Llandeau - Llandewy-Aberarth

Llandeau

LLANDEAU, in the county of Brecknock, South Wales.—See Llanthew.

Llandebie (Llan-Dybieu)

LLANDEBIE (LLAN-DYBIEU), a parish, in the poor-law union of Llandilo-Vawr, hundred of Iscennen, county Carmarthen, South Wales, 5 miles (S.) from Llandilo-Vawr; containing 2534 inhabitants. This parish, which derives its name from the dedication of its church to St. Tibieu, is pleasantly situated on the river Loughor, and on the great road from Llandilo to Swansea. It is bounded on the north by Llandilo, on the south by Bettws and Llanedy, on the west by LlanvihangelAberbythic; and is nearly six miles in length, and about four in breadth. The soil is wet and clayey, but yet fertile, and the lands in general in a good state of cultivation; a small portion only is waste, consisting chiefly of that part of the mountain of Mynydd Mawr which is within the parish. The surrounding scenery is highly varied, and interspersed with plantations, chiefly of oak and ash. In the parish are several handsome seats, the residences of opulent families, including Dyfryn, a genteel house, the grounds of which are tastefully laid out, and comprise much beautiful scenery; Blyne, a handsome old mansion; and Glyn-hîr, beautifully situated in grounds comprehending much varied scenery, and ornamented with a picturesque cascade having a fall of more than thirty feet. The mountainous district abounds with coal and limestone, which are obtained in great quantities, and the procuring of which affords employment to a large portion of the inhabitants: some of the limestone is burnt into lime. A woollen manufactory employs about a dozen hands, and there are five mills for grinding corn. A railroad for the conveyance of the mineral produce passes along the eastern side of the parish, close to the village of Llandebie, to the Llanelly docks, with branches through the parish westward to Mynydd Mawr. Fairs are held on the Wednesday at Whitsuntide, on July 16th, and December 25th; and at Cross Inn, a considerable village on the borders of this parish and that of Bettws, another fair is held on March 23rd and 24th.

The living is a discharged vicarage, rated in the king's books at £4, and endowed with £200 parliamentary grant; present net income, £99, with a glebe-house; patron, the Bishop of St. David's; impropriators, the Dean and Chapter of St. David's, whose tithes have been commuted for a rent-charge of £525. The church is a neat plain structure, with a lofty square embattled tower, and contains about 500 sittings. There are places of worship for Calvinistic Methodists, Baptists, Independents, and Wesleyan Methodists; a school for girls, supported by Mrs. Du Buisson, of Glyn-hîr; and eight Sunday schools, two of them in connexion with the Established Church. A rent-charge of £2. 10., bequeathed by Mrs. Mary Price, is distributed with voluntary contributions among the poor at Christmas.

Llandecwyn (Llan-Decwyn)

LLANDECWYN (LLAN-DECWYN), a parish, in the union of Festiniog, hundred of Ardudwy, county of Merioneth, North Wales, 6 miles (N. E.) from Harlech, on the road to Festiniog; containing 516 inhabitants. This place derives its name from the dedication of the church to St. Tecwyn. It is situated in a part of the county abounding with lakes, of which Llyn Tecwyn Uchâ, Llyn Tecwyn Isâ, Llyn Eiddew Bâch, Llyn-Dû, and Llyn y Dywarchen, are all within the parish. The lands, consisting of about 4000 acres, with a variety of soils, are for the greater part inclosed and in a good state of cultivation; but there are considerable tracts of common. The appearance of the country is finely diversified, and the lakes materially contribute to the beauty of the scenery. Maes-yNeuadd, in the parish, is an ancient seat of the Nanney family. There is a lead-mine near the road from Tan-y-Bwlch to Trêmadoc. The parish consists of one entire township, and part of another, the rest of which is included in Llanvihangel-y-Traethau. The living is a perpetual curacy, united to that of Llanvihangel-y-Traethau, and endowed with £1000 parliamentary grant: the church is an ancient structure in the early style of English architecture, and is pleasantly situated on an eminence commanding an extensive view of the surrounding country. The Rev. John Jones, D.D., Dean of Bangor, in 1719, left £50, the interest to be applied to the instruction of ten poor children of this and the adjoining parish of Llanvihangel-y-Traethau. Mr. Richard Edwards, about the year 1764, bequeathed to the poor £40, and in 1769 Mr. Henry Poole £5; the latter sum was lost through the insolvency of the person to whom it was lent, but the interest of the former is still received, and now applied to promoting education.

