Iddole - Is-Y-Graig

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Iddole

IDDOLE, a hamlet, in the parish of Llandeveylog, hundred of Kidwelly, union and county of Carmarthen, South Wales, 2¾ miles (S.) from Carmarthen; containing 184 inhabitants. It is situated near the eastern bank of the Towy, and commands many beautiful views of that river.

Ilston

ILSTON, or, as it is called by the Welsh, LLAN-ILLTYD, a parish, in the union and hundred of Swansea, county of Glamorgan, South Wales, 7½ miles (W. S. W.) from Swansea; containing 365 inhabitants. It is situated in the peninsula of Gower, on or between two turnpike-roads running through that liberty. The hamlet of Park-Mill, forming the most populous part of the parish, is yet extremely rural; and the surrounding scenery, which is characterized by features of tranquillity and seclusion, is enlivened by the small rivulet called Pennarth Pill, winding along a beautiful dell, in which are the ruins of an ancient chapel. On this stream a cloth manufactory was established early in the present century, but it has been discontinued. The living is a rectory, rated in the king's books at £9. 6. 8., and in the patronage of the Lord Chancellor; present net income, £230, with a glebe-house: the church is dedicated to St. Illtyd, from whom the parish probably derived its name. There is a place of worship for Calvinistic Methodists. A Sunday school is held in connexion with the Church; and a few shillings, the produce of some trifling benefactions, are annually distributed among the poor. Amidst the rubbish of some limestone-quarries were found, in 1823 and 1824, about 200 small silver coins, of the Roman emperors, from Nero to Marcus Aurelius inclusive. The place where they were discovered is called Pengwern, and occupies a commanding situation, plentifully supplied with water, and well adapted for the purpose of a military station: but no vestiges of any encampment exist, though there are several encampments within the distance of a few miles. The coins were found irregularly dispersed; no trace of a vase or other vessel was visible, and it is supposed that they must have been thrown down many years before, unobserved, by the quarrymen, from some crevice of the rock in which they had been concealed. Part of them were discovered among the roots of an ash-tree apparently of sixty or seventy years' growth.

Isclydach (Is-Clydach)

ISCLYDACH (IS-CLYDACH), a township, in the parish of Llywel, hundred of Devynock, union and county of Brecknock, South Wales, 1½ mile (E.) from Trêcastle; containing 356 inhabitants. The name signifies "below the Clydach;" that stream bounds the township on the west, and the river Usk on the south, where is a bridge on the road from Brecknock to Trêcastle. The vale along which the former stream flows, is pleasingly diversified and well wooded, and, like the banks of the Usk, is ornamented with several agreeable residences. The area of the township is 3500 acres, of which 1500 are common or waste. The chapel of Rhŷd-y-Briw is situated here, on the left bank of the Usk, having been originally erected, as is supposed, for the convenience of the Penry family, of Llwyncyntevin, and subsequently supported by the contributions of the inhabitants of the vicinity, who subscribed 40s. per annum towards the stipend of a clergyman. The living is a perpetual curacy, endowed with £800 royal bounty; net income, £186: the patronage was formerly vested in the inhabitants, but now belongs to the incumbent of the mother church. There is a bequest of £1 per annum for distribution among the poor, made by Roger Jeffreys in 1714, being a rentcharge on lands near the chapel.

Iscoed (Is-Coed)

ISCOED (IS-COED), with Gwilly, a hamlet, in the parish of Llanedy, union of Llanelly, hundred of Carnawllon, county of Carmarthen, South Wales, 13½ miles (N. N. W.) from Swansea: the population is included in the return for the parish, whereof this hamlet forms the southern portion. Gwilly is part of the ancient lordship of Kidwelly, which extended over a large district. The Gwilly stream flows on the western boundary of the hamlet, which contains some agreeable residences and wellwooded inclosures on the right bank of the Loughor river. The road from Pont-ar-Ddulas to Carmarthen passes through it, on elevated ground, embracing pleasing views of a rich and cultivated country on the right and left; it is also intersected by the road from Pont-ar-Ddulas to Llanelly and Kidwelly, and the Llanelly Dock railway crosses the Loughor at Pont-ar-Ddulas.

Iscoed (Is-Coed)

ISCOED (IS-COED), with Cîlmargh, a hamlet, in the parish of Llandeveylog, hundred of Kidwelly, union and county of Carmarthen, South Wales, 6 miles (S. by E.) from Carmarthen; containing 160 inhabitants. There are some respectable residences in this hamlet, which is situated on the eastern bank of the river Towy. Near Cîlmargh is an ancient weir on that river, and large quantities of salmon are taken there, and conveyed to the market of Carmarthen. A Roman road from Carmarthen to Kidwelly passed through the hamlet.

