon Garden Vach, being the
Wid'w Gunter's lands in Radnorss'e ; then along the Garden
Vach to the very end of 4 Acres & a meare between TrusUwch &
the 4 Acres to the highway. Mr. John HI. Tlien to a great
stone by the highway. Then over the way to a great oake in the
Warren, whereof 17 acres, with part in the Cwm, is in Eadnorss'e,
joyning to the old Sheapherd's house in Glas. Thence along an
old highway to the Cwm.
" 5. Thence to an oaken tree by the river Syfyddi, then over
Syfyddi river to the 3 acres called Yto Chopp, where two oakes
are marked.
" 6. Then over a ditch or hedge to the midst of the Upp. War-
ren, wheare the oakes near the cross hedge are the meare.
" 7. Then over the highway to the Parke, to the upper end of
the lioinie & Gwn Deuroeth. Then to a green pathway that
leads to the Lodge, to a standing theare where a great oake is
marked, & so over that way to Ilandrisiog ; thence to the river,
& over the river to the Parke pale joyning to Tyle Gifts. Thence
to Maes y Fidwen, whereof about seaven ridges are in Glasebury
parish.
" 8. Thence to Gwladd y Grog, to a stone shewn, & so along
to another stone, & thence to Gwrlodd Jenkin William's in Aber-
llyfni parish.
" 9. Tlience to Maes Mawr, next to the Parke, and thence to
Maes Mawr Ucha to a great oake, & to the highway.
" Now all within this circle, towards Aberllyfni Church, is in
Aberljyfni p'r'sh ; and without, in Glasebury & Pipton.
" This was meared A'o D*m*i 1665, Henry Williams & Thomas
Beavan of Skynlas, churchwardens of Glasebury, upon Ascen-
sion Day ; Alexander Griffith, vicar of Glasebury, aged 65 ; Tho-
mas Watkyns of Aberllyfni, aged about 80 yeares ; John ap John
of the same, aged about 80 ; Owen ap Evan of Pipton, aged 60 ;
Watkyn John Jenkyn, aged 70 ; Henry Thomas Goch, aged 55 ;
THE PARISH OF GLASBUHY. 321
Roger Walter of Pipton, aged 70 ; and a great company of both
pVshes."
Henry Williams, of Scynllas, was the first person
buried in this church ; the date of his interment being
July 30, 1665. He was the ancestor of a family which
supphed several successive vicars to Glasbury, and be-
came extinct in the male Hne about the middle of the
eighteenth century. Their coat armour was argent, a
wyvem displayed proper. One sister of the last male
heir married Thomas Hughes, Esq., of the Neuadd,
since called Glasbury House, in the coimty of Radnor,
and was the mother of thirteen grown-up children, of
whom only the eldest and youngest were daughters.
The other sister of the last male heir of the Scynllas,
Gwem, and other estates, bequeathed them to her
eldest niece, Bridget Hughes, who was for many years
the tenant of her eldest brother, the Rev. John Hughes,
M.A., and subsequently of his youngest daughter and
co-heiress Isabella, at Glasbury House.
The arms borne by the Hughes family of Crogen
Iddon, Glyn, and Glasbury were sable, a chevron be-
tween three fleurs-de-lis, or. Crest, a dexter hand and
arm gauntleted proper, bearing a fleur-de-lis or.
Among the registrations of the parish the names of
children and grandchildren of the Rev. Alexander Grifiith
frequently occur. " Ursula, the wife of John Blayney,
and daughter to Alex. Griffith, was buryed 9th of
January, 1672." "Gaynor Goodman, the wife of Alex.
Griffith, clerk. Vicar of Glasebury, was biu-yed the 25 of
February 1672 aged 77." The good vicar survived
these family afflictions four years, and kept the parish
books with his usual exactness and neatness untU within
a short time of his decease. "Alexander Griffith, Vicar
of Glasebury, Rector of Llanelieu, Died the one and
twentieth, Buried the four and twentieth of April 1676."
"His successor in the Vicarage, Thomas Powell, was
buried the last day of December, 1682."
Among the subsequent entries may be found some of
considerable local interest, for instance: — "William
322 SOME PARTICULARS CONCERNING
Davids of Talgarth commonly called Y Quaker Coch
was found dead on the wayside in a place called
Groscegir — (it is reported that he made himself away
upon discontent because he should not marry his maide.
The Lord of the Manor seized on his goods, and his
body is in Glasbury Churchyard near the way as goes
to Aberllyfoi, where no good Xtians are buried) — on
the 27th of November 1688."
Henry Somerset Duke of Beaufort, President and
Lord-Lieutenant of Wales and the Marches, made a
stately progress in the year 1684 throughout the terri-
tories under his government. Among his attendants
on this occasion was Mr. Thomas Dindey, who has left
an interesting record of the incidents, and a valuable
description of the locahties. He says : — " Glasbury
Church between Hay and (within seven miles of) Breck-
nock neer the road hath these two tombstones in the
chancell : Here lyeth the body of Gryffith Williams of
Werne in the parish of Llanthew m the county of
Brecon, Gent ; who departed this life xii**" day of June
at the Skynlas in the county of radnor in 1683, aged
oi Lxxi. The other. Silence James Watkins of Tregoyd,
etc., 1681."
The church consecrated in 1665 consisted of a chancel,
a nave, and a low square tower, having a sloping pyra-
midal roof covered, like the rest of the edifice, with tiles,
and surmounted by a weather-vane. The tower con-
tained six bells. The pulpit and desk were fixed close
to the southern wall of the nave, a little westward of
the chancel partition. The cloths were dark-blue, and
that overhanging the pulpit bore in gold letters the
date 1665. The royal arms were painted over the
middle of the western side of the chancel partition.
The ten commandments, the creed, the Lords prayer,
and various texts of Scripture decorated the walls in
suitable places. A gallery of three or four large pews
stood a^inst the northern wall of the nave, and was
approached by a broad oaken staircase. A gallery for
the singers stood against the western wall and was ap-
THE PARISH OF GLASBURY. 323
proached by a staircase from the tower. There was a
door in the western wall of the tower, and a door in the
southern wall of the chancel. The principal entrance
was in the southern wall of the nave, near the tower,
and protected by a porch having stone benches, and a
wooden gate.
It would appear that the old materials used in
the construction of this church conduced to its pre-
mature decay. It was capable of containing only three
hundred and twenty persons, and in the spring of the
year 1836 its dilapidated state and the increased popu-
lation of the parish caused the Rev. Charles Bradley,
vicar, and his principal parishioners to take measures
preparatory to its immediate demolition, and the erec-
tion of a new structure.
Jane Williams.
CATALOGUE OF THE HENGWET MSS. AT
PENIARTH.
( Conti mied from p. h)0.)
335. Vocabularies in Latin, Welsh, and some English,
transcribed, in 1606 and 1608, by Jones of GeUUjrfdy.
At the commencement is the following introduction :
*'Ir Darleyd — Anwyl darleyd y medweryd lyfyr Geiriyd
ef syd yn amgyflfred audurdodeu kasgledig o lau Rossier
Morys alan o lyfyr Brud brenhined ynys Brydain, ar
Groglit o lyfyr Siarlemain ar pumed lyfrau Geiryid a
ysgnfennais ef alan o lau yr hen Risiaxt Langfford ar
ladin ymlaen y Gymraeg a pob rann o yiiiadrod ar eu
pennau eu hunain ar ladin ymlaen y Gymraeg a lawer
o avvanegiadau erail gyd a hynny." 4 to. See Nos. 277
and 336.
336. Alphabetical biography, in Welsh, in the auto-
graph of the same Jones of Grellilyfdy. 4to, seventeenth
century.
337. Another volume in the autograph of John Jones.
It contains Aristotle s Advice to Alexander the Great;
Natural History ; the Day of Judgment ; Miscellanies,
324 CATALOGUE OF HENGWRT MSS.
amongst them Triads attributed to Taliesin, p. 40; the
History of the Ship of Madoc, son of Owen Gwynedd,
p. 59 ; the legend, " Yr Oleu bendigedig a ddoeth i gyss-
egru brenhinoedd yr ynys honn/' p. 105; old Proverbs;
Biography of Philosophers. This MS. was written in,
or in and about, the year 1611. 4to; all in Welsh.
338. Troilus and Cressida, a Welsh interlude, in the
autograph of the same John Jones. This MS. was writ-
ten in, or in and about, the years 1613 and 1622.
339. The next MS., which Mr. Owen describes as
" Brud y Breninoedd, Genealogies, Triads, etc., vellum,
8vo," is not numbered in his printed catalogue of these
MSS., but in one of his manuscript catalogues it is
numbered " 339." I have been unable to identify it,
but I suspect it to be the same as that which I have
placed imder No. 536.
340. Described by Mr. Aneurin Owen as " Poetry by
Davydd ap Gwilym and Gruflydd Grug, and a Gram-
mar. 8vo. ' I have not found, or have been imable to
identify this MS. Probably it may yet be forthcoming.
341. The Primer of David Dhu of Hiraethog, the
Vision of St. Paul, and a Calendar ; all in Welsh, 1 2mo,
vellum, fourteenth century. On a leaf at the end, in a
hand of the fifteenth century, is a pedigree deducing
the descent of leuan ap leuan, a descendant of Owen
Keveilioc, from Adam ! This volume is contemporary,
or nearly so, with David Dhu, and may be in his hand.
It is imperfect, and wants ari-anging and binding. See
433.
342. This MS. is described by Mr. Aneurin Owen as
" Song of the Three Children in the Fire. Song of Zach-
ariah. 8vo.'' I have not been able to identify it with
certainty ; but I have little doubt that it is the same as
that which I have placed imder No. 433.
344. Vocabulary in the autograph of Jones of Gelli-
lyfdy, 12mo, Sept. 1639. See No. 277.
345. Ditto, ditto. See No. 277.
346. Logic, Physica Universalis; from the Sebright
collection. Folio, seventeenth century.
AT PENIARTH. 325
347. This MS. contains a transcript of three Dramas
in the ancient Celtic language of Cornwall, which are
preserved in the Bodleian Library : 1 , Ordinale de On-
line Mundi ; 2, Passio Christi ; 3, Resurrectio Domini.
olio, seventeenth century. From the Sebright collec-
tion. See No. 310.
348. Transcripts of Orders for the Administration of
Justice in Wales, in the reign of Elizabeth, dated 8 July,
1561, 25 Nov. 1559, 25 June, 3rd of Elizabeth; an In-
quisition relative to the boundaries of the townships of
Lledwigan Llys and Bottenlly, in Anglesea, taken
10 Dec. 11th Elizabeth; and another Inquisition rela-
tive to the boundaries of the townships of Bosemanagh
and Llysdulas, in the same county, tfiJten 20 Aug. 10th
of Elizabeth. The first of these transcripts wants the
first leaf, and the last of them nearly the whole of the
"Teste." Fol.,1 7th century; from the Sebright collection.
349. Laws of Howel Dda, 4to, fifteenth century, in
Welsh; from the Sebright collection. This MS. was
made use of by Wotton in editing his edition of the
Welsh Laws, as appears by the following note, in his
hand, at p. 160: "Folia duo casu quodam, nescio quo,
desiderantur : ne mihi lacuna hsec imputetur, hoc hie
loci monendum duxi. G. Wottonus. Sed ni fallor inve-
niuntur post pag. 168." This voliune is slightly imper-
fect at the end. It wants less than occupies one column
in the last page of Wotton's work ; and after this defi-
ciency occur several pages, which would seem to be dis-
placed from some other part of the MS.
350. This MS., a miscellaneous collection, formerly in
the library of the well known Edward Lhuyd, of the
Ashmolean Museum, and afterwards of Sir Thomas Se-
bright, Bart., was purchased by Col. Salesbury of Bhiig,
or his brother, Lieut. -Colonel Vaughan of Hengwrt, at
the sale of the Sebright Library; and several of the
notes, and I believe much of the text, are in Lhuyd s
hand. The volume contains a summary of the " Liber
Landavensis," in Latin ; ** Seith Doethion Bufein" (the
seven wise men of Bome), by Llewelyn, the priest, in
326 CATALOGUE OF HENGWRT MSS.
Welsh ; a transcript of a MS. on vellum, in the library
of Jesus College, Oxford ; '' Ebostol y Sul"; " Ach Cyn-
awg Sant"; "Ach Catwg Sant"; "Enweu Brenhinedd
y Bryttanyeit" (the names of the kings of the Britons),
in Welsh ; " Llyvyr ancr Llan Dewi Brevi," containing
legendary tales and religious treatises, — ^amongst them
" The Lucidar," in Welsh, from an ancient copy in Latin,
on vellum, in the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford, No.
1289; Tit. vi, "Breudwyt Pawl Ebostol" (the vision of
St. Paul the Apostle); "Buchedd Beuno" (life of St.
Beuno) ; and the " Kysegr Ian vuched"; " Meddygon
Myddvai"; Sir John Wynn's History of the Gwydir
Family; an Answer to the North Wales Men who main-
tain Anarawd to be the eldest Son of Roderick the
Great ; a copy of a Note-Book by Mr. Robert Vaughan
of Hengwrt ; and a List of the Sheriffe of Merioneth-
shire from 1541 tol668 inclusive. Near the end of the
volume, written on the backs of the pages, commences
a miscellaneous collection, as follows : Genealogies and
Historical Notices of South Wales Families; Topogra-
phical Notes relating to Glamorganshire ; Hanes O wain
ap Urien ; Mabinogion ; Extent of Wentwood ; Welsh
Poet^ by various authors, amongst them,Gytto 'r Glyn
and Khys GU)ch or Yri ; a tract in very old English,
which is headed, "Quae sequuntur veteri Anglorum lin-
gu4 e codice membranaceo (in 4to) quem nuper Biblio-
thecse Collegii Jesu donaverat D. Thomas Wilkins Gla-
morganensis. Incipiimtdocumenta Regis Aluredi" Folio,
seventeenth century.
351. This volimae also belonged to Edward Lhuyd,
and afterwards to Sir Thomas Sebright. See dedication
to Heame's *' Alured of Beverley," 1716. Lhuyd s hand-
writing occurs in several parts of it. It contains a let-
ter from W. Jones to Edw. Lhuyd; a large collection
of Welsh poetry, — amongst the compositions of other
writers, poems by Lewis Glyn Cothi, Rd. Kynnwal,
Dr. John Kent, Wm. Lleyn, Simwnt Vychan, Einion ap
Gwalchmai; a short Welsh vocabulary; Meddygon Mydd-
vai (art of heaUng), see No. 350; catalogue of Welsh
AT PENIARTH. 327
MSS. ; measure of land in Carnarvonshire; "Lawes &
Costoms within the Lordshippe of Dyffrynclwyd afore
y^ Shireground," before it was shire ground (part of a
county) ; inscription on Macduff's cross in Fife ; petition
to King James I from Thomas Canon, Esq., surveyor of
the crown lands in South Wales; topographical notes
relating to parts of Denbighshire; brief note of instruc-
tions to be ordained by Her Majesty (Queen Elizabeth),
to be observed by the President and Coimcil in the
Marches of Wales ; letters from " Robertus Josephus,
Eveshamus claustricola," to John Harrison, monk of
Tavistock, and others. To these letters, one page of
which is imperfect, is the following note, in a later hand :
" I find in Holingshed's Chronicles, amongst the names
of the learned men who flourished in King Edward the
Sixth's reign, one Doctor Joseph, an excellent preacher,
mentioned, who I presume to be the author of these
Epistles." At the end of the volume is "Ordo tomorum
et librorum divi Augustini." Folio, sixteenth and seven-
teenth centuries.