Llandegai (Llan-Degai)

LLANDEGAI (LLAN-DEGAI), a parish, in the union of Bangor and Beaumaris, hundred of Llêchwedd-Uchâv, county of Carnarvon, North Wales, 1 mile (E.) from Bangor, on the Holyhead road; containing 3010 inhabitants. This parish derives its name from the dedication of its church to St. Tegai, an ecclesiastic of the fifth century, who is said to have come over from Armorica with Cadvan, to revive the Christian faith in Britain, then in a declining state. The only historical event peculiarly relating to it is the battle which was fought within its limits, in 1648, between the royalists under Sir John Owen, and the parliamentarian forces under Colonels Carter and Twisleton. The former, whose number was by much the smaller, had raised the siege of Carnarvon to meet the latter, who were advancing to its relief; and a furious encounter ensued on the banks of the Ogwen, near the church of Llandegai, in which Sir John was defeated and made prisoner. This was the last battle fought in the principality.

The parish is situated on the river Ogwen, and on the great London and Holyhead road. It is bounded on the north by the Menai strait, on the south by part of the parish of Llanrwst, on the east by that of Llanllêchid, and on the west by the parishes of Bangor, Llandeiniolen, Llanberis, and Bethgelart. It extends in length about fifteen miles from the shore of the Menai strait far into the mountainous regions of Snowdon, and in average breadth about a mile and a half, including a district abounding with almost every species of mineral treasure. The aggregate number of acres is 15,400, of which 2000 are arable, 10,600 pasture and meadow, 300 woodland, and 2500 common, sands, and waste. The scenery in general is impressively grand or beautifully picturesque, comprehending on one side a vast amphitheatre of mountains, and on the other a fine view of the Menai strait. One of the most striking and sublime portions is the Vale of Nant Francon, one side of which is in the parish: at one extremity of this romantic spot are situated the lakes of Ogwen and Idwal, the beds of which are supposed, with great probability, to have been the craters of ancient volcanoes; and the latter, the scene of Prince Idwal's murder by Nevydd Hardd, a chieftain of the twelfth century, is nearly surrounded by lofty and precipitous rocks. Besides the Ogwen, which in some places displays very fine waterfalls, the rivers Cegin and Lligwy, with numerous rivulets, run through the parish; and there are several small lakes, all abounding with excellent trout. The valleys of the Ogwen and Cegin are crossed by the Chester and Holyhead railway on extensive viaducts. The soil in the high lands is in general peaty and wet; in the low grounds it consists principally of two kinds, being a light hazel loam in those parts which are dry, and in other places a heavy earth with a clayey subsoil. The chief produce is barley, oats, a small portion of wheat, and potatoes; and the livestock, cattle and sheep.

Penrhyn Castle, the residence of the Hon. Col. Douglas Pennant, who is the present proprietor, in right of his late lady, the daughter and heiress of the late G. H. Dawkins Pennant, Esq., is beautifully situated between the rivers Ogwen and Cegin, which flow through its extensive demesne, and commands an unbounded prospect over the Menai strait, the bay of Beaumaris, and the Isle of Anglesey. This mansion was originally a royal palace, and the residence of Roderic Molwynog, who began his reign about the year 720; and subsequently of several Princes of North Wales, till the year 1230. In 987 it was destroyed by Meredydd ab Owen, who in that year invaded North Wales, and slew Cadwallon ab Ievav, the reigning prince. In the reign of Elizabeth it was occupied by the celebrated Piers Grufydd, who, at his own expense, fitted out a ship of war, and, sailing from Beaumaris, joined the fleet under Sir Francis Drake, in its South American expeditions, and afterwards aided in the defeat of the Spanish Armada. It became the property of the Lord-Keeper Williams in 1622, and passed from him into the possession of his nephew, by whose descendants it was sold to an ancestor of the late proprietor, who was descended through the female line from the ancient family of Penrhyn. The castle, which is situated in the centre of an extensive park, surrounded by a wall from ten to thirteen feet high and seven miles in circuit, was rebuilt in the Norman style of architecture, by the late owner, G. H. Dawkins Pennant, Esq. The exterior is of Mona marble, and displays a magnificent range of building, crowned with lofty towers, of which five are circular; the keep, and another of the principal towers, are square, with light and beautiful angular turrets: the whole forms one of the most spacious and elegant structures in the principality. The internal decorations correspond in every respect with the magnificence of the exterior: the mantel-pieces and other ornaments are of the same marble, which is susceptible of a high degree of polish; and the furniture has been chosen with an especial regard to appropriateness of character. There are several lodges forming entrances into the park, all elegant in their design, and lofty in their elevation; the principal lodge, near the junction of the London and the Chester roads, is a stately specimen of the architecture of the whole. The owner of the castle is lord of the manor, and proprietor of the entire parish.