Iscoed (Is-Coed)

ISCOED (IS-COED), a township, in the parish of Malpas, union of Ellesmere, hundred of Maelor, county of Flint, North Wales, 2½ miles (W. N. W.) from Whitchurch; containing 515 inhabitants. This place is situated on the borders of Cheshire and Shropshire, and is the most eastern district in all Wales; it comprises an area of 2600 acres. The remainder of the parish is in Cheshire. The road from Whitchurch to Wrexham passes through the township, and the Wich brook, which falls into the river Dee near Worthenbury, bounds it on the north. The tithes, payable to the rector of Malpas, have been commuted for a rent-charge of £276. In the township is Whitewell chapel, about four miles and a half from Malpas, in which divine service is performed twice every Sunday. Two schools are held in connexion with the Established Church; one, the Iscoed Hall school, for girls, almost entirely supported by the Godsal family; the other, the Painter's-Green school, for boys, supported by Joseph Lee, jun., Esq., of Red Brook, together with an endowment of £12 per annum (bequeathed by Mrs. Elizabeth Hanmer for the benefit of several townships) and the addition of a few pounds a year arising from school-pence. There are brine springs in the neighbourhood.

Iscoed (Is-Coed)

ISCOED (IS-COED), a hamlet, in the parish of Penegoes, union and hundred of Machynlleth, county of Montgomery, North Wales, 2 miles (E. N. E.) from Machynlleth; containing 369 inhabitants. The road from Machynlleth to Mallwyd, along the left bank of the Dovey, which here receives the Dulas and other streams, passes through the hamlet, and is for a few miles skirted with thriving hedge-rows, and rich meadows and corn-fields, backed by verdant hills. The hamlet contains several neat cottages and respectable villas, amongst which is Dôlgïog, on the left bank of the Dovey, the ancient retreat of the Welsh poet, Llywarch Hên, where, by the strains of his harp, he soothed the remembrance of his misfortunes. The parochial church is situated within its limits.

Ishmael's (St.)

ISHMAEL'S (ST.), a parish, in the hundred of Kidwelly, union and county of Carmarthen, South Wales, 9 miles (S. by W.) from Carmarthen; containing 895 inhabitants. It is situated on the seashore, and some of the inhabitants obtain a livelihood by taking fish, which are found here in considerable abundance, especially cockles and muscles. The parish is bounded on the west by the navigable river Towy, and comprises 3337 acres, whereof 121 are common or waste; the soil is peculiarly suited to the growth of barley, which is produced of very fine quality. It contains the improving village of Ferryside, which is described under its appropriate head; also the seat called Iscoed, an elegant mansion, erected by Sir William Mansel, Bart., and now the property of a nephew of the late General Sir Thomas Picton, G.C.B., who purchased the estate from the son of Sir William, and who, after eminently distinguishing himself in the continental war, fell in the battle of Waterloo. Pengay was the seat of the late J. H. Bevan, Esq., one of the few persons to whom the country is indebted for the introduction of the Norfolk and other improved systems of agriculture; this mansion commands a most delightful sea-view, comprehending the distant shores of Devonshire and Cornwall. The line of the South Wales railway will run through the parish.

The living is a discharged vicarage, rated in the king's books at £7, and in the patronage of the Lord Chancellor: the vicarial tithes have been commuted for a rent-charge of £137; there is a glebe-house, situated on the bank of the Towy, and the glebe is valued at £60 per annum. The church is built upon a rock near the sea-shore, and at high tides the waves approach within thirty yards of its base. In the parish is a chapel of ease, called Llansaint chapel, occupying a very elevated site, its lofty tower forming a conspicuous object, and a well-known landmark to mariners approaching the coast. At Ferryside is a separate incumbency. There are three Sunday schools, one at Ferryside, in connexion with the Church; another at the same place, held by the Particular Baptists in their meeting-house there; and the third at Llansaint, where the Calvinistic Methodists have a meeting-house, in which they hold the school. A bequest of 10s. per annum left by Ann Thomas, in 1774, is given in flannel to three poor persons. In this neighbourhood was Cevn Sidan, a sand-bank highly dangerous, and dreaded by sailors, but it has almost entirely disappeared within the last fifteen years. On a farm called Pen Allt are some remains of old walls, overspread with ivy; and according to tradition a monastery existed here, of which, however, no account has been preserved.

Ishmael's (St.)