352. Another miscellaneous volume from the Sebright
library, containing Law Proceedings, in French; rental
of lands in South Wales and the Marches, in Latin ;
** Gosodiad Ynys Brydain" — ^a description of Britain in
the autograph of Griffith Hiraethog, and written by him
in the years 1543 and 1548; Welsh Laws, a fragment.
There is also an imperfect note of the expedition of
Henry VIII to France in 1513. 4to, sixteenth and
seventeenth centuries.
353. Another volume from the Sebright collection,
containing Aristotle's Logic, in Latin, written in a small
and beautiful hand; letters in French, epigrams and
letters in Latin and French. 4to, seventeenth century.
354. Another volume from the Sebright collection. It
contains Ordinances of the Chiuxjh, fifteenth century, in
Latin ; the beginning wanting, — ending, " Constat Hou-
inton"; " Dares Phrygius," a fragment, in Welsh, seven-
teenth century; British History, a fragment in Welsh,
seventeenth century. 4to.
328 CATALOGUE OF HENGWRT MSS.
355. Another volume from the Sebright collection,
containing genealogies written by Wm. Kynwal in 1582;
description of Britain ; history of Charlemagne ; pedi-
grees of British saints ; and some other pedigrees,
amongst them a short one of the house of Tuaor ; story
of the blessed oil. A great part of this MS. , some of the
contents of which are imperfect, is in the autograph of
Wm. Dyvy, " Bard," and was written by him in 1686.
8vo, sixteenth century, all in Welsh.
356. This volume also is from the Sebright library.
About one half of it contains poetry, the remainder
medical receipts. Some of the poetical pieces, and of
the medical receipts, are injured and imperfect. Amongst
the poetry are compositions by the following writers :
Sion Tudur, Giiffith Hiraethog, lolo Goch, Sion PhUip
(an elegy by him iipon the death of Queen Elizabeth),
Archdeacon Prys, W m. Lleyn, David Lloyd ap Llewelyn
ap Gruffydd (" Kywydd i Owain Tudur o Fon pan gar-
cnarwyd ef an Frennines Ffraink"), David ap Edmund,
Thomas Prys of Plas lolyn (an elegy by him upon the
death of Sir John Lloyd, of Yale, Knt., in 1606). 8vo,
sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, all in Welsh.
357. This MS., nearly the whole of which is in the
autograph of Sir Hugh Pennant, priest (see Williams'
" Biographical Dictionary," so often before referred to),
was given by Wm. Wynn, of Maes-y-neuadd, Esq., in
1 699, to Edw. Lhuyd of the Ashmolean Museum. From
him it passed into the Sebright library. It contains :
Avallenau Merddin ; fragment of a Chronicle of Wales ;
Achau y Saint, a fragment ; the Kings of Britain ; Scrip-
ture Genealogy; the Tribes of Wales; Gwyrthiau Mi-
hangel; Awdyl ("y wnaeth panthion"); "Cywyddau,
by David ap Gwilym ; Ll3rvyr Theophrastles; Cywydd
Brud, gan H. Pennant; Scripture Genealogy and His-
tory ; medical recipes ; Ystori Gweryddon yr Almaen ;
the eleven thousand Virgins, a Latin poem; Bull for
the regulation of the Church in Britain ; and at the end
a short poem by David ap Gwilym. The volume also
contains a short pedigree of Gruffith Derwas, of the
AT PENIARTH. 329
hoiise of Naiiney, including that of some of the descend-
ants of Osbom Wyddel. (See Williams' " Biographical
Dictionary." 8vo; fifteenth, and very early in the six-
teenth centuries.
358. Another volume from the Sebright collection.
At the commencement is "Araeth Gwgan/' the fool of
Owen Gwynedd, sent on an embassy to Rhys, Prince of
South Wales. Then follows a large collection of moral
verses, some of them by Thomas Owens of St. Asaph,
others by John Tudur. At the end of the volume is a
poetical composition addressed by Lewis Glyn Cothi to
Reginald ap Gruffith ap Blethin, of Tower, near Mold.
Svo, sixteenth century. See 331.
359. This MS., also from the Sebright collection, and
No. 360, are a transcript of the greater part of No. 96
in this collection. There is a continuation of the same
*
transcript in the British Museum, Harl. MS. 2288 or
2299. 4to, seventeenth century.
360. Another part of the same transcript.
361. Another volume from the Sebright Ubrary, nearly
the whole of it containing a valuable collection of pedi-
grees, mostly of North Wales families ; but there are
some poetical pieces, one by lolo Goch; and near the
end are some chronological notes relating to English
history in the fifteenth century. 8vo, fifteenth, and
early in the sixteenth centuries. On the first page of
this MS. is written, in a hand apparently contemporary,
" Uyvyr m' gruff." (Gruffith.)
362. On the back of this MS. is written, in a very old
hand, "Vita Sanctissimi patris nostri Wolstani cum
miraculis in metris, Biblia tota a magistro Petro riga
metrice edita." Svo, fifteenth century, beautifully writ-
ten on vellum.
362a. a very valuable collection of Welsh poetry,
mostly by Owen Griffith, and probably in his hand.
This volume, though some of the pieces are imperfect,
is little, if at all, inferior to one of the Heralds' Visita-
tions. It contains epithalamia, elegies, and compliment-
ary verses, upon a very great number of the gentry of
330 CATALOGUE OP HENGWRT MSS.
North Wales, and gives their pedigrees, the names and
pedigrees of their wives, and, in most instances, the
dates of the events which the poems were intended to
commemorate. Foho, late in the seventeenth, and early
in the eighteenth centuries.
363. Fragment of a Latin Service Book of the fifteenth
century, on vellum. Folio.
364. A volume of shields of arms, most of them very
well drawn, and the greater number in colours; but
unfortunately this MS. is, to some extent, injured and
soiled. Small 4 to, seventeenth century.
365. A valuable collection of Welsh pedigrees in the
autograph of Griffith Hiraethog, and written between
the years 1537 and 1566. 8vo, boimd with No. 256.
366. A large collection of Welsh poetry. Several of
the pieces at the commencement are imperfect. The
volume contains writii^ by the following poets : Grif-
fith Gryg ; David ap Gwilym — there is an ode by him
to Howel ap Tudor ap Ednyved Vychan, Dean of
Bangor ; Rd. Philip — an ode by him on the death of
Edw. Owen of Hengwrt, in 1604 ; Bleddyn Vardd —
there is an elegy by him on the death of Prince Lle-
welyn in 1284, and another on the death of David ap
Griffith ap Owen Brogentjm, of Edemion ; Howel
Reinallt — an elegy by him on the death of Jankin
ap lorwerth, of Ynys y maengwyn ; Tudur Penllyn
—an ode by him to Griffith Vaughan ap Griffith ap
Einion, of Cors y gedol,and Ellis, his brother ; Gutto
^r Glyn — there is an ele^ by him on the death of the
same Griffith Vauffhan ; David ap Edmund "Hangmer''
(Hanmer) ; lolo Groch — ^an elegy by him on the death,
in 1367, of Grono ap Tudor ap Grono, ancestor of the
Royal House of Tudor ; Griffith Phillippes — ^an elegy
by him on the death of Mr. Thomas Poole, of Llandeck-
win, in 1610 ; Kees Pennardd — there is an ode by him
to Rees ap Griffith ap Aron, of Peniarth, Esq. There
is also a list of the Sheriflfe of Merionethshire from the
year 1541 to 1604 inclusive. Part of this manuscript
IS in the autograph of the antiquary, Robert Vaughan.
8vo, seventeenth century.
AT PENIARTH. 331
367. A valuable collection of North Wales pedigrees,
nearly the whole in the autograph of Simwnt Vychan,
some of them from the books of Gutyn Owen, Edward
ap Roger (see No. 308), and Lewys ap Owain ; also,
some little poetry — one composition by "Swrdwal." 4 to,
seventeenth centinry.
368. — This MS., which has been much injinred by
damp, contains : Genealogy ; List of the Roman Em-
perors ; Story of the Oleu Vendeged, and some poetry by
Dr. John Kent. 4to, sixteenth century, bound with 251.
368a. A thin duodecimo volume, containing poetry, all,
with the exception of one composition by levan Swrd-
wal, by Howel Cae Llwyd. At the end are some pedi-
grees and medical receipts. Fifteenth century.
369. "Mundialis Spnerse Opusculum, Johannis de
Sacro Busto" (Holywood). Thin quarto, seventeenth
century. This MS. is slightly imperfect.
370. — Essay upon the possibility of finding the cause
of the Tides. 4to, eighteenth century, imperfect. This
MS. appears to have been corrected for the press.
371. A thin folio volume of Receipts in Cookery.
Seventeenth century.
272. This MS. contains a large collection of Welsh
poetry, and some little English. It also contains a
register of the births, etc. , of the family of Humffireys,
of Maerdu Gwyddelwem, to whom the volxmae appears
to have belonged ; also a note of those selected to take
part in the Caerwys Eisteddfod in 1567 ; also '^Ache 't
Cwrw"; also some papers relating to Doctors Hoadley
and SachevereU. Amongst the Welsh poetry are com-
positions by the following writers : Sion Tudur, Sion
Philip, Lewis Glyn Cothi, Lewis Aron, Tudur Aled,
David ap Edmund, Wm. Lleyn — ^an elegy by him upon
the death of William Earl of Pembroke, K.G., in 1570.
Folio, seventeenth and ei^teenth centuries.
373. Welsh and Latin ^Phraseology, written in 1663.
Though I have had this MS., and have myself entered
it in the catalogue, I cannot now find it. It will pro-
bably yet be forthcoming. (See No. 516.)
332 CATALOGUE OF HENGWRT MSS.
374. *'De numerorum figuratorum resolutione, per
Jacobum Dowsonn Cestriensem," and "Shorte astro-
logicall Judgements of twelve hoiises of the heavens
written by Gerrardus and after by Cornelius agrippa
augmented." The former of these traxrt^ was printed in
London in 1614. They are both injiured by damp. 4to,
seventeenth century.
375. A Treatise on the English Laws. Duodecimo,
seventeenth century.
376. A genealogical fragment of the sixteenth cen-
tury. It contains for the most part South Wales Pedi-
grees. Much, if not the whole, of this MS. is in the
autograph of Griffith Hiraethog. Duodecimo.
377. A transcript of Evelyn's "Kalendarinm Hor-
tense", printed in London in 1664. 4to, eighteenth
century.
378. Law Precedents. Folio, seventeenth century,
beautifully written.
379. A thin fragmentary volume, tern and imperfect,
containing some Welsh poetry, addressed te the family
Pughe of Garthmaelan, near DolgeUey, an agreement
relative to Cock-fighting, dated in 1729, and some
medical receipts.
380. Select Prayers, composed by some Fathers and
other eminent Doctors of the Church. These are trans-
lations, by R. Lorrain, from Prayers in Laud's "Officiinn
Quotidianiun." 8vo, eighteenth century, well- written,
and rubricated.
381. " The Art of Arithmeticke made and set fourth
by John Martine of Silicia, and devided vnto contem-
plation without practise." Thin quarto, seventeenth
century. (See Nos. 388, 430a, 493.)
382. Genealogy of the family of Williams, of Coch-
willan and Ystymcolwyn, in the coimties of Carnarvon
and Montgomery, transcribed from a pedigree compiled
in 1 664, by John Salusbiu-y of Erbistock, and continued
to the year 1 722. There was a large foho volimie of
pedigrees, by this John Salusbury, at Wynnstay, a most
valuable collection, which was unfortunately destroyed
AT PENIARTHk XVA
in the fire there in 1858 ; but it had been transcribed by
the late Mr. Joseph Morris, of Shrewsbury, and the
transcript has been purchased by Sir Watkin Williams
Wynn, Bart. Thin quarto.
383. This quarto volume contains a transcript made
in the year 1635, by John Jones, so often before-men-
tioned, of a metrical version of the Psalms, in Welsh,
supposed to be the work of Hugh Llwyd, of Cynvael,
who died about the year 1620, at above eighty years of
age. (See Williams s "Biographical Dictionary.")
384. A volume of English and Welsh Sermons, sup-
posed to be by, and in the hand of Lewis Pryse, A.M.,
Ilector of Llanvair and Llanervil, from 1715 to 1737,
perhaps to 1744. Duodecimo. This MS. is somewhat
torn and imperfect, at the beginning and end.
385. This MS. contains some extracts from Scripture,
also genealogy and heraldry. Much of the writing is in
the autographs of Bhys and John Cain (see No. 5 1 3).
There is also a curious account by the former of different
sums received by him at most of the principal mansions
and some other places in North Wales, but he does not
say for what piupose this collection was made ; merely
that he left home upon Christmas-day and returned
home upon the Epiphany. I suspect that he was the
"wandering minstrel," levying contributions from those
to whom he had addressed adulatory rhymes. He
appears not to have been unsuccessful. Duodecimo,
sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
386. Poetry. This volume I find that I have acci-
dentally entered in the catalogue twice. (See No. 476.)
387. A small duodecimo volume of pedigrees, and
some little poetry, in a hand of the time of Queen Eliza-
beth, perhaps some of it earlier.
388. ** Certaine questiones of arithmeticke, and allsoe
rules. Finished one Friday in the eveninge beinge the
25 day of Maye, 1599." Duodecimo, tied up witn No.
381.
389. An old folio volume of Receipts for Cookery; it
belonged to Meryel Williames, of Ystym colwyn, who
4th bek., vox. I. 23
334 CATALOGUE OF HENOWRT MSS.
died 20 Jan. 1725, grandmother to Sir Robert Wil-
liames Vatighan, the second Baronet of that family.
390. Another old book of Receipts for Cookery, and
BiUs of Fare, at the end of one of which is written :
"This was made by mee James Smith, cooke in Sallop,
1698." 4to.
391. A duodecimo volume of Wekh poetry, the
greater part in the autograph of the well-known poet,
Rhys Cain, and containing verses by him, written be-
tween 1576 and 1582, inclusive. There are in this MS.
also, poetical compositions by Tudur Aled, Howel Rein-
allt, Gutto 'r Glyn, Lewis Mon, and Howel Kilan. (See
No. 266.)
392. Whiteheads State Dunces, beautifully written,
and in its old morocco binding. 8vo, eighteenth cen-
tury.
393. Receipts for Cookery, and Medical Recipes.
This volume belonged to Mis. Catherine Nanney, of
Nanney, in Merionethshire. There are receipts in it
dated in 1736, 1748, and 1758. Folio, eighteenth
century.