Copper-ore is found in most of the mountains in this district; and iron of excellent quality, lead, zinc, manganese, molubdena, and pyrites, in greater or less abundance throughout the parish. Beautifully transparent crystals, both white and of a red colour, are obtained on the Glyder-Vâch, varying in their form, some having five, and others six, eight, and ten faces; they are of the largest kind, and sometimes single crystals have been discovered weighing more than six pounds. But the most important and distinguishing feature in the mineralogy of the parish, and the principal source of its wealth, are the slatequarries of Dôlawen, or Cae Braich-y-Cavn, which were originally opened by Lord Penrhyn, in 1782, and which, by a regular series of improvements, have now become the most extensive and the most valuable in the island. Prior to the year 1785, the annual export of slates from these quarries did not exceed 1000 tons; and owing to the ruggedness of the road, they were conveyed from the quarries to the creek of Abercegin, since called Port-Penrhyn, close to the city of Bangor, in panniers on the backs of horses. This amount, however, was shortly increased by the facilities afforded by a good road formed from the quarries to the port by Lord Penrhyn, who likewise continued the same line of communication from the quarries a further distance of nine miles, through Nant Francon and the romantic interior of Snowdon, to Capel-Curig, the whole tract being his own property. It is probable that his lordship, from the commencement of his improvement of these roads, had in view the substitution of this nearer route for the Irish mails, to be brought through Shrewsbury, for the old route through Chester and Conway, a change which afterwards took place, the former joining the latter near the church of this parish, after running a course of twenty miles through the most mountainous and rugged parts of North Wales: by this means the distance between Pentre-Voelas and Bangor is shortened upwards of ten miles. The demand for the slates at the same time augmenting in an enormous degree, caused his lordship to construct an iron tramway from Dôlawen to Port-Penrhyn, a distance of six miles, and to increase the number of men employed in the quarries at the former place from 60 to between 400 and 500. In 1794, the annual exportation of slates from the quarries amounted to 15,000 tons; but in the following year, the imposition of the tax on slates carried coastwise reduced it to 8000, and the number of men employed in quarrying and carrying them in proportion. In a few years, however, it amounted to 20,000 tons, the duties having been taken off; and the works continued gradually to increase in importance, until, in the year 1844, the produce amounted to about 120,000 tons. At present, the annual produce is not so large.

The quarries are on the north side of the LlyderVâch, in the romantic Vale of Nant Francon, and afford employment to upwards of 2000 men, who raise in them several hundred tons of slate daily. On the adjoining river a large mill was erected in 1801, for sawing the blocks of slate into slabs for mantel-pieces, tombstones, and other purposes, and for dividing them into laminæ for roofing for the American, as well as the British and Irish, markets. The roofing-slates are of all the various sizes described in the article on the county of Carnarvon. Lord Penrhyn also established, near Bangor, a manufactory in which the finest slates are planed and framed for writing, of different sizes, to the number of from 15,000 to 20,000 dozens annually; these are forwarded to London and various other British ports, and some of them, without frames, to different parts of the Continent. The schist of the Dôlawen quarries is likewise converted into casing for the outside of buildings, as a defence against the weather, being painted and sanded to imitate freestone; into dados and plinths for stables and passages; dairy-tables; billiard-tables; side-boards; chimney-pieces; panels for doors, shutters, &c.; ink-stands, washball-stands, &c. The produce is wholly exported from PortPenrhyn, where is a commodious wharf, projected by Lord Penrhyn, and subsequently enlarged, having extensive quays accessible at every rise of the tide, and spacious warehouses provided with every requisite accommodation. Port-Penrhyn was originally only an insignificant inlet, formed by the mouth of the small river Cegin, but these and other improvements have rendered it a commodious harbour, capable of admitting vessels of 300 tons' burthen. About 200 men are employed at the port, making the total number connected with the slate-works about 2400.