ISHMAEL'S (ST.), a parish, in the union of Haverfordwest, hundred of Rhôs, county of Pembroke, South Wales, 5½ miles (W. by N.) from Milford; containing 502 inhabitants. It is situated on the northern shore of Milford Haven, and is separated from the parish of Herbrandston by Sandy haven. There are several respectable residences within its limits, though not entitled to notice as seats of importance; the principal is a neat residence, supposed to have been originally a grange belonging to Hubberston Priory. Monk haven, a small estuary, forms a convenient landing-place for boats, and is much frequented as a bathing station, being peculiarly sheltered from the south-west wind, the prevailing wind on this coast. The living is a discharged vicarage, rated in the king's books at £6. 12. 8½., endowed with £200 royal bounty, and in the patronage of the Lord Chancellor: the vicarial tithes have been commuted for £120, with a glebe of nearly seven acres and a quarter, valued at £10 per annum. The church is romantically situated in a deep sequestered valley, on Monk haven, which falls into Milford Haven a short distance below; on its bank are also situated the glebe and parsonage-house, the latter a neat cottage ornée in the Elizabethan style, with a flower-garden and shrubbery between it and the church, and a small stream flowing through the lawn in front. There are places of worship for Baptists and Independents. A day school and a Sunday school are held, in connexion with the Church. £1, a portion of a rent-charge of £6 issuing out of Butter Hill, in the parish, bequeathed by Thomas Roche, Esq., is distributed among poor parishioners, chiefly widows, at Christmas. Immediately above the church is a tenement called Monks, supposed to have been connected with the priory of Hubberston. In the village is a remarkable tumulus, but nothing is known of its history, nor does it appear to have been opened. St. Ishmael's, it is said, was the final retreat of Caradoc of Llancarvan, the celebrated historian of Wales, who here spent the latter years of his life in retirement and seclusion, and after his decease was interred with great pomp in the cathedral of St. David's.

Ismorlais (Is-Morlais)

ISMORLAIS (IS-MORLAIS), a hamlet, in the parish of Llannon, poor-law union of Llanelly, hundred of Carnawllon, county of Carmarthen, South Wales, 14 miles (S. E.) from Carmarthen: the population is returned with the parish. A stream named Morlais rises here, and, after passing Llangennech, falls into the Loughor river. The church and village of Llannon are situated within the limits of this hamlet.

Issel's, St. (St. Issell)

ISSEL'S, ST. (ST. ISSELL), a parish, in the union and hundred of Narberth, county of Pembroke, South Wales, 3½ miles (N.) from Tenby; containing, with the village of Saundersfoot, 1552 inhabitants. The parish is situated at the western extremity of Carmarthen bay, and has its surface singularly diversified with abrupt and precipitous eminences and deep dingles, which, being richly wooded, form a striking contrast to the dingy and sterile appearance occasioned by the coal-mines in the immediate vicinity. But the greatest ornament of this part of the county is the wooded eminence on which stands the seat of Hean Castle. This house commands extensive marine views, embracing a great variety of beautiful and romantic scenery along the coast: the estate attached to it formerly belonged to the Wogans of Wiston, from whom it passed to its present proprietor, by marriage with one of the co-heiresses of that family. Kilgetty, an ancient mansion in the parish, in which the late Lord Milford was born, is now in the occupation of a farmer, and going to decay. The sands on the coast are extremely favourable for sea-bathing, and a few families, who wish retirement and tranquillity, resort hither during the summer season, preferring the humbler, but more peaceable, accommodations which the inns of this parish afford, to the gaieties of Tenby. The beach abounds with most of the species of shells found at Tenby, and numerous fossil remains are discovered in the mines, at a great depth from the surface. The turtle, or "scorpion" stone, as it is here called, is frequently met with; it is susceptible of a beautiful polish.

The parish abounds with excellent coal and culm, of which great quantities are raised; the anthracite coal-field here contains ninety-five per cent. of carbon. There is also an abundance of ironstone and limestone. The ironstone was formerly wrought extensively by the Penbrey Iron Company; and from the improvements about to be made at Saundersfoot, it seems likely to be again worked by another company on a large scale; if, indeed, operations have not already been commenced for working and smelting the ore. Saundersfoot is a thriving coal-port, picturesquely situated in a sheltered part of the bay: the harbour belongs to a company formed in 1829; it is artificial, protected by piers, and connected with the collieries of St. Issel's and the neighbouring parish of Begelly by tramways. In 1846 an act was passed for the formation of the Tenby, Saundersfoot, and South Wales railway company, who have power to purchase all the works at Saundersfoot, and intend to carry out important improvements. The line will commence at Tenby, have a short branch to Saundersfoot, proceed through the parish of Begelly, and terminate in junction with the great South Wales railway at Reynoldston. At present, however, its construction has not even been begun, owing to the delay that has taken place in the formation of the South Wales line, which is not likely to be brought into this part of the country for some time.