3.94. A genealogical MS., in the hand of Hugh Ban-
gor (see Williams s " Biographical Dictionary"), and
written in the twenty-second year of Hen. VIII. It
begins with the five Royal Tribes of Wales. It con-
tains also, in another hand, what appear to be some notes
of cases heard at a Petty Sessions in Anglesea, 36 and
37 Hen. VIII. Duodecimo.
395. Curious and amusing Journal of Mrs. Baker, a
lady residing near Dolgelly, the latter part of the '
eighteenth century. It was in 64 numbers, but one is •
lost. No. 24, and the remaining ones have been bound
in X vols. Duodecimo, and i vol. 8vo.
396. This volume contains several sets of verses,
some in English and a few in Latin ; one of the former
is "A gentlewoman's awns were to an earnest suitor"
then is a tract entitled "Propositions Geometricall"
then, "Rules and notes taken out of the Italian gramar"
then, a brief tract upon "refrayninge the tonge"; and
AT PENIARTH. 335
then, a sort of table of various crimes, and their effects,
in Latin. Thin small quarto, seventeenth century.
397. Kay's Synopsis Methodica, printed in London,
8vo, 1696. This volume was presented by the author
to the learned Edward Llwyd of the Ashmolean Museum.
It is interleaved, and contains a very valuable collection
of notes upon antiquarian subjects, topography, and
natural history. Very many of these are in Lhwyd s
autograph. The topographical notes include all the
Merionethshire parishes within the Diocese of St. Asaph,
and some few Denbighshire parishes. There are also
some interesting drawings of objects of antiquity and
natural history, some pedigrees, a long historical tract
in Latin, relating to Ireland, and many poetical com-
Sositions, in Welsh, by Wm. Philip, Llewelyn Goch ap
leuric H6n, and Llowdden. At the foot of the title
page, Mr. Edward Llwyd has written, "Edw Luidio
donavit Clariss. Author."
398. A large collection of Mrs. Baker's letters, in two
parts ; the first from 11 August 1770, to 28 May 1774,
folio ; the second from December 26, 1778, to December
30, 1797 ; also a list of presents received by the same
lady from March 18, 1796, to 11 February, 1799 ; also,
notes of some political events relating to France and
Corsica, from August, 1795, to 4 February, 1797, con-
taining an accoimt of the Court Martial upon Admiral
Comwallis, in 1796. Unbound, in loose numbers, 4 to,
with the exception of one number in 8vo, and all in the
hand of Mra. Baker. (See No. 395.)
399. A copy, made in the eighteenth century, of the
Confirmation, by Inspeximus, of the Charter of Denbigh,
in 1664. Folio.
400. A long thin folio volume of Welsh poetry, nearly
all of it by GriflSth Hiraethog, and, I suspect, in his
hand. Sixteenth century.
401. A large folio volume of the Heraldry of Wales.
This is a very valuable collection, and the coats of arms
are well-drawn in colours. It appears to have been
233
336 CATALOGUE OF HENGWRT MSS.
executed in the reign of Elizabeth. By mistake, this
MS. is numbered ''395."
402. A calendar in Welsh, and some observations re-
lating to it ; also, a tract upon astronomy, all written
in the year 1596. Duodecimo.
403. An original Roll of Ministers' Accoimts for the
county of Merioneth of 1 Hen. VIII ; much mutilated
by damp, but there is a copy of it, made by the antiquary
of Hengwrt, Robert Vaughan, in No. 321. This roll is
in the drawer in the Estate office, marked "Chamber-
lain's and Minister's Accounts, and Estreat Rolls."
404. An original award, on vellum, relating to some
of the lands of the Abbey of Valle Crucis, dated 5 Dec.
1247, part of one of the seals remaining ; and an original
deed relating to some of the property of the Abbey of
Kymmer, from Lewes, the Abbot, and his Convent^
dated 20 April, 1530, the seal being nearly perfect.
This seal has been examined by Sir Frederick Madden
and Mr. Walford, gentlemen, as is well-known, greatly
skilled in deciphering old writings, but they cannot
make out the legend upon it. It is certain that the
matrix has been most incorrectly engraved. Sir Frede-
rick Madden thinks that the inscription maybe intended
for "St. Monasterii Beate Marie," or something to that
effect. These two records are together in a box, num-
bered at the back.
405. A miscellaneous collection, imperfect at the com-
mencement, consisting of Moral Essays, Forms of Let-
ters, copies of Letters from and to the Rev. Evan Lloyd
of Vron, author of the "Powers of the Pen," "the
Methodist," etc., and other copies of letters and pieces of
poetry ; amongst them of a letter from Harley to the
Duke of Marlborough upon the death of the Marquis of
Blandford in 1 703, and of a very amusing letter giving
an account of the festivities upon the coming of age of
Jane, eldest daughter and heiress of Edward Williams,
Esq., and Jane Viscountess Bulkeley, of Peniarth, in
1 761. It contains, also, a character of Bishop Sherlock.
Foho.
AT PENIARTH. 337
406. " Emeu i dechreu historia hen grujSud vab kenan
vab yago." The old Life of Griffith ap Cynan, Prince of
North Wales, referred to by Sir John Wynn, id his
*' History of the Gwydir Family," as "compUed by a
most auncient fiier or monk of Wales," and as found at
Gwydir. It is extremely probable that this is the
identical copy of the Life of that Prince referred to by
Sir John. No. 60 in this collection certainly belonged
to him, and he refers to the Latin translation of Prince
Griffiths life (No. 155), as made at the request of
Maurice Wjnin, of Gwydir, Esq. It is, therefore, certain
that the original was at that time in the collection there.
If, then, two of the Gwydir MSS. foimd their way to Hen-
gwrt, surely the probabiUty is great that this, which is a
very ancient copy of the same biography, came from the
same place. It is written on vellum, in Welsh, is of the
thirteenth century, and imperfect at the end. There
are also in this volmne two other tracts in the same
hand, the one upon Astrology, the other a Collection of
Proverbs, both in Welsh. Small thin quarto. This is,
unquestionably, No. 35 in Mr. Aneurin Owen's Cata-
logues, which MS. he represents as missing.
407. Copy of the Survey of the Lordship of Denbigh
of 14 Hen. VII, much injured by damp. This copy was
made in the reign of Queen Elizabeth.
408. Oianau ac Afellau Merddyn, and Prophecies )
imperfect, thirteenth century. I have not a doubt that
this is one of the tracts comprised in Mr. Aneurin Owen's
printed Catalogue under No. 264. Small 8vo. Compare
the handwriting of this MS. with that of No. 406.
409. The Tnades of the Island of Britain, in Welsh,
collected by the antiquary, Robert Vaughan, and in his
autograph, with an mdex, also in his hand ; Extracts
from "Domesday Book," imperfect at the commence-
ment ; Fragment of a Voyage in the Atlantic and Indian
Oceans, in 1627, written, apparently, by a native of
Wales. At the foot of the first page of the Triades,
those well-known Welsh scholars, Lewis Morris and
Aneurin Owen, have written — *' A copy of this MS. was
338 CATALOGUE OF HENGWKT MSS.
taken by me Lewis Morris July 1738. Bendith dduw
gida thi. Vale Vale Vale. And by Aneuiin Owen July
1829." Duodecimo, seventeenth century. I suspect this
to be the same MS. as No. 42 in Mr. Aneurin Owen's
Catalogue. (See No. 42.)
410. A volume of Welsh poetry, much, if not the
whole of it, in the autograph of Lewis Dwnn. Amongst
its contents are compositions by the following writers :
Hugh Arwystli — there is an ode by him addressed to
Gruffydd ap Gwilym, of Kernes ; Ifan Tew — there is an
ode by him to "Master Harry Vychan," of Machynlleth ;
Griflfith Haffren ; Rees Cain ; David ap Edmund ; levan
Tudur Penllyn — there is an ode by him to William ap
Jenkin, of Towyn ; Owen Gwynedd — ^an ode by him to
Oliver Herbert, of Machynlleth. 4to, sixteenth century.
Some parts of this volume are torn and imperfect. It
belonged in 1692 to a Wm. Anwyl, of St. John's Col-
lege, Cambridge, and in 1757 and 1760, to "Wm.
Wynne, Cler., A.M., Rector of Llanaber."
411. A collection of Odes, and another of Triades, the
former beginning with " Dadolwch yr Argl. Rys." Frag-
ment of the thirteenth, or early in the fourteenth cen-
tury. Compare the handwriting of the former with that
of No. 406. Duodecimo.
412. A volume entirely in the autograph of Sir
Thomas ap William. It contains prophecies and poetry.
Amongst the writers, compositions by whom, or attri-
buted to whom, will be found in it, are Taliesin, Merlin's
prophecies, in English, Adda Vras, "Llewelyn ap Cen-
wric dhu o Von," Rys Goch or YrL Amongst its con-
tents are also "Coronoc Vaban," the Crowned Babe, and
*'the Descente of King philippe and Queene Marie."
4to, sixteenth century. It is quite certfun that this is
the MS. numbered 61, in one of Mr. Aneurin Owen's
catalogues, and stated by him to be missing.
413. A large collection of Armorial Bearings, descrip-
tively given, in the autograph of the antiquary of Hen-
gwrt ; very useful to the Welsh Herald. Duodecimo,
seventeenth centiu*y. I suspect this to be the same aa
No. 323 of Mr. Anem-in Owen s printed catalogue.
AT PENIARTH. 339
414. A collection of pedigrees, wiitten about the time
of Hen. VII, and in the autograph of levan Brechva.
It contains the pedigree of tlie famous Sir Rhys ap
Thomas, K.G. This MS. is No. 114 of the old Cata-
logues, and was not found by Mr. Aneurin Owen. 4to,
boimd with 113.
415. A volume of Welsh poetry, containing writings
by Gutto or Glyn, William Llyn, Tudur Penllyn, WU-
liam Alaw, Sion Keri, and others of the Welsh poets ;
and at the end are some pedigrees. Folio, sixteenth
century. This MS. is much injured, and imperfect.
416. Two very well drawn pedigrees of the great
families of Griffith of Penrhyn, and Williams of Coch-
willan, including the branches of Vaenol, Bodlew, MeiU-
ionydd, and YstymcoUwyn. These pedigrees were com-
piled in the year 1703, and to one of them there are
several notes, in the hand of Humphrey Humphreys,
Bishop of Bangor, and afterwards of Hereford ; also a
copy of the will of Henry Rolands, Bishop of Bangor,
and a list of the Sheriffs and Under-Sheriffs of Mont-
gomeryshire, from the first Sheriff, in the reign of King
^en. VIII, to 1 732. Folio.
417. A medical work, by Hugh Llwyd of Cynfael.
This MS. is entirely in the autograph of the Rev. EUis
Wynne, of Lasynys (Bardd Cwsg), who died in 1730.
It is, unfortimately, injured, and imperfect. Folio.
418. Reuerendissimi in Christo Patris, atque Viri
Honoratissimi, Do. Joannis Wylliams, Westmonasterii
Decani, Lyncolniensis Episcopi, Do. Sigilli magni Cus-
todis, ac Maiestati Regise a Consiliis intunis. Armor.
Descriptiones Gallice, Latine, et AngUce, Carmine
Heroico. This beautifully emblazoned MS., on veUum,
I have no doubt, was executed for the Lord Keeper
Williams, by a Mercurius Patten. It has within it the
book-plate of Arthur WilUams of MeiUionydd, Esq., a
branch of the Lord Keeper s family, and from Arthur
Williams must have descended to his representative,
Sir Robert Williames Vaughan, Bart. Small quarto,
seventeenth century.
340 CATALOGUE OF HENGWHT MSS.
419. A quarto volume of the seventeenth century,
containing poetry, and a large number of pedigrees,
nearly all of families of North Wales ; and also notes of
the burials, etc., of many persons, mostly of the neigh-
bourhood of Llansilin, in Denbighshire. These, and
other parts of this MS., are in the autograph of John
Davies, author of *'A Display of Heraldry," printed in
1716. He was bom upon the 10th of October 1652,
and his sister was married to a Jacob Reynolds, of
Chirk, whose son, John Reynolds, of Oswestry, obtained
his uncle's MS. collections (of which this volume was
doubtless one), and published the quarto book of pedi-
ees. No. 234 in this collection. See also "Williams's
iographical Dictionary." Amongst the poetry, are
compositions by the following writers : Owen Gwynedd,
Sion Clywedog, Dafydd ap Siankjm (a poem by him to
Roger Kynaston, of Morton), Rys Kain (one by him
dated in 1611), Sion Kain, Edw. Brynllys, Rosier
Kyffin, Wm. Llynn, Rd. Kynwall, Watkin Klywedog
(an elegy by him upon the death, in Nov. 1640, of
of Gwen Grffith, wife of Richard Wynne, of Abercyn-
lleth). See 198.
420. A small deal box, in which are contained : a
long parchment roll, the contents of which are Bardic
Rules, including the Statutes of Prince Griffith ap
Cynan (I believe this Roll to be in the hand of the
herald and genealogist, John Cain of Oswestry) ; ori-
ginal Licence of the eminent Welsh poet and genealo-
gist Griffith Hiraethog, to Bardic rank, under a com-
mission of 37 Hen. VIH. The Licence is signed by I
"James Vaughan," " Hugh Lewis," and ** Lewis Mor- [
gannwg." (See "Jones's Welsh Bards," p. 46 ; and
"Pennant's Wales," vol. i, p. 464, 4to. edition, 1784.)
( To he coniinued.)
341
Corresiiontience.
EARLY WELSH BEEVIAIIY.
TO THE EDITOB OF THE ABCH. CAMS.
Sib, — In ih^ Myvyrian Archaiology of Wales {second edition, 1870,
p. 367), under the title, **Officium B, Maria," is printed what ought
more correctly to have been entitled "An Early Translation of the
Breviary." The prominence given to prayers to the Virgin will easily
account for the usually received name. The printed version, as stated
in a foot-note, was copied in 1631, by Dr. Davies of Mallwyd, from an
earlier MS. written at Llanharri, in Glamorganshire, about the year
1537; but the original translation is generally attributed to Dafydd
Dhu Uiraddug, a canon of St. Asaph Cathedral, who flourished about
1340, and may have been used by him, if not translated for the Missa
de Beaia Virgine Maria, required to be said daily in the Lady's Chapel
by the ten vicars, in consideration of the appropriation of Nantglyn to
increase their stipends. Dafydd Ddu was also vicar of Tremeirchion ;
and in the north wall of that church may still be seen his effigy, vested
in his canonicals, under a handsome Decorated arch, with the inscrip-
tion, ''Hie jacet David ap Hovel ap Madoc."
But what I would wish to draw attention to is the early translation
here given of a large number of the Psalms, several Collects, some of
the Canticles, and a few other scattered verses of Holy Scripture ; and
to suggest that some competent scholar should compare the transla-
tions here given with those made some two hundred years later by
William Myddelton, William Salisbury, Dr. William Morgan, and
others, — the earliest with which we have been hitherto familiar, — in
order as well to note their style, and test their accuracy, as also to see
whether they have been incorporated, or otherwise made use of, by
the late translators. '' Verbnm sat sapienti."
I am, etc. D. R. Thomas.
Cefn Rectory, St. Asaph. June 24, 1870.
ROMAN ALTAR AT CAERGWRLE.
TO THE EDITOB OF THE ABCH. CAMB.