Ochre is dug out of a mine near the slate-quarries, and, having been separated from the sand with which it is intermixed, by grinding and successive filtrations, is collected in a sediment, and dried by the sun and air in summer, and upon kilns in winter. The general colour of this earth is yellow, but others of various hues, with which, in their natural state, the Snowdonian shepherds mark their sheep, are ground in the same manufactory, also for the use of painters. Quartz and chert from neighbouring quarries of these materials at the base of Carnedd Llewelyn, together with flint brought in ballast by ships conveying slates hence to London and to Ireland, were formerly ground for the use of the English porcelain and delft-ware potteries, at a mill erected on the stream of the Ogwen, in the parish, by Lord Penrhyn. An ore of manganese was also prepared here for the purposes of bleaching, and an ore of zincy as a substitute for white lead in the composition of paints.

The living is a perpetual curacy, endowed with £800 royal bounty, and £200 parliamentary grant; net income, £114; patron, the Bishop of Bangor, whose tithes here have been commuted for a rentcharge of £340. The church is a cruciform structure, with a low square central tower, containing six bells, the gift of Lady Penrhyn; and comprises 170 sittings. It is elegantly fitted up, and has some interesting sepulchral memorials, namely, a mural monument to Archbishop John Williams, with his effigy in an episcopal habit, kneeling at an altar; an altar-tomb with two recumbent figures, probably of the ancient family inhabiting Penrhyn Castle; and a splendid monument to Lord and Lady Penrhyn, exquisitely sculptured by Westmacott, and universally admired. The church is approached by an avenue of fine yew-trees: it is beautifully situated on an eminence overlooking the river Ogwen, and commanding an extensive and richly varied view; and forms a picturesque object in the scenery of the grounds of Penrhyn Castle, within which it is situated. A chapel, dedicated to St. Anne, was erected near the slate-quarries, by Lord Penrhyn, at an expense of £2000, for the accommodation of persons engaged in the works; it was consecrated in 1813, and endowed in 1815 by Lady Penrhyn, and is a neat, well-built edifice, accommodating about 500 persons. The living is a perpetual curacy, endowed with lands and £400 private benefaction, and £2200 parliamentary grant; net income, £222; patron and impropriator, the Hon. Col. Douglas Pennant. The chapel of Capel-Curig is noticed under its appropriate head. There are places of worship in the parish for Calvinistic Methodists, Wesleyans, and Independents. In the village of Llandegai, at the northern extremity of the parish, are Church schools for boys and girls, taught by a master and mistress, respectively; and at Ty'ntwr, in the immediate neighbourhood of the quarries, is a Church school for boys and girls, taught together by a master: these three schools are supported by the Penrhyn family, with the exception of a small weekly payment from each child whose parents can afford it. There is also a Church school at Capel-Curig; and the parish contains eight Sunday schools, belonging to the dissenters. Several donations and bequests by various benefactors, amounting in the whole to £4. 8., together with munificent additions from the family at the castle, are distributed chiefly in bread among the most necessitous poor at the festivals of Christmas, Easter, and Whitsuntide.

Archbishop Williams, whose monument in the church has been noticed above, was a resident at Penrhyn Castle during the reign of James I., who, in 1610, made him dean of Salisbury, and, in 1620, dean of Westminster. In the following year he was appointed lord-keeper of the great seal, in which office he succeeded the illustrious Lord Bacon; and in less than a month was promoted to the see of Lincoln. On the accession of Charles I. he was dismissed, through the influence of Buckingham; he was moreover censured by the court of star-chamber, and imprisoned from 1637 till 1640, but soon after his release, he was promoted to the archiepiscopal see of York. He was subsequently, with several other bishops, impeached of high treason, and imprisoned for a year and a half, but was ultimately released on bail, on the express condition of not entering his diocese during the disturbances which then prevailed in the city of York. Disobeying the injunction, however, he was enthroned in the cathedral; but he was immediately driven away by the Hothams, and retired into his native country, where he ended his life on the anniversary of his birth, March 25th, 1650: he died at Gloddaeth, the seat of Sir Roger Mostyn, an eminent loyalist; having completed his sixty-eighth year. The drinking-horn of Piers Grufydd, a large bugle formed from the horn of an ox, enriched with chased silver, and suspended by a silver chain, is still preserved in Penrhyn Castle: at one end are the initials P. G., together with R. G. K., those of his father and mother, Rhŷs and Katherine Grufydd.