The living is a discharged vicarage, rated in the king's books at £3. 17. 6., and endowed with £600 royal bounty, and £400 parliamentary grant; patrons and impropriators, the Dean and Chapter of St. David's: the vicarial tithes have been commuted for a rent-charge of £105, and those payable to the chapter for one of £140; attached to the vicarage are also a house, and a glebe of ten acres valued at £8 per annum. The church is romantically situated in one of the richly-wooded dells with which the parish abounds, and is a neat structure in the early style of English architecture, with a square embattled tower, seen to great advantage above the wood in which it is embosomed. There is a place of worship for Calvinistic Methodists. John Jones, Esq., in 1712, bequeathed £300 in trust for the gratuitous instruction of fifteen boys and fifteen girls, the children of poor parents in the parish; the interest is £15 per annum, and is applied towards the support of a National school, held in a school-house erected in the churchyard. Three Sunday schools are supported, one of them in connexion with the Church, another belonging to the Calvinistic Methodists, and the third to the Wesleyans.

Is-Y-Coed

IS-Y-COED, a parochial chapelry, in the parish of Holt, union of Wrexham, hundred of Bromfield, county of Denbigh, North Wales, 5 miles (E.) from Wrexham; comprising the townships of Cacca-Dutton, Dutton-y-Brân, Dutton-Difieth, Ridley, and Sutton, each of which is separately assessed for the maintenance of its poor; and containing 576 inhabitants. This place is pleasantly situated on the western bank of the river Dee, by which goods and merchandise may be conveyed to Chester; but there is neither any trade, beyond what is necessary for the supply of the inhabitants, nor any manufacture carried on in the village, the inhabitants of which are chiefly employed in agriculture. The living is a perpetual curacy, endowed with £1200 royal bounty and £1200 parliamentary grant, and in the patronage of the Dean and Chapter of Winchester; net income, £79, with a glebe-house. The present church, dedicated to St. Paul, was built in 1829, by subscription, aided by a grant from the Incorporated Society for building and enlarging churches and chapels, and is capable of accommodating 300 persons. There are one or two places of worship for dissenters. Several small charitable bequests have been made for distribution among the poor.

Is-Y-Garreg (Is-Carreg)

IS-Y-GARREG (IS-CARREG), a township, in the parish, union, and hundred of Machynlleth, county of Montgomery, North Wales, 2 miles (S. W.) from the town of Machynlleth; containing 474 inhabitants. Many pleasing views are obtained hence of the river Dovey, from Cemmes to its influx into Cardigan bay; but some parts of the township present lofty mountains and barren wastes, especially that portion bordering on Cardiganshire. There are slate-quarries and lead-mines, but the latter are not now worked. Several respectable residences are scattered over the lower part of the township, which is bounded on the north by the Dovey, and on the west by the Llyvnant river. A small detached portion of it is included within the boundaries of the borough of Machynlleth.

Is-Y-Graig (Is-Craig)

IS-Y-GRAIG (IS-CRAIG), a hamlet, in the parish of Llanddwywau, union of Dôlgelley, hundred of Ardudwy, county of Merioneth, North Wales, 4 miles (N. by W.) from Barmouth; containing 288 inhabitants. It is bounded on the west by the bay of Cardigan, which here forms an irregular strand, with crags and rude precipices, extending from a chain of the Merionethshire mountains. A remarkable sand-bank, termed the Causeway, or Sarn Badrig, stretches from this coast into the bay in a south-western direction, twenty-one miles, of which about nine miles are dry at low water. In several parts it is covered only to the depth of half a fathom at flood tide, but there are three breaches in it, through which vessels may pass. Some have considered it an artificial construction, and suppose that it formed a part of the Cantrêv Gwaelod, or "the lowland hundred," which was overwhelmed by the sea at the close of the fifth century. The vulgar notion is, that it was constructed, as the name implies, by Saint Patrick, who is said to have been born in this neighbourhood, at Gwaredog in Arvon, previously to his mission to Ireland. The general aspect of the hamlet, which contains the parish church, is rugged and mountainous: agriculture and the manufacture of webs are the chief employment of the inhabitants. A small canal has been constructed, running parallel with, and at a short distance from, the coast, for the purpose of conveying the waters of two small streams to the creek near Llandanwg church.