Sib,— Can any of your readers throw light on the following.^ In
Lewis' Topographical Dictionary of Wales (edit. 1850), article ** Hope,"
it is stated that some labourers, whilst levelling Offa's Dyke at Caer-
gwrlc, in the parish, in 1828, found a Roman altar with a mutilated
inscription, and several coins, which were then (1850) preserved at a
house upon the i^pot. This inscription appears never to have been
342 MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES.
published ; and inquiries, which I have recently instituted in the neigh-
bourhood, fail to show the whereabouts of either altar or coins. Pos-
sibly some of your readers could obtain and publish a copy of the
inscription, as far as it is legible.
I remain, Sir^ yours truly
2, Ashville Terrace, New W. Thompson Watkins.
Ferry, Cheshire. Sept. 12, 1870.
iKijStellaneous |ptotice2«
The Powt8-La.nd Clttb.— The annual meeting of this flourishing
Society is to be held at Welshpool on the 4th inst., under the presi-
dency of the Earl of Fowls. Three additional Vice-Presidents are to
be proposed for election, the Earl Vane, the Lord Bishop of St. Asaph,
and Sir Watkin Williams Wynn, Bart. The establishment of a local
museum in connection with the Club is in comtemplation, and we
should be glad to hear of its success.
MoMUMENTAI. EfFTQT OF A BiSHOF IK THB CaTHEDBAL OF St.
Asaph. — This effigy, which is of the latter half of the fourteenth cen-
tury, and is preserved in the south transept, which also serves as the
library and chapter house, has recently been described, in the North
Wales Chronicle, by Mr. Matthew Holbeche Bloxam, the architect,
and well known writer on mediaeval antiquities. He is inclined to
ascribe it to the bishop during whose episcopacy the nave, aisles, cen-
tral tower, and transepts of the Cathedral appear to have been rebuilt,
about the middle of the fourteenth century, as the architectural features
are those of the plain but beautiful Decorated style of that period,
perhaps to John Trefawr, bishop a.d. 1347 ; or to Llewelyn ap Madog,
bishop A.D. 1857. We perceive that Mr. Bloxam dates his commu-
nication from Min-y-don, on the Menai Strait, opposite Garth Point,
one of the sweetest spots in Anglesey.
Overton, Flintshibe. — The chancel of this fine old church has
been recently restored, or almost reconstructed, under the superintend-
ence of Mr. Teulon, architect, of London ; and its windows filled with
painted glass by Messrs. Clayton and Bell. Taken conjointly with
the surrounding churchyard, the whole building is well worthy of care-
ful description and delineation. The town stands in a remarkably
fine position, and, with all the neighbourhood, is deserving of a visit
from the archaeologist.
Casrnaeton Castle. — We see by the local papers that, by a happy
thought of the Mayor and Deputy Constable of this glorious old pile,
the public will be admitted to an evening promenade concert within
the courtyard once a week, given by the Caernarvonshire militia. We
hope that nothing will be done by the visitors on these occasions to
MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES. 343
injure the building ; but, otherwise, anything that tends to enliven the
deadly monotony of the town, is much to be praised as a sensible step
in the right direction.
John Abeii, thb English Abchitect. — The tomb of this clever
architect, one of the worthies of England during the seventeenth cen-
tury, and who built the half- timber market houses of Hereford, Leo<
minster, Weobley, Kington, and Brecon, is still preserved in the
churchyard of Sarnesfield, Herefordshire. He died in the year 1694,
aged ninety- seven. We believe that Leominster and Kington are the
only places that have known how to respect these monuments of Eng-
lish art ; though that of the former of these places would have utterly
perished, had not Mr. Arkwright had the good taste to purchase the
building when its needless demolition was resolved on, and re-erect it in
his own grounds. The destruction of the Hereford Market House, it
will be remembered, was one of the most abominable instances of Van-
dalism of the present century, frequent as these instances have been.
CoLWYN, Caebnakyonshirb. — The church of this place having
been recently repaired, has since been reopened for service. We are
glad to hear that the repairs are judicious.
LLAKFWBoa Chubch, neab Ruthin. — We see in the local papers
that additional funds are being raised, to the amount of £100, for car-
rying out the repairs of the tower, besides erecting a proper lych-gate
at the entrance of the churchyard. We hope that the authorities of
the place will succeed with their well intended efforts ; but we cannot
help observing that it is rather a difficult and delicate matter to handle
the ancient churches of the Vale of Clwyd and of Denbighshire gene-
rally. They possess a peculiar architectural character of their own,
with which modern improvements do not always agree. The late
repairs of this church have cost somewhere about £1,300.
Valle Cbucis Abbey, Denbiqhshibb. — We learn from TheNarth
Wales Chronicle that a visit, with a really good purpose, was lately
made to this lovely spot by the Dean of Chester and some of the cathe-
dral clergy. After exploring the neighbourhood, the visitants met at
the Town Hall of Llangollen for luncheon ; and then, in the cool of
the afternoon, assembled within the remains of the Abbey Church for
evening service. This was an excellent idea, and testified to great
good sense as well as proper feeling on the part of the ecclesiastical
authorities. The service was magnificent, upwards of two hundred
choristers blending their jubilant voices in one harmonious strain.
Doubtless it is some three hundred years since divine service was held
within the precincts of this venerable edifice.
St. David's Cathepbal. — We borrow the following from a local
contemporary : — " Another important step in the restoration of this
ancient edifice has just been undertaken. The committee appointed
344 MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES.
to superintend the restorations have determined to commence at once
the rebuilding of the roof and ceilings of the nave and aisles, post-
poning for the present the restoration of the pavement of the nave,
the west end and porch. The repairs of transepts and chapter-
house have also to be postponed. The position of the restoration
fund at present is as annexed : — Donation from Ecclesiastical Com-
missioners, £10,000; subscriptions, £7,600; interest, £1,000; savings
by chapter out of money allowed for cathedral expenses, £1,400 ; Rev.
J. M. Traherne's bequest, £2,000; unpaid subscriptions, £500 ; making
a total of £22,500. The actual expenditure is £16,455, and the
liabilities £2,045, making a total of £18,500, leaving a balance in
favour of the fund of £4,000. Mr. Gilbert Scott estimates that about
£8,000 more will be required to complete the restoration."
Chester Cathedral. — A lecture upon Chester Cathedral has been
lately given by Mr. Gilbert Scott, R.A., in the King's school attached
to that building. The lecture was given as one of the series of the
Chester Archaeological Society, the Dean of Chester was in the chair.
Mr. Scott began with a historical sketch of the cathedral, the date of
the original foundation of which, he said, unlike the great majority of
mediaeval churches, was unknown. It was probable that during the
last century of the Roman rule in Britain there was a church built
here. A church was built prior to the Anglo-Saxon rule, and dedi-
cated to St. Peter and St. Paul. About a.d. 908 it was repaired or
restored, or rededicated to Saints Werburgh and Oswald. In the
reign of Edward I it was again rebuilt by Leofric. In 1 195 the Nor-
man Earl Hugh Lupus converted it from a church of secular canons
to a Benedictine monastery. What may have been its dimensions
previous to the time of the Normans, there was nothing left to show.
Of the Norman structure, various parts remain to show its original
beauty, and the design of the architect. The lecturer, after further
tracing the history of tbe Cathedral, noticed minutely the various parts
of the Cathedral and remains of buildings adjoining, and explained
the recent alterations and restorations which had taken place, and the
discoveries made in the course of the work. The entire church had
not been completed at one moment. The earliest work was the tran-
sept, and the Norman tower was a work of twenty years later. In the
recesses of the wall, at the north side of the Cathedral, were the graves
of the first six abbots, of about the date of the twelfth century. The
abbot's kitchen, by the cloisters, was merely the substructure of a
much more important room, probably the guests' hall of the abbey.
Few English cathedrals could boast of works of such architectural
diversity as Chester. The early, middle, and later Norman styles ;
the Early English, as developed in the beautiful chapter house and
that room they were in ; the Decorated and Perpendicular, with all
their transitions and all the changes which the middle ages produced,
were to be found in that one Cathedral. All were alike clouded by
decay, and called for restoration ; and it was for the inhabitants of the
diocese to respond to that cry, and render the great temple of God in
the diocese a worthy monument of their zeal and devotion. After the
REVIEWS. 345
lecture the lecturer, with the church dignitaries and others of the
audience, proceeded to make a tour of inspection of the Cathedral and
precincts, Mr. O. Scott explaining at each point of interest the archi-
tectural peculiarities, discoyeries, or the work to be done in the resto-
ration. The Earl of Chester has contributed £200 towards the repairs
of the Cathedral.
Benton Ayenite, Pembbokeshibb. — We have to apologise for
inadvertently omitting to acknowledge the kindness of Sir Gardner
Wilkinson in presenting the Association with the illustration of the
avenue of stones at Benton, Pembrokeshire, in a recent number of our
Journal. This kindness was the more remarkable inasmuch as the
drawing for it was made by our learned and esteemed correspondent
while confined to his room by an attack of paralysis ; but, when the
Editor and his correspondent are each labouring under the same
malady, a little irregularity will, it is hoped, be excused by members.
Grate-Mounds and theib Contents. ByLLEWBLLYNN Jewitt,
F.S.A., etc. Groombridge & Sons, 1870.
We have here one of the decidedly useful books of the year, one which
may almost be called popular. A subject, apparently of the driest, is
taken up by Mr. Jewitt, and treated with such an admirable spirit of
ensemble and completeness, in so portable and compact a form (306
pages), and illustrated with such a profusion of engravings, nearly
five hundred in number, that for all ordinary purposes it may be said
to be exhausted. The illustrations it contains, due not less to the
enterprising spirit of the publishers than to the good sense of the
author, tell the ordinary reader all that the British archaeologist wants
to know about grave-mounds and their contents ; and that, too, by
the satisfactory agency of the eye. They constitute a complete reper-
tory for ordinary use ; and, indeed, they do not leave much to be
desired by even a diligent antiquary. This book comes in most oppor-
tunely after the great works of Sir R. C. Hoare on ancient Wiltshire,
Warne on Celtic graves in Dorsetshire, Lubbock on Prehistoric Re-
mains, Stevens' Catalogue of the Blackmore Museum, etc. ; and will,
we are sure, be highly appreciated by archeeological students in general.
The descriptive or narrative portions of the book are done carefully,
without too much theorising, and without any attempt at grand writ-
ing. They resemble, in this respect, the similar works of Petrie,
Wilde, Stuart, and Simpson. They aim rather at completeness, as
they ought to do ; and they preserve throughout the character of a
Manual. This is just what we want ; and this preciseness, added to
the copiousness of the illustrations, renders the volume highly satis-
factory.
The author divides his general subject into the ancient British or
Celtic period, the Romano-British period, and the Anglo-Saxon period,
and describes the various classes of remains under each of them with
346 REVIEWS.
very satisfactory detail ; tbe principal object of the work being care-
Tully atlended to, aad all gTave-mounds, witU their continls, rorming
the Mtaple of his pages. We do not propose to criticise the book ; it
would be like an attempt to criticise a dictionary. V/e intend only to
quote certain portions, and to give some of their illustrations, as the
best method of introducing so useful a mork to our readers' notice.
As a specimen of the itluslrationa, we give the accompanying view of
a cromlech at Knockeen, in Ireland, from a drawing by the Ute Mr.
G. V. Dunoyer ; and we are bound to accompnny it by a view of the
REVIEWS. 347
iculplured stones of Gan Innis, in the Morbihan, Britann;. These
give a good idea of the scale and quality of the woodblocks naed in
such acceptable profusiou.
In speaking of the Tessels found inside sepulchral urns in these
ancient British interments, the author observes :
" The Dext division, the BO-called ' Ineente Citpt,' k nama which ought to
be discarded, consists of diminutife resaels which, when found at all (which
is seldom) are found t'njule the sepulchr&l nms, placed on, or among, the
calcined bones, and frequentlj thecQaelves also filled with burnt booes.
They range from an inch and a-half to about three inches in height, and
and are someCintes highly ornamented, and at others plain.
"The examples I here introduce (figs. 114 to 120) will girs a good
general idea of tbese curious little vessels, which I believe have not been
' incenee cups,' but small urns to receive the aahes of an inftuit, perhaps
sacrificed at the death of its mother, bo as to admit of being placed withta
the larger um containing the remains of its parent. The contents of bar-
rows give, as I have before stated, incontestible evidence of the practice of
sacrificing nut only horses, dogs, and oxen, but of human beings, at the
graves of the Ancient Britons. Slaves were sacrificed at their masters'
graves ; and wives, there can be no doubt, were sacrificed and buried with
their husbands, to accompany them in the invisible world upon which they
were entering. It is reasonable, therefore, to infer tlu^t infants were occa-
sionally sacrificed on the death of their mother, in the belief that they
would thus partake of her care in the strange land to which, by death, she
was removed. Whether from sacrifice, or whether from natural causes, the
mother and her infant may have died together, it is only reasonable to infer
from the situation in which these ' incense cups' are found (either placed
on the top of a heap of burnt bones, or inside the sepulchral um containing
them), and from their usually containing small calcined bones, that they
were receptacles for the ashes of the in&nt, to be buried along with those
" The form will be seen to vary from the simplest saltcellar- like cup to
the more elaborately rimmed and ornamented vase. Some are pierced with
boles, as if for suspension, and one or two examples have handles at the
side. The best examples of this kind are those shown on figs. ISO, 184,
" Among the most curious vessels of this period may possibly be reckoned
348 REVIEWS.
the lingulH one hen eomved (fig. 126), of which form onlj tvo examples
have be«n discovered. Thej ftre much in sh&pe like the drinkiag cupc
before eDgmved, but hsTO the addition of & handle at the side, which give*
them the character of mugs. One of these i* in the Blj museum, and the
Other in the Bsteman museum."
Under the division of the Romano-British period, we find very
copious information, and excellent woodblocks of urns, vases, etc.,
from which we select one as rather remarkable.
A very remarkable torque, now the property of Her Majesty, is
given at p. 198, and a horseshoe found at Gloucester some years ago.
We must content ourselves with a single extract from the Anglo-
Saxon period :
"Of these urus (the Kaat Anglian, etc.) Mr. Wright, to whom and to
Mr. Roach Smith is mainly due the credit of having correctly appropriated
them to the Anglo-Saxon period, thus speaks :
"The pottery is usually made of a rather dark clay, coloured outside
brown or daik slate colour, which has sometimes a tiut of green, and is
Bomeiimes black. These urns appear often to have been made iritb the
hand, without the employment of the lathe ; the texture of the clay is
rather coarse, and they are rarely welUbaked, The favourite ornaments
are bunds of parallel lines encircling; the vessel, or vertical and xigzags,
sometimes arranged in small bands, and sometimes on a larger scale coverine
half the elevation of the urn ; and in this latter case the spaces are 6lled
up ivith small circles and crosses, and other marks, stamped or pointed in
white. Other oroamenta are met with, some of which are evidently unskil-
ful attempts at imitating the well-known egg-asd-tongue and other orna-
ments of the Roman Samian ware, which, from the specimens, and even
fragments, found in their graves, appear to have been much admired and
valued by the Anglo-Saxons. But a still more characteristic peculiarity of
th« potterj* of th« Anglo-Saxon burial urnt e
boasM, uranged Bymmetricallj round them, and
of ribi, -nhiU in tbe ruder ezampleg the; become mere round lumpi, or Bren
present only a slight iwelliDg of the surface of the vessel,
"That these vesBels belong to the earl; Anglo-Saioo period is proved
beyond an/ doubt by the various objects, such as arms, personal ornaments,
etc., which are found nilb them, and they present evident imitations both
of Roman forms and of Roman ornamentation. But one of these uroi has.
been found accompanied with remarkable circumstances, which not only
■bow it« relative date, hut illustrate a fact in the ethnological history of this
early period. Amonz the FaussetC coliection of Anglo-Saxon antiquities is
an urn which Bryan Faussett appears to have obtained from North Klmham,
in Norfolk, and which contained tbe bones of a child. It h represented in
tbe accompanying engraving (Gg- 327), and will be seen at once to be per-
fectly identical in character with the East Anglian sepulchral urns. But
Mr. Boacfa Smith, in examining the various objects in the Faussett collec-
tion, preparatory to his edition of Bryan Faussett's hvtnlorium SepnleAraU,
discovered on one side of this urn a Roman sepulchral inscription, which is
eaiily read w follows : —
D. N. ' To the ^ods of the shades.
LAKLiAi To Lnlia
BVriHAB Kufioa.
TiziT-A-ziii She lived thirteen jears,
H'lii-D'Ti. three months, and six days.'
To this Roman girl, with a purely Roman name, belonged, no doubt, the
few bones which were found in the Anglo-Saxon burial urn when Bryan
Faussett received it, and this circumstance illiiatrateg several important as
well as interestiDE questions relating to our early history. It proves, in
the first place, what no judicious historian now doubts, that the Roman
4th ser,, vol- 1. 24
350 REVIEWS.
population remained in the island after the withdrawal of the Roman power,
and mixed with the Anglo-Saxon conquerors ; that they continued to retain
for some time at least their old manners and language, and even their
Paganism and their hurial ceremonies, for this is the purely Roman form of
sepulchral inscriptions ; and that, with their own ceremonies, they buried
in the common cemetery of the new Anglo-Saxon possessors of the land ;
for this urn was found in an Anglo-Saxon burial-ground. This last cir-
cumstance had already been suspected by antiquaries, for traces of Roman
interment in the well-known Roman leaden coffins had been found in the
Anglo-Saxon cemetery at Ozingell, in the Isle of Thanet ; and other similar
discoveries have, I believe, been made elsewhere. The fact of this Roman
inscription on an Anglo-Saxon burial urn, found immediately in the district
of the Anglo-Saxon cemeteries, which have produced so many of these East
Anglian urns, proves further that these urns belong to a period following
immediately upon the close of what we call the Roman period."
Both the author and the publishers are to be congratulated on the
great care and completeness with which this interesting work has been
drawn up, and the liberal use which has been made of the resources
of art in so perfectly illustrating its pages.
PatbonymicaCoknit-Bkitannica, ok the Etymology of Cobnish
SuBNAMES. By RicHD. STEPHEN Chabnock, Ph. Db., F.S.A.,
etc. Longman, Green, & Co. 1870.
Few books can come more legitimately within the notice of a pub-
lication like our own than that, the title of which is now before us.
The history and antiquities of Cornwall, a county so intimately con-
nected with Wales, can never be looked on by us with indifference ;
and whatever refers to the public and private deeds of Cornish men
ought to be interesting to all those who bail from the Principality.
The author, in his preface, observes :
'*The basis of a work like the present is, of course, a good collection of
names. For one list I have to thank Miss Hext, sister of Mr. J. H. Hext,
late of Gray*8 Inn. For another list I am indebted to Mr. J. 0. Hotten,
the publisher. I have, however, obtained the greatest part of the names
from the Post Office Directory for Com wall, and from the works of Pryce
and Polwhele. The present volume contains from twelve hundred to
fourteen hundred surnames. Many of these, though they are often borne
by distinct families, are merely different versions of the same name ; while
some of them are not now in use, at any rate in their present form. Why
there should be bo large a number of Cornish surnames, and so small a
number of Welsh surnames, I am at a loss to comprehend. Another
curious fact is that so few of the latter should be derived from geographical
names.*'
We all remember the old rhyme of Carew's :
" By Tre, Pol, and Pen,
Tou shall know the Cornish men."
The syllables in the first line being afterwards amplified by Camden,
with the addition of Ros, Lan, and Caer ; and certainly as you ride
across Cornwall, you cannot but be struck with the frequent occur-
rence of syllables such as these. The author, speaking upon the sub-
ject of their frequent occurrence, says :
REVIEWS. 35 1
" The names compounded of Tre^ Pen, Pol^ Boy Ros, Car^ Lan, and Nan
are without doubt the most numerous. Between four hundred and five
hundred forms of surnames with the prefix Tre are given in the present
volume ; about one hundred and six names occur under Pen, None of the
other prefixes will give sixty surnames. The least frequent is Nan^ the
names compounded with which are under thirty."
And he appends the following explanation of the use of these prefixes :
'' A recognition of the principles according to which Oomish surnames
have been usually formed will, however, furnish a key to most of them. On
this point, something may be gathered from Polwhele, who, speaking. of the
tracts of land around the castles of the ancient captains and princes of
Oornwall, says : — *■ These little territories, the demesne lands of their several
lords, were not divided into regular farms till the Romans. But before the
Romans thev probably gave name to their possessors. And the first Cornish
families, deaucing their names from their places, seem to have been dis-
tinguished by the appellations pen and tre. The peru, it is likely, were the
more remarkable hill-pastures ; the tresy the agricultural spots or places.
In process of time each lordship was separated into various farms, by strong
and permanent enclosures ; and the farms borrowed their respective names
from their site on high or low ground — their relative situations — their
vicinity to rivers and the sea — from the forma loci and its qualities — from
woods, and particular trees and other vegetable productions — from their
pasture and corn — ^from native animals — from tamo or domestic animals,
and from various circumstances which it would be tedious to enumerate.
These names they imparted (like the original lordships and manors) to their
different possessors or occupiers.* "
, We need not apologise to Welsh readers for adding the following \
" Oarew (Survey c^ Cornwall, 1602, p. 56) tells us that John, the son of
Thomas, living at Fendarves, took the name of John Thomas Pendarves,
and that Richard, his younger brother, assumed the name of Richard Thomas
Pendarves ; and that Trengrove, living at Nance, took the name of Nance,
etc., etc. A great many Cornish surnames were undoubtedly thus derived.
The reverse Iias, however, sometimes taken place ; the name of the place
having been first derived from a surname. Thus Lanhidroch signifies the
church of St. Hidroch ; Nanjulian, the valley of Julian ; Tredenham, Tred-
inham, the dwelling of Ben ham or Binham ; Trederrick, Trelander, Trev-
erbin, the dwelling of Derrick, Lander, and Erbin. Some local surnames
are derived from a man's occupation : thus, Tresare, signifies the woodman's
or xsarpenter's V)wn ; Tyzeer, Tyzzer, the house of the woodman ; Trengofi;
the smith's dwelling.
" There are, of course, many Cornish surnames not compounded with the
vocables <re, pal, etc., some local, some otherwise derived. Surnames are
occasionally derived from occupation or profession only, without reference
to locality : thus, Gove, a smith ; Angove {an-gove), * the smith' (with
which compare the Welsh names Goff, Gough, and the Gaelic Govan,
Go wan) ; Anaer, Anear, Annear (an-eure)^ ^the goldsmith ;' Bather, a
coiner or banker ; Marrack, a soldier, horseman, or knight ; Sayer, Soor, a
woodman or carpenter : whilst others are derived from qualities ; as Huth
and Worth, high ; Croom, crooked ; Yian, Yeen, little ; Glass, Glaze, green ;
from animals, as Grew, a crane ; Gist, Keast, a dog ; and also from trees
and other circumstances, as Warn, Wame, an alder-tree ; Sparnon, Spernon,
a thorn.
'* Again, other surnames are derived from baptismal names ; as Clemow,
2^2
352 REVIEWS.
Olemmo, Olamo, Glimo, OWma, Cljmo, from Clement ; Colenso from Collins ;
FauU from Paul ; Jaca, Jacka, Jago, Jajo, from James ; Jose from Joseph ;
Tubby from Thomas, etc."
Thus much from the preface, to which is added a satisfactory '' List
of Works consulted"; and readers desirous of knowing much about
Cornwall may be referred to it as an useful guide to the county topo-
graphy, although there are several omissions in it that ought to be
filled up, such as Mr. Blight's charming little book on the Land's End
district, and the exquisite poem on the Vale of Lanheme, by a well
known author living at Truro, and favourably remembered from the
part he took in the memorable meeting of our Association in 1862.
Etymology, topographical and patronymical, is a subject so dear to
the heart of a Welshman, that we need not take much pains to recom-
mend a work like this to the notice of our readers. We may only tell
them that they will find something to meditate, and argue, and per-
haps write about, in many of its pages. Only their curiosity will suffer
a temporary check if they are not already acquainted with the ancient
Cornish language ; that is to say, if they have not already studied the
learned Grammar and Dictionary by the Rev. Robert Williams, one
of the few living scholars who is equally at home, whether in Cornish
or in his own native Cymraeg. However, this consideration need not
stop any reader. The best way is to plunge boldly into the labyrinth-^
we did not say slough— of etymology, and run through our author's
pages with the confident hope of finding much to gratify at least his
curiosity in so doing.
We do not by any means agree with all Dr. Chamock's derivations ;
but to assign our reasons for this would only let loose the flood of
disputation, — a thing we wish to avoid ; we therefore append a few
instances, and commend the book, by no means a large one (only 160
pages), to the diligence of our readers. We give a name so exces-
sively Cornish, that it may suffice to illustrate our author's diligence :
" POLLAMOUNTER, Var. POLAMONTEB, POLOMOUITTBB, POLLOMOUHTER,
PoLAMouNTAiir, PoLLAxoaMTAiN, PiLLAMONTATNB. — There are Polmanter
Downs at St. Ives, and PoUamount in Pyder. According to D. Qilbert, the
Polamonters are from PoUamonter in Newland. Tonkin, under Newlin,
says Pallamaunter or Palmaunter was formerly a gentleman*s seat, and
ffave name to an ancient family since removed to Trevyzick, In St Columb
Minor. One of the oldest orthographies of this surname was Pillamontayne.
The name may mean the head of tne mountain, from pot, a head. Fil is a
little hillock, a sea ditch, a trench filled at high water ; and pill is a manor
or lordship."
" Sed ohe ! jam satis.'' We must finish by saying that we congra-
tulate both the author and his publishers on the satisfactory manner
in which this book is laid before the public ; for it is a good symptom
of literary enterprise, that a volume on such a topic should be printed ;
and we bequeath to the author two names, the derivation of which we
have been hunting for, Cabitanton and Bodbeak, but we have not
found them in his pages.
Cambrian 3tct)aeolo0(cal 9[d£Sor(atian.
THE TWENTY-FOURTH ANNUAL MEETING
WAS HEIiD AT
HOLYHEAD
ON
TUESDAY, THE 23ed OF AUGUST,
AND TEBMINATBD ON THE FOLLOWING SATURDAY.
The preliminary arrangements had been carried out by the Local
Committee and John Lloyd Griffith, Esq., of Stanley House, who,
having undertaken the responsible duty of Secretary for the Meeting,
performed it in so efficient a manner as to ensure, as far as possible,
the complete success of it. The Local Committee consisted of
THE EEV. THOMAS BEISCOE, D.D., VICAR OF
HOLYHEAD, Chaibvan.
The Bight Bev. the Lord Bishop of
Bangor
The Biffht Hon. Lord Clarence Pa^et
W. Bu&eley Hughes, Esq.
Love Jones Parry, Esq.^M.P., F.S.A.
Bichard Davies, Esq., M.P.
H. S. Jones, Esq., G. B. Uynon
The Bev. Chancellor Jas. Williams
Henry Pritohard, Esq., Trescawen
Thomas Turner, Esq., Plas Brereton
Bev. W. Wynn Williams, jun., Men-
aifron
Bev. Hugh Prichard, I>inam
Bev. B. Williams Mason, Llantrisant
Bev. W. J. Poole, Aberfraw
Bev. B. Williams, Llanfaelog
Bev. B. H. Williams, Llandrygam
Bev. W. C. Edwards, Llangefni
Thos. P. Elliott, Esq., Holyhead
B. Boose, Esq., Amlwch
John Williams, Esq., Holyhead
Thomas Pritchard, Esq., Llwydiarth
Esgob
Mr. Elias Owen, Llanllechid
Secretary for the Meeting — John Llovd Griffith, Esq. Stanley House,
Holyhead
Treaaurer — Hugh Boberts, Esq., North and South Wales
Bank, Holyhead.
354
TUESDAY, AUGUST 3.
The Committee assembled at seven o'clock for the reading and adop*
lion of the Report and other details of business ; and at eight Professor
Babington opened the General Meeting in the absence of the Earl of
Dimraven, who had written to express his regret at his being unable
to attend the Meeting, and personally resign his office to his successor,
the Venerable Archdeacon John Wynne Jones, who was then invited
to take the chair as President for the coming year.
The President regretted that the Hon. W. O. Stanley had been
unable to accept the office, for which, not only from his social position
as Member for, and Lord Lieutenant of the county, he was so much
more qualified, but more especially from his intimate knowledge of
the aptiquities of this particular district Nor was it until he was
satisfied that there was no prospect of his being able to preside, that
he unwillingly consented to occupy the chair on this occasion, — unwill-
ingly, not from want of sympathy with the Association and its labours
and researches, but because he was conscious that, under the pressure
of other pursuits and occupations, neglect of what might be called his
antiquarian education had left him very ill qualified to act as President
over the learned assemblage he was addressing. He would briefly
allude to some of the more remarkable objects which were either
entered in the programme of the week's work, or had suggested them-
selves to him as well worthy of being included, if possible, in some of
the proposed excursions into the interior of Anglesey. It was grati-
fying to find in the programme that the venerable church, with its
surrounding walls, was to be the first object visited on the next day;
and although many present were probably better acquainted with the
early history of the parish than he was, yet he would notice a few
points which might add some interest to their proceedings in the
eyes of those who had, perhaps, not been in the habit of paying
much attention to the subject, or who were unacquainted with the
district. It was generally thought that the original church was founded
by a British saint called St. Cybi, towards the close of the fourth cen-
tury. By others its foundation as a church, or as a monastery, or as
both, is attributed to Maelgwyn Gwynedd, whose reputed arms are
said to be on the principal entrance on the south side. He is said to
have endowed it with lands in Anglesey and Carnarvonshire, for the
support of a collegiate establishment. He alluded also to the ancient
and rude inscription of *'Sancte Cubi ora pro nobis" inserted in the
HOLYHEAD MEETING. — REPORT. 355
exterior of the north wall, the sculptured figures of hears and other
animals, among which is the dragon, supposed to allude to the reputed
founder, Maelgwn Qwynedd, otherwise known as Draco InauUtria; all
which he considered worth examination. He thought the piers and
capitals which once supported the central tower, and for which the
present inferior western one has heen long since substituted, showed
how much superior the character of the earlier structure was. Of the
church of Eglwys-y-bedd (or the church of the grave), supposed to
have been situated near the parish church, he could give only the
descriptive name; but others present, he hoped, would be able to
throw some light upon it. Capel and Ffynnon Gorlas were the next
items in the programme ; but even the site of the chapel is unknown,
although very probably it was near the well. Some doubt exists as
to whether Gorlas is a proper name, or merely descriptive of the ver-
dant hue of the surrounding grass. The remains of the small chapel
called Llochwyddjare very insignificant. Near the sea-level is a well
with which a tradition is connected, namely that whoever can carry a
mouthful of water to the top of the gully near the chapel, will suc-
ceed in his undertaking. The ancient chapel which once surmounted
the mound of sand at Towyn-y- Capel has long since been swept away.
Referring back to the walls surrounding the church, he had always
thought them to be Roman ; but he had had a hint that this very question
would be alluded to in a paper to be read this evening, in which the
Roman character of the walls was disputed by a gentleman whose
opinion on the subject was not to be disregarded. He himself would
not enter into this question ; but would recommend a very careful
examination on the morrow, with a particular view to this contested
point. He would only add his belief that the resemblance between
this wall and others in this kingdom, admitted to be Roman, seemed
to carry strong evidence against the anti-Roman theory. He now
would pass on to another structure, older probably than even the
Romans. These were the walls of Cyclopian masonry which sur-
rounded the summit of Holyhead Mountain, and usually known in
Welsh as Muriau CaswaUon (or the walls of Caswallon). To him is
assigned the credit of the slaughter of Sirigi, the Irish rover, and of a
large body of his followers, a.d. 450 ; and also of building this strong-
hold, to prevent the repetition of such attacks from the opposite island.
But without entering into the history of Caswallon and Sirigi, the
walls on the mountain were in all probability erected long before those
individuals. The remainder of the excursion would be devoted to the
examination of the circular houses near Tymawr and other places in
the district, many of which have been lately opened and examined by
Mr. Stanley, who has also given a richly illustrated account of them
in the Journal of the Royal Archseological Institute. They would also
have an opportunity of examining some of the contents of these dwell-
ings in a tower built near them. The President then, after briefly
touching on the other objects which were to be inspected during the
course of the week, concluded his address with a warm welcome to
the members of the Society, and a summons to Mr. J. Lloyd Griffith
to read a paper by Mr. Stanley.
356 CAMBRIAN ARCHAEOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION.
This paper commenced with extracts from the supplement of Mono
Antigua, of the edition of 1775, puhlished hy Dodsley, Pennant,
Powell, etc., relating principally to the church and churchyard walls
of Holyhead. Of these latter Pennant speaks confidentially as Roman
work, and alludes to certain round holes found both here and at Segon-
tium. Mr. Stanley thought Pennant had been led away by the zig-
zag pattern or herring-bone fashion of the walls. This mode of
building was continued long after the Romans, as late as the tenth or
eleventh centuries, of which there are many instances in old walls.
The mortar he thought similar to that used at Conway. The form of
a square with round towers at the angles is that of Edward L The
round holes maty have been for poles to be passed through, on which
a platform was raised on both sides, with a covered roof, and flanked
at the sides breast high. This was the common method in the time
of Edward I, and previously, to defend the curtain- walls of towns or
castles. From these galleries or platforms the defenders prevented
the enemy from mining the walls, or scaling them. It was on reading
Pulgrave's Edward the Third, Mr. Stanley says, that it first struck him
that here was the solution to the mysterious holes that had so long
puzzled the antiquaries. Edward I may have fortified old Segontium
in this way when he was building Carnarvon Castle ; and may also
have thus defended, in a similar way, Holyhead Church and College.
Mr. Stanley next thought it doubtful whether St. Cybi gave to or took
from the place his name, the word signifying the end of the headland,
the term meaning, in many languages, a promontory. Thus Gibii
Terra, now corrupted into Gibraltar, is a similar mountain promon-
tory. Might not the saint, having fixed himself at Holyhead (then
known as Cibi), have taken his name from it ? ^Ina was also Mont
Gibilla, while in Africa the same word applied to such projecting
headlands. The notice concluded with a remark that the calling the
great stone fortress on Holyhead mountains by the name of Mur Cos*
wallon, as some recent writers have done, is evidently an error, as
there is every reason to suppose it existed many centuries before his
time, as a defence for the inhabitants to drive their cattle and sheep
into a place of safety ; and if Caswallon erected any wall, it perhaps
occupied the site of the so-called Roman wall round the churchyard.
Mr. Barnwell, in expressing their obligation to Mr. Stanley for
his communication, could not accede to his Edwardian theory of the
churchyard wall, although he agreed with him as to his statement
that the herring-bone masonry was no conclusive argument of Koman
work. Taken, however, in connexion with other features of the wall,
he was inclined to agree with Pennant. It was true that it was the
roughest kind of Roman masonry he had ever seen. The circumstance,
moreover, of the fourth side of the work being without a wall, and open
to the sea, was common in works that are undoubtedly Roman, such
as Burgh Castle, near Yarmouth, and others.
Mr. Elias Owen then read a notice of Roman coins found at Ger-
Ian, in the parish of Llanllechyd, in April last. Some labourers, in
searching for stone, for building purposes, at a place called Gerlan,
came upon a large stone, which they blasted and removed ; and sub-
HOLYHEAD MEETING. — ^REPORT. 357
sequently found a considerable number of coins, and some pieces of
very hard, white, thick pottery, very similar to some found in some of
the Anglesey cyttiau. These coins, which were in a very corroded
state, were of the lower empire, commencing with the coins of Postu-
mus. The rarest of them were those of Magna Urbica, said to be the
wife of Carinus, and Quintillus. There were also coins of Carausius.
At least two hundred were discovered, and dispersed. A few days
after this discovery Mr. Owen found, within ten yards of the spot
where the coins were found, a quantity of fused metallic- looking
scoriae, which had evidently been subjected to intense heat. Some
portions of it were here exhibited at the Meeting. Now as coins of
the size and date found were generally cast, the proximity of this
scoria and the coins might lead to the conjecture that the coins had
been cast on the spot. This supposition seems confirmed by a still
more remarkable discovery, which took place at a distance of about
sixty yards ; where there was found a small, heavy^ metal cup which has
«very appearance of a crucible. Its height was three inches and one-
eighth, which was also the extreme breadth from rim to rim. The
metal itself was, on the average, a quarter of an inch thick ; and the
weight of it was three pounds and a quarter. To the bottom of the
interior some fused metal still adhered, which seemed to be different
from the metal of the vessel itself. The field where the discoveries
were made is called Cae-Rhodyn (field-kiln) ; a term, however, which
may have been given from the finding of the scoriee or clinkers above
mentioned. About fifteen years ago another large "find" of coins
took place ; and a metal cup similar to this supposed crucible was also
found, but of its subsequent fate nothing is known. Mr. Owen then
exhibited this singular cup ; which, however, seems ill adapted for a
crucible on account of the great thickness of the metal, which is appa-
rently copper. The whole locality is thickly studded with prehistoric
remains; fortified enclosures enclosing numerous circular dwellings,
with occasional square ones ; ancient roads connecting one group of
dwellings, or one fortified wall, with another, a detailed account of
which will be found in the Arch, Camh, of 1866.
Professor Babington said he was not prepared to form any opi-
nion as to the curious cup. He doubted, however, if it had ever been
used for fusing metal, owing to its great thickness ; that unless the
metal intended to be melted was much more fusible than the metal of
the cup, the cup would have stood some danger of being melted itself.
He thought it, however, very likely that the Roman coins had been
cast on the spot where they were found. The whole district described
by Mr. Owen was full of the most interesting remains, not known,
as they deserved, by antiquaries; and they were all very much
obliged to Mr. Owen for the careful examination of that portion of
Caernarvonshire, the result of which he had previously communicated
to the Journal.
A paper by Mr. R. R. firash, who was unable to attend himself, on
an inscribed stone at Penrhos Llugwy, in this county, was read by
Mr. Barnwell. It is first noticed by Rowlands in his Mona Antiqtui,
subsequently by the writer of Mona Mediava, and the late Lord Bos-
358 CAMBKIAN ARCHAEOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION.
ton, who have given various readings ; but all agree in thinking the
stone commemorates St. Mechell, or Macutus, some time Bishop of
St. Malo ; and said to have given his name to the church of Llanfech-
ell, although buried in that of Penrhos Llugwy. None of these
authorities, however, seem to take any notice of the latter part of the
inscription. Mr. Brash mentions in his paper three Ogham marked
stones found in different parts of Ireland, having the same inscription
with unimportant variations ; and from these he infers that the 1/ac-
cut is not a name at all, but merely the genitive case of Mae, Thus
the Anglesey inscription should be read, " The stone of the son of
Decettus," thus entirely disposing of St. Machutus, the Bishop of St.
Malo. The paper will, however, be printed in the Journal.
Professor Babington thought that the first step would be to
ascertain what the real inscription was, and to use great precaution as
to these Ogham inscriptions in particular, where a natural flaw in the
stone might be taken for an Ogham character, and thus alter the
meaning. The subject, however, was well deserving further investi-
gation.
The excursion of the next day was then announced by the Presi-
dent, and the Meeting broke up.
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 24.
The business of the day commenced with an examination of the
church and churchyard walls. The church has been entirely rebuilt
late in the fifteenth, if not the early part of the sixteenth century, and,
with the exception of the south entrance, presents no feature of any
interest. There are, however, some rich carved details; but these
have the appearance of having belonged to an earlier building. This
applied more especially to the panelling on the south wall of the
church, over the entrance, which has apparently been brought from
some other part of a building. There are two shields, one of which
bears the arms of Edward III ; the other has a crown between three
choughs, stated to be not very unlike the arms assigned to Llwyarch
ap Bran, a great benefactor to the college. The sculptor, however,
was not an expert in heraldry, for he has placed the choughs looking
the wrong way. On the exterior of the south transepts are rude repre-
sentations of the emblems of the evangelists; and a mitred head
between angels, no doubt intended for St. Cybi. But these carvings,
like the inscribed stone let into the wall of the north transept, with
the legend, **JSancte Cubi orapro fiohis,** have apparently belonged to
a building that preceded the present one. The ground-plan of this
original church is probably that of the present one, and exhibits, in the
length of the eastern limb (nearly equal to the western one), the original
arrangement which gave the former for the service of the canons of
the old foundation, and the western limb to the use of the parishioners^
perhaps with the addition of the transepts and space under the central
tower. Mr. Stanley, in his paper, informs us that in the time of
Edward III there was a chapel called Eglwys-y-bedd, erected over the
HOLYHEAD MEETING. — REPORT. 359
remains of Cerigi, the Irish rover, and called in some MSS. Capel Llan-
y-G wyddeli the ruins of which were removed only a few years ago. But
it is also stated that the chapel was converted into a school, in 1 748, by
Dr. Wynne ; and this building, no longer used as a school, must have
occupied only a part of the ancient chapel, if some of its ruins existed
long after Dr. Wynne's structure. The building was closed, and could
not be inspected ; but the only traces of older work in the exterior are
of the same date as the church itself ; so that the chapel in the time
I of Edward could not have furnished the portions inserted in the pre-
sent building, but had probably been rebuilt at the same time as the
church itself was.
The walls were next carefully examined. The work seems originally
to have formed three sides of a square or rectangle, with large round
towers reaching to what was then the sea-shore ; and two similar ones
at the angles, but not so large. Of these, one has entirely vanished ; the
opposite one remains. Of the other two at the angles, one is almost
buried up in a house, so that only a portion of it is visible. The olher
remains in a shattered condition. The northern tower seems to have
been rebuilt in its upper part ; and it was stated on the ground, that
what remains of the original tower is of solid masonry throughout.
Whether the same was the case with the tower at the angle, is not quite
certain, as one side of it has perished ; but there are no indications in
I what remains of its having been a hollow tower. If some of the older
inhabitants can throw any light on this last point, and if it should
turn out that the tower in question was solid, it would at once deter-
mine the question whether these towers are mediseval or Roman. The
walls are six feet thick, and although very roughly built have been
well built, and are not unlike the walls of Segontium. The fact
also of not walling the side next the sea is also repeated in undoubted
Roman works in this island ; and although there is no proof or reason
to think that the Romans passed over into Ireland, yet they would
naturally have some strong post in so remote a district, through which
they appear to have made two roads, — one direct from Aber, and the
other from the coast opposite Segontium : at any rate,, whether medi-
eeval or Roman, these curious walls should, if it were possible, be
better protected, and more opened to view. If, on further investiga-
tion, they should be satisfactorily proved to be Roman, they are
the most perfect and important example of a Roman castle in the
Principality, even in their present mutilated state. The curious round
holes, like those in the walls at Segontium, were examined ; ^ut no
satisfactory explanation or account of them could be collected.
On leaving the town, the carriages proceeded towards the mountain,
passing by a holy well called ** Ffynnon Qorlas." The site of the
chapel with which it was connected is said to be unknown. The well
; has never, apparently, been enclosed in masonry.
A little further on the excursionists alighted from their carriages,
' * and ascended the mountain, from which was a charming prospect,
I with the Carnarvonshire hills in the distance. The object of the
I climbers was, however, to examine the great stone-work on the sum-
' mit, called ** Cacr-gybi,'' and ascribed by some to Caswallon of the
360 CAMBRIAN ARCH^OLOGICAL ASSOCIATION.
Long Hand, the extirpator of Irish marauders. The work, however,
is far anterior to his time ; and was, no doubt, the great stronghold
and retreat of the occupants of lower and more habitable ground.
The natural configuration of the rocks has been taken advantage of in
forming the lines of defence ; and where the ground is less steep, there
the walls seem to have been more massive. The finest existing
remains are to be found at such places, where there are also some
indications of upright stones having been placed on the slope, so as to
impede the attack. Some few stones are certainly in such a position,
although there may exist a doubt as to by what agency they have been
so placed. The main entrance is on the north side; but there was
also, probably, a small one at the back of the heap of stones left by
the ordnance surveyors. Time did not admit of a very careful examin-
ation of the interior of the work for traces of habitations ; but such
were, at any rate, not noticed. Nor were there any traces of a water-
supply. How far the work was intended for permanent occupation is
doubtful.
Capel Llochwydd, situated at the foot of the mountain, is one of
those small buildings thought by some to have been erected by the
earliest Irish missionaries, and which are to be traced along the west
coasts of Wales and Cornwall. Excavations having been lately made
there, the peasants of the district, thinking that the object of these
excavations was treasure, have been tempted to try their fortune, and
have done considerable mischief in the case of this ancient chapel ;
so that it is not easy to trace the outlines, which were very plain a few
years ago. Above, on a steep height, are the remains of a cam ; but
whether any sepulchral remains have been found, could not be ascer-
tained. Some, however, consider it to have been a beacon, and the
situation favours the suggestion. It has probably served both pur-
poses.
A large collection of rude stone implements in the Stanley Tower,
near the south stack, was next examined with the assistance of
Mr. Elliott. These are principally grinding or pounding stones,
mortars, hammer, pestles, etc., the remains of the relics discovered
by Mr. Stanley in the circular houses near Tymawr, and which have
been already alluded to. There were also fragments of pottery,
a spindle-whorl, and other smaller remains of the same age. Mr.
Elliott thought, from the appearance of some of the supposed mill-
stones, that they had been used for crushing, not grain, but cop-
per ore, as if these early miners followed their avocations in their own
houses. No traces, however, of metal have been found in them,
although in one of the houses were remains of a drain, as if intended
to carry ofi^ the water used in washing the crushed ore.
Mr. Elliott next conducted the excursionists to the remains of the
huts at Tymawr, so fully described and illustrated in the Archmological
Journal. Many of these are provided with more than one fireplace,
some having even four such appendages. In one instance small
broken quartz, slag, and moulding-sand, were discovered : a fact which
confirms the suggestion of these houses having been inhabited by per-
sons engaged in mining operations. The entrances to all these
HOLYHEAD MEETING. — REPORT. 361
houses, without exception, are in the direction which best protects
them from the prevailing wind of the district. They are also partially
protected by the rising ground behind them, by ascending which the
great work on Holyhead Mountain could be reached ; and which, no
doubt, served as the last stronghold when the attack on the front
became successful. The defences, however, on the south and open
side were very extensive, consisting, first, of four parallel entrench-
ments stretching right across, and flanked at each extremity by pro-
jecting rocks which formed, as it were, natural bastions. One at
least of these lines of defence, and probably all of them, were sur-
mounted with stone walls ; so that to have forced these works succes-
sively, in the face of an enemy who held also the flanking rocks
mentioned, would have been an arduous task. Beyond these strong
lines are others at a distance, one of which terminates in a steep and
inaccessible ravine extending to the shore; another advanced still
further, which would secure not only protection for cattle, but the more
important communication with the little bay, which as its name. Hen-
horth (old harbour) seems to indicate, was the actual harbour used
by the inhabitants of this settlement. There is, however, about half
a mile to the south, called in the Ordnance Map '' Porth-y-Owyddel"
(the Irishman's port), which may have been also used ; but the Hen-
borth was the one more immediately connected with the town. An
enlarged plan of this interesting spot will be found in the ArchtB'
ological Journal of 1867 ; but it does not, unfortunately, lay down all
the arrangements of the defence, which are of great interest. Two
sides are sufficiently covered by the mountain and rocky line of coast.
Those of the south side have been mentioned ; the remaining side,
on the east, or, more strictly speaking, the north-east, is apparently
ill provided with protection. The bronze implements discovered
under a stone in 1830, and described in ihe Archmohgical Journal
(1867) as mostly of Irish character, were, as suggested by the writer,
later relics of Irish rovers, and not connected with the original inha-
bitants of the town, who were apparently little acquainted with other
than stone implements.
A little lower down important discoveries have been made by Mr.
Stanley at Pen-y-bonc, among which was the jet necklace which has
been described in the Journal of the Association. Here also were seve-
ral circular dwellings examined ; among them a large circular space, of
forty feet diameter, which within human memory was surrounded by
a wall nearly four feet high. But perhaps the most remarkable was
a row of small circular depressions, in a line nearly east and west,
which contained fragments of ashes and pottery ; and each, as it was
understood, having a small pillar-stone erect, A plan of this singular
line of graves is given in the ArcJimological Journal of 1869. The
pottery was of more than one kind, and more of the Romano- British
character than the earlier and ruder kinds. One of these little pillar-
stones is to be seen on the bank opposite the Stanley Tower.
Near Plas Meilo are some more hut-circles and two tall, slight
pillar-stones, also represented in the ArchtBological Journal. Of what
system these surviving stones once formed a portion, whether of a
362 CAMBRIAN ARCH.gBOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION.
circle or a etraiji^ht line, it is impossible to say. Mr. Stanley writes
that an old tradition states that they were surrounded by a circle of
large stones standing four or five feet above the surface. It is more
probable that these two stones, which project eleven feet above the
ground, are members of a very large circle, the other members of
which have long since vanished. There is a third stone in the same
field, but not of the same height or form. Circles somewhat similar
to those on Tymawr Farm exist here, and which, on examination,
were found to have been also, as supposed, used by miners, as they
contained the same arrangements, and a copper vein runs near. One
of the chambers presented a singular and unexplained arrangement of
five small pillar-stones standing in parallel rows. There has evi-
dently been a sixth stone. These are also of the same height, as if
intended to support a table. A view is given in the Arch, Journal^
1869, p. 309.
A pleasant drive, skirting the shore, brought the excursionists to
Capel-y-Towyn, a partially demolished mound of sand once surmounted
with a small chapel. This must have been a burial-mound from very
early ages, as the bodies have been buried in stone cists, in layers of
four or five tiers ; the bodies so placed that the feet converge to the
centre of the mound. No ornament, or any object whatsoever, has
been found with them. The chapel was from thirty or thirty-five feet
long by little more than twenty-two broad. Whether this mound was
originally of pagan origin, and afterwards consecrated by the addition
of a chapel, and subsequently became a place of Christian burial (for
the converging arrangement of the bodies does not extend to the upper
part), is uncertain. It has also been connected with the history of
Serigi and his marauding companions, but without any support but
conjecture. A similar burial-mound, but without the converging
bodies, was visited between Peel and St. John's, in the Isle of Man,
which had also been formerly surmounted with a chapel, and where
the bodies had been placed in similar stone cists one above the other.
The best account of Capel-y-Towyn is by Mr. Stanley, in the Journal
of the Archaeological Institute (1846), at which time the mound was
much more perfect than at present.
The two remaining objects of the day's excursion were the one or
two solitary stones of a cromlech at Trevarthur ; the other, the remains
of two, or perhaps even a third cromlech in a line at Trefigneth.
These chambers are all distinct and separate ones, running east and
west, with what was evidently the entrance facing the former. A con-
siderable quantity of its former covering of stones and earth is still
remaining. A view of it is given in the Arch, Camh., 1867, opposite
p. 284.
Eyekino MsETiNO.-^The President commenced the proceedings
by calling on Professor Babington to give an account of the excursion
of the day.
Commencing with the church, Professor Babington thought that no
portion of the original church was standing, although smcdl details of
an earlier structure may have been built into the present walls ; but
the actual building itself was, in his opinion, not earlier than the Tudor
HOLYHEAD MEETING. — REPORT. 363
period. As to the walls enclosing three sides of the churchyard, all
that he could assert with confidence was, that whoever built them
built them with great strength, for purely defensive purposes. They
appeared to him to be so unlike ordinary Roman work that he was
inclined to adopt Mr. Stanley's view as to their mediesval construction.
He could, however, by no means agree with that gentleman in his
explanation of the small round holes in the walls, and which Mr.
Stanley thought were intended to hold the beams which supported
the covered galleries, or **kourdeSf^ by means of which enemies were
prevented from approaching the walls or towers close enough to under-'
mine or escalade them. Even allowing for the rising of the ground
in the churchyard to a considerable extent, still the range of holes
was so near the ground that the galleries could have been easily burnt
or otherwise destroyed. He thought these were mere putlock-holes
left by the masons ; and their being of a round form was, in his
opinion, no objection to this supposition.
Mr. Skene entirely agreed with Professor Babington as regards the
age of the church, but not the walls. He had seen a good deal of
similar work on the Continent, which was, without any doubt, Roman
work ; and although these walls were certainly built in a rough man-
ner, they had all the characteristics of Roman work, such as strength
and solidity.
Mr. Skene's remarks were supported by Mr. John Williams, who
stated that he had seen at Bordeaux what all allowed to be Roman
walling, and that it was quite as rudely and roughly built as those
now questioned.
Mr. Barnwell still adhered to the opinion he had expressed on the
preceding evening, that the walls in question were Roman. The prin-
cipal, if not the only objection made against them was their rudeness ;
but this might easily be explained, if necessary, by the character of
the stone of the district, and the unskilfulness of native masons work-
ing under Roman superintendence. Had they been built by £dward I,
or in his time, there would have been some record of the building.
It was not suggested that the members of the religious foundation
were the builders ; and as the ancient British of Caswallon's time did
not build in that fashion, it is difficult to imagine who but the
Romans did build them, especially as two of their roads are thought
to have met here. Other instances exist of churches having been
built within Roman enclosures; nor could a safer spot have been
selected for a church and chapel than one so well protected as that of
Holyhead.
A paper was then read on Castle Coz (or old castle), written by
M. Le Men of Quimper, accompanied with a plan. (See pp. 286-305.)
One great difference between the houses of this early city, and those
met with in this country, is that the houses affected a square or rect-
angular, and not a round shape. The implements, however, and
weapons were of an early, rude period, of what is termed the stone
age, and so far coinciding with those which had been found in the
houses at T3rmawT and elsewhere.
The concluding paper was a brief abstract of a MS. written in the
364 CAMBRIAN ARCHAEOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION.
early part of the seventeenth century, by a gentleman of Anglesey,
setting forth various abuses and ill practices of the island at that
period. It had been printed ; but the impression was limited to so
few copies, that practically it is not to be met with. Qreat confu-
sion seems to have existed in the variety of weights and measures,
which in some cases seemed to be optional. The county assessments
were levied and collected in a very partial manner, and the amounts
collected for one purpose appropriated to another. Residence of the
clergy seems to have been the exception ; and at that time the island
was divided into two deaneries, in one of which was only one resident
incumbent. The services, such as they were, seem to have been per-
formed by deputies called post-curates, who undertook some five or
six churches each. From Carnarvonshire returns of the same period,
matters in this respect seem to have been as bad. Some of these
returns are printed in the Third Series of the Arch. Camb.
THURSDAY, AUGUST 25.
A large number of "cytiiau ffwydtielod" as they are locally called,
was first visited. They are grouped together, on low, sandy ground,
at Ynys Lyrad, or Laerad as spelt in the Ordnance Map. Unless the
semi-insular character of the ground served as some kind of defence,
the inhabitants of this settlement must have lived without any defen-
sive work, for the smallest trace of any cannot be made out. The
character of these circular dwellings presents no peculiar features ;
but near them was noticed an oblong, rectangular enclosure, the use
of which was not even suggested. If the inhabitants of this settle-
ment lived in Christian times, this rectangular building may have been
their church. Near Brest a church (or rather the remains of one)
still exists amid similar primitive dwellings, and of apparently the same
time as those visited during this Meeting. Near this site was pointed
out what was thought to have been a Roman causeway crossing the
water.
On regaining their carriages, the excursionists drove some distance
along an old road curiously paved, each side having a regular kind of
curbstone. This passes a little to the south of a Roman camp known
as Caer Helen, and was, no doubt, one of the two Roman roads which
met at Holyhead. It is to be noticed that this work of Caer Helen
lies exactly half way between the presumed Roman station at Holy-
head and that at Caerleb ; a fact which may, to some extent,, confirm
the view of those who consider the walls at Holyhead to be Roman.
A large circular earthwork, or rather enclosure, called ** Yr Wer-
thyr," was next visited. The double ditch that surrounded it is in
one part also protected by marshy ground. The ground rises towards
the centre ; and at the highest point is a collection of stones, now in
confusion, but which may have been part of some central keep. Near
it, in a neighbouring field, once stood a cromlech, marked in the
Ordnance Map ; but which has been, within the last three or four
years, swept away by an improving farmer.
I
HOLYHEAD MEETING. — REPORT. 3G5
What is termed in the programme an old barn at Bodychain was
the mansion of Rhys ap Llewellyn ap Hwlken, who, for his services
at Bosworth, was made sheriff of the county for life. In Lewis' T<ypo-
graphical Dictionary mention is made of one of the towers of the house
as standing, which was formerly '' used for the county prison, and the
other parts have been converted into a bam and farm offices." No-
thing of this tower and former prison now remains ; and the present
bam probably constituted the whole of the mansion, with the excep-
tion of kitchen and out-offices. The date of the present building is
that of the early part of the reign of Henry VII, although the windows
are of Decorated character ; but in this part of Wales this style of
window lingered a long time, and is frequently found in churches of
the fifteenth century. The hall may have been subdivided by a screen ;
but was certainly divided into upper and lower stories, the upper one
being reached by an external spiral staircase communicating with two
doors side by side : that on the right hand led to the solar, that on
the left opened into the other part of the upper story, bat of this part
no traces are left. A rude stable with some old and massive wood-
work* stands near the house, and may have been one of the original
offices, or have replaced one. An inscribed stone has been inserted
in one of the jambs of a door in the present barn, which the vicar of
the parish, the Rev. R. H. Williams, promised to apply for permission
to have removed, and it can be done without interfering with the
building, and secured from the chance of being destroyed by a cart-
wheel. From its present situation it was not easy to decipher the
inscription, which appears to be of the fifteenth century, but is in a
rather mutilated state.
On arriving at Treiorworth, the seat of the President, the visitors
were received in the most cordial and hospitable manner. During
the day the excavation of a low tumulus had been going on, the result
of which was the discovery of the remains of more than one inhumed
body; a considerable quantity of pottery of various kinds, among
which was some of substantial white ware, such as has been found in
connexion with the cyttiau. One portion was of a dark, drab colour,
with patterns like the fera-leaf pattern, and chevrons surmounted
with a narrow band of inclined lines. These are not unusual pattems
in early British pottery. An ornamented bead — part of a necklace, in
all probability — was picked up among the dihris. It is of a light and
black substance something like jet.
The day's excursion closed with an inspection of a cromlech at
Presaddfed. It has originally consisted of two chambers with
openings facing the east. The larger and more perfect chamber con-
sists of six supporters so arranged as to give almost an hexagonal
chamber. The capstone is at present supported at one end entirely
on the narrow end of one of the uprights ; and in case this slight sup-
port should, from the effect of weather, give way, this veffkfiierfect
chamber would be destroyed. A substantial pier built underneath the
slab would be the only means of saving it ; and it is to be hoped that
some precaution of the kind will be taken to preserve one of the finest
monuments of the kind in the island. It has been already engraved
and published.
4th seb. vol. I. 25
366 CAMBRIAN ARCH^OLOGICAL ASSOCIATION.
Evening Meeting. — In the absence of the President, the chair
was occupied by Professor Babington, who made a few observations on
the more remarkable objects they had seen during the day. A letter
was then read from Mr. Llewelyn Turner, the Mayor of Carnarvon,
respecting the formation of a national museum of antiquities, to be
established in the Castle of Carnarvon. Such a want has been long
felt ; for the present museum in the town of Carnarvon, although con-
taining one or two objects of great interest and value, can hardly be
considered a museum. The Secretary was directed to express the
approval of the proposed plan, and to state that the Association
would do all in its power to promote its success.
Mr. Barnwell then gave some details of a remarkable Celtic fortifi-
cation near Brest, where the accidental configuration of huge, perpen-
dicular rocks formed three sides ; the south, and open side, being
artificially protected by complicated works ; the face of the ground on
the slope having been roasted into solid rock, to render access more
difiicult. The whole of the details shew that they were carried out
by the same race that fortified themselves on projecting headlands
protected on three sides by precipitous cliffs.
After this account followed some extracts from the returns of cer-
tain Welsh priories at the dissolution. These were the establishments
at Llanfaes, Khuddlan, Denbigh, Cardiff, Carmarthen, and Haverford-
west. As regards the priory of Llanfaes, it appears that, in addition
to the church, choir, hall, and kitchen, there were cloisters, two ves-
tiaria (one for the church furniture, the other for the use of the house),
a brewhouse, a house apparently for storing cheese, a 3*ard, and a
woodhouse ; but nothing is said about dormitory or guest-chambers.
The proceedings of the evening terminated with voting the thanks
of the Association to Miss Conway-GrifSth, who had kindly invited
the Association to Carreglwyd on the following day ; and to the Presi-
dent for his hospitable reception of the members at Treiorworth. Votes
of thanks were also passed to the Hon. W. O. Stanley for the use of
the Hall ; and to the Local Committee, and more especially to Mr«
Elliott and Mr. L. Lloyd Griffith, the Honorary Secretary for the
Meeting, for their most efficient services in the organising and carry-
ing out the objects of the Meeting. The Meeting then terminated.
FRIDAY, AUGUST 25.
Exgubsion. — The first halt was made at Llanynghenedl Church,
one of the ordinary churches of the district ; and, with the exception
of the font, devoid of all interest. The font is assigned by the author
of Mona MeditBva to the twelfth century ; but from the view he has
given of it, it has rather the appearance of the thirteenth century work.
Llanddeusant Church, the next visited, has been lately rebuilt in a
very creditable manner. The original font is preserved, and has a
rude Norman arcade, but of very small dimensions for one of such
date. An ancient bell, apparently intended to be rung by the hand.
HOLYHEAD MEETING. — REPORT. 367
was in the old church, but was not seen on the occasion of this visit.
The bell and the font are represented in Mona MedieBva^ xxv.
In the same number will be found the south door of the ancient
church at Llanbabo, next examined. The present building; is of the
early part of the fifteenth century ; but the south doorway is part of a
much older structure, and has been thought to be made up of a larger
and more ornamented doorway. The font is an early basin with
sloping sides. But the most important object is the large incised slab
representing St. Pabo, with the inscription, which, according to An-
gharad Llwyd's History of the Isle 0/ Anglesea, ran thus : hig jacet
PABO POST PKYDAiN IN TELUBE IMA; but the latter part now
seems to read pbima. The history of its discovery is given by Row-
land and Pennant, who both give imperfect representations of it. A
more satisfactory one will be found in the last mentioned number of
Mona Mediava, The slab itself is of late fourteenth century work,
but used to be thought coeval with the saint himself. Thus Lewis
Morris quotes this inscription in a letter to Carte, the historian, to
prove that in the seventh century the Welsh had an alphabet which
was borrowed by the Saxons.
On quitting the church the excursionists found their way to the
summit of a rising ground a little to the south-east of Llanfechell
Church. Here is one of those large circular enclosures similar to the
one visited on the second excursion, but with less defined entrench-
ments. At the upper end, however, are what are called in the Ord-
nance Map trefiches; but of which no satisfactory explanation can be
given, unless they formed part of the original defensive entrenchment,
which has by some accident remained in its primitive state while the
rest of the work has been levelled. It now presents the appearance
of a deep and narrow road sunk between high banks.
Llanfechell Church is one of the most important churches in the
district, with a tower which has been thought by some to be of defen-
sive character. The east window, of three lights, also has hardly its
equal in the island. The font is peculiar. It is a small square one,
each side ornamented with two rude, Norman-like arches, somewhat
similar to the font of Llanddeusant. A view of it is given in Mona
MedioBva, xxvii. Opposite the south door is a cofBn-slab with floriated
cross of the fourteenth century.
At a short distance from the church, on rising ground, are three
pillar- stones, set in a triangle, about ten feet high above the ground,
which appear to have been the remaining supporters of a covering
stone long since removed. This chamber, in its original state, must
have been one of unusually lofty and imposing dimensions. The farm
on which it stands is named Cromlech, which is supposed to confirm
the supposition that a cromlech once stood here. Lower down, how-
ever, on the slope of the hill, stood also a cromlech at the time that
the Ordnance Map was made, but it has since vanished. From which-
ever of the two monuments the farm is so called, it would be desir-
able to ascertain by deeds how long the farm has been so called, as
the first use and meaning of the word "cromlech" is not yet satisfac-
torily determined.
368 CAMBRIAN ARCHAEOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION.
To the right of the road from Llanfechell, and near Ll^^nvairyngh-
ornwy Church, is a small earthwork called " Castell Bod-ronyn,"
washed by a little stream. It consists of a mound surrounded with a
well defined ditch and agger. Local tradition spoke of some stone-
works in addition ; but these have vaniflhed, and at present there is
nothing but the mound and ditch. Who the Ronyn was whose abode
it was is unknown ; but whoever he was, the castle is of much later
date than most of our primitive strongholds. On the opposite side of
the road are three large pillar-stones, about five hundred yards apart,
forming a triangle ; but this grouping is probably more the result of
accident than purpose.
The church of Llanfairynghomwy is one of the finest specimens of
the Anglesey churches of this district, and has been some time since
judiciously repaired by the Rev. James Williams, the rector of the
parish and Chancellor of the Cathedral of Bangor. The east window,
of good detail and execution, is represented in the Arch, Camb. of
1662, p. 51. The building consists of a nave and chancel, on the
south side of which is a large chapel of Tudor date. In some accounts
the church is said to have Norman portions ; but the rude, semicircu-
lar arch of the nave is of very inferior rubble -work, and has nothing
Norman about it. No portion of the church appears to be older than
the fifteenth centur}'. On the most eastern of the piers dividing the
south chapel from the chancel, an inscribed stone has been let in up-
side down, with letters of late fourteenth century character, which
appear to be an invocation to some saint. On the north wall, near
the east end of the church, are traces of painting beneath the white-
wash. 'J'he church tower is rude and massive, and without any archi-
tectural details. It is surmounted with a bell-tower in which the
bells are arranged in a very unusual manner.
After partaking of tea and other slight refreshments in the Rectory,
the visitors proceeded on to Garreglwyd, where they were received by
Miss Con way-Griffith in the most hospitable manner. On the conclu-
sion of the collation, the paintings and curiosities in the house were
examined, and among them was the curious drinking-cup found at
Kho^beirio, in a cist, with the remains of a body which must have
been buried doubled up. It is elaborately ornamented with four belts,
as it were, of dotted work, separated by narrow bands. An excellent
\ lew of it is given in the Archaological Journal, xxiv.
After thanking their fair hostess, the excursionists returned to Holy-
head, stopping only at Llanfaethlu Church, a small building, having
a nave without any division of chancel. No portion of the church
has any indications of being older than the fifteenth century, the east
window being of the latter part of the century. There are several
curious wooden records, of various dates, of the Griffith family, of
whom also are other monuments in the churchyard. The canopy of
the pulpit is good, and about the date 1620. There is nothing else
remarkable about the building, unless may be excepted the manner in
which the east end of the church is fitted up, and the peculiar position
of the communion table. Not far from the church is a fine maenhir.
At the evening meeting of members only, Professor Babington in
HOLYHEAD MEETING. — REPORT. 369
the chair, it was agreed that the next meeting should be held at Caer-
marthen, or some other town in South Wales. A sub-committee was
also named to consider the best means of carrying out the publishing,
in a separate volume, of a complete collection of all the early incised
stones in Wales. Professor Westwood, a member of the said sub-
committee, has kindly undertaken the editorship. Further notice of
this proceeding will be communicated to the members without delay.
SATURDAY, AUGUST 26.
The proceedings of the last day included a careful examination of
the Henblas cromlech, in the parish of Llangristiolus, and which has
been well described and illustrated in the Arch, Camh, of IS66 (p. 466)
by the Rev. Hugh Prichard. Some doubt has existed whether two
of its component parts have been placed there by man or nature.
From the forms, as well as immense masses of rock of which they
consist, it seems that their curious position, side by side, is accidental ;
for it is difficult to imagine that, independently of the objection of
their weight, they could, from their forms, have been selected for the
mere purpose of forming the sides or walls of a chamber. There can
be little doubt, however, that their accidental position was taken
advantage of, and the two rocks made to serve as two sides of the
chamber. This chamber (a small one) must have opened towards the
east, some of the stones on that side (a small one) still remaining ;
and what may have been another lies in the adjoining hedge. The
farm on which it stands is another instance of taking its name from
the cromlech on it. Another cromlech, lying to the west of Henblas,
and marked on the Ordnance Map near Dinas, seems to have been
associated with a tall pillar-stone which could never have formed part
of the chamber. It may be the only relic of a second chamber, but
this seems doubtful. The remains of the cromlech are so embedded
in briars and weeds, that it cannot be satisfactorily examined. How-
ever, arrangements have been made for proper drawings and measure-
ments of it.
The last object visited on this day was a singular, fortified enclosure
containing a great many cyttiau It is marked as Cad-rnKvih, remind-
ing one of the various Cadburies in the south and west of England.
This fortified settlement was connected with a small stream, a branch
of the river Gwna. Arrangements have been made for a survey of the
work, as portions of it are already in the process of being used up as
a quarry.
A large group of small tumuli on Malldraeth Marsh was the only
other object noticed before the arrival of the excursionists at Dinam,
where they were received with more than Anglesey hospitality by the
Rev. Hugh Prichard.
Thus ended a Meeting which, as regards the interesting character
of the objects examined, and the kindness and hospitality with which
the members had been received, must be considered as inferior to none
of its predecessors.
370 CAMBRIAN ARCHAEOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION.
REPORT, 1869-1870.
The General Committee have again the pleasure of congratulating
the members on the continued success of the Association, not only as
regards the steady increase of its numbers, but in the greater interest
taken by many of them in the proceedings of the Society than has
been the case in former years ; and this is all the more important as
it is evident that, if the Association is to flourish as it has done for
the last quarter of a century, a new generation should arise to take
the place of that which is fast passing away.
By the ready assistance of Mr. C. Baker, a third portion of the
Oower Survey has been printed and issued. That gentleman has also '
most kindly offered to assist the Association in continuing the issue of '
similar records, which may be printed in the form of supplements, or
by instalments, in that portion of the Journal reserved for records. i
As regards the intended index of the Arch, Camb, from 1 846 to the *
end of 1869, only fifteen members have undertaken each a volume; i
and of these, only three have delivered in their portions. As it is *
desirable that the work should be completed before the middle of 1871,
your Committee earnestly solicit the assistance of other members who
have not yet volunteered. The necessary forms of index, etc., and
full instructions, can be obtained of either of the General Secretaries.
The first number of the Revue CeUique, conducted by one of our ^^
members, M. Gaidoz of Paris, has appeared, and is in the hands of ^
such of the members who support the work, and which is one your
Committee strongly recommend to the notice of members in general. ^
During, however, the present state of affairs on the Continent, no j
further issue can be expected.
During the present Meeting, the question of publishing, in a dis-
tinct volume, all the incised stones of Wales, will be discussed. A
large number of them have already appeared in the various volumes
of the Journal. It is proposed to collect these, and complete the col-
lection by adding all those that have not yet been published. Profes -
sor Westwood has kindly offered his assistance in bringing out the .
volume. j
During the past year several of our elder members have been re-
moved, and among them is the late Sir James Y. Simpson, whose
death is regretted not only by his own countrymen and his fellow j
archseologians, but by the civilised world at large.
It will be necessary to remind the members who attended at the
Bridgend Meeting how much of the success and pleasure of that soci- ^
ety were due to the manner in which the Earl of Dunraven discharged,
for the second time, his duty as President. The Committee, therefore,
suggest that a formal vote of thanks to that nobleman be recorded in
the minutes of the Association.
Your Committee propose that the name of Lord Boston be placed
on the list of Patrons.
f
i
HOLYHEAD MEETING. — REPORT. 371
The members retiring in rotation are, T. Pryse Drew, Esq. ; Rev,
John Edwards, M.A. ; O. T. Clark, Esq., F.S.A. ; and it is proposed
to re-elect the same gentlemen.
The following are the names of new members since the publication
of the last Report :
NOBTH WALES.
I^ord Boston, Porthamel, Bangor
Edward Nixon, Esq., Buckley, Mold
Llewellyn Turner, Esq., Parkia, Carnarvon
SOUTH WALES.
Miss Basset, Boverton House, Cowbridge
Col. Wm. Bridgewater, Coity Manor, Tal-y-bont, Brecon
Bagnal Evans, Esq., Nant-yr-Eglwys, St. Clears
Rev, Walter Evans, St. Lythan, Cardiff
Rev. L. R. Knight, Tytheston Court, Cowbridge
J. Robinson, Esq., Cardiff
E. Romilly, Esq., Porthkerry, Cowbridge
Jonas Watson, Esq., Llandaff
I
THE MABCHES AND ELSEWHERE.
I Lord Clermont, Ravensdale Park, Newry
I Mrs. Stackhouse Acton, Acton Scot, Church Stretton
J William Baker, Esq., F.S.A., Sackville-street, London
Thomas Brigstock, Esq., 53, Welbeck Street, London
John Evans, Esq., F.S.A., Nashville, Hemel Hempstead
Arthur Qore, Esq., Melksham
H. F. J. Jones, Esq., Moreville Hall, Bridgenorth
Rev. F. P. Parker, M.A., Barford, Warwick
Mrs. Powell, Canon Bridge, Madley, Hereford
Rev. Henry Price, 1, Bath Villas, Bath Road, Cheltenham.
372
CAMBRIAN ARCH^OLOGICAL ASSOCIATION.
STATEMENT OP ACCOUNTS OF THE LOCAL COMMITTEE.
HOLYHEAD, 1870.
Printing
PoBtftge and stationery -
Attendants, messengers,
& other small expenses
Labourers for excavating
Balance - - -
£ 9, d,
2 9
19
1 12 1
15
27 9 6
;£33 4 6
C. C. Babinqtok, Chairman of
General Committee,
Donations
Tickets, etc.
£ s. d.
- 30 17 6
- 2 7
£33 4 6
John Llotd Griffith, Secrelafy.
Hn. ROBERTS) Th^easurer,
Holyhead, 30th Sept. 1870.
SUBSCRIBERS TO LOCAL FUND.
The Hon. W. 0. Stanley, M.P.
Ven. Archdeacon Wynne- Joues
R. Davies, Esq., M.P. . - -
Rey. Hugh Prichard, Dinam
The Lord Bishop of Bangor
Lord Clarence Paget - - -
Rev. Dr. Briscoe . - - -
T. P. Elliott, Esq., Holyhead
Rev. W. C. Edwards, Llani^efni
J. Lloyd Griffith, Esq , M.A., Holyhead -
H. S. H. Jones, Esq., Llynon
Rev. W. J. Poole, Aberfraw
Henry Prichard, Esq , Trescawen -
Thomas Prichard, Esq., Llwydiarth Escob
John Provis, Esq. - - - -
B. Roose, Esq., Amlwch - - .
J. Sparrow, Esq., Holyhead
Thomas Turner, Ksq., Plas Brereton
Rev. Chancellor Williams, Llanfairyughornwy
Rev. W. Wynn Williams -
Rev. R. Williams, Llaufaelog
Rev. J. Williams, Beaumaris
Admiral Lloyd - - - -
W. B. Hughes, Esq., Plascoed
Rear- Admiral Schomberg . - -
Hugh Roberts, Esq., N. and S. W. Bank -
Rev. R. H. Williams, Llandrygarn
£
s.
d.
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2
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2
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2
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