Llandegla (Llan-Degla)

LLANDEGLA (LLAN-DEGLA), a parish, in the union of Ruthin, hundred of Yale, county of Denbigh, North Wales, 6 miles (S. E.) from Ruthin; containing 417 inhabitants. This parish takes its name from the dedication of its church to St. Tecla, under whose supposed auspices the waters of an adjoining spring were anciently in high repute for the miraculous cure of the falling sickness. The patient afflicted with this disease, which was called "Clwyv Tecla," after washing in the well, making an offering of fourpence, and performing certain ceremonies, which, to inspire the greater awe, were never commenced till after sunset, passed the night in the chancel of the church, and at daybreak, on renewing his offering, went away under the belief of being healed. The village is pleasantly situated on the river Alyn. Fairs, chiefly for the sale of black cattle, are held annually on March 10th, May 6th, June 23rd, August 4th, and October 26th. The living is a discharged rectory, rated in the king's books at £8. 12. 3½., and endowed with £200 royal bounty; present net income, £95; patron, the Bishop of St. Asaph: the church is a small rude edifice, presenting no remarkable feature. There are places of worship for Independents, Wesleyans, and Calvinistic Methodists. A school in connexion with the Church is partly supported by a portion of the endowment noticed under the head of Llanarmon, given in 1746 by Mrs. Margaret Vaughan, of Bodidris, and Mr. Robert Jones, of Field-lane, London. Several Sunday schools are also held, belonging to the dissenters. The benefactions made to the poor have been few and of small amount, and appear to have been all lost. A tablet in the church shows a gift by Mrs. Alice Lloyd of £6; one by Mr. Eubule Thelwall of £5; and a donation of £10 from a person unknown: these sums were out at interest in private hands for many years; but in the end, the parties became paupers, or died leaving no assets, and the sums were consequently lost.

Llandegley (Llan-Degla)

LLANDEGLEY (LLAN-DEGLA), a parish, in the union of Kington, partly within the liberties of the borough of New Radnor, and partly in the hundred of Kevenlleece, county of Radnor, South Wales, 1½ mile (E. S. E.) from Pen-y-Bont; containing 424 inhabitants. This parish, which derives its name from the dedication of its church to St. Tecla, is intersected by the turnpike-road from Hereford and Leominster, through Kington, New Radnor, and Rhaiadr, to Aberystwith; and comprises an area of 4348 acres, of which 1700 are common or waste land. It is divided into three townships, or hamlets; Graig, Swydd, and Trêllan. The scenery is distinguished by its variety of feature: part of the surface is flat, the rest very hilly; and the Llandegley rocks have long been noted for beautiful specimens of spar. The parish is watered by two streams, called respectively the Meithil and the Logun. The soil is generally fertile; some part of it is of the limestone formation, other parts are gravelly, but the greater portion is heavy and wet: veins of lead-ore are supposed to exist, and were sought for, some time ago, but the works have been abandoned.

The living is a discharged vicarage, rated in the king's books at £3. 5. 5., and endowed with £200 royal bounty; present net income, £120, with a glebe-house; patron, the Bishop of St. David's. The tithes have been commuted for a rent-charge of £230, equally divided between the impropriator and the vicar; the former has a glebe of twenty acres, worth £27 per annum, and the vicar one of similar extent, valued at £22. The church is a small ancient edifice, consisting of a nave and chancel, with a low tower having a shelving roof: the original character of the building has been much disfigured by the insertion of modern windows, in a style totally differing from that of the prevailing architecture. There is a place of worship for the Society of Friends, called the Pales. A school was endowed by Samuel Williams with a bequest of £40, with which a farm, called Portys-y-Gerthy, was purchased in 1738, now producing £22 per annum: £4 of the income are to be paid to the poor. Ann Griffiths, by will, in 1721, bequeathed £120, and Evan Griffiths, by deed in the same year, gave £40; these sums have been invested in the purchase of a small farm called Tŷ'n-y-Waen, in the parish, and the rental, amounting to £21, is annually distributed, in equal portions, among the poor of the parishes of Colva, Llandegley, and Llanvihangel-Nant-Melan, agreeably to the directions of the donors. There are two mineral springs, one a strong chalybeate, and the other impregnated with sulphur, and both in high estimation for their medicinal virtues, and resorted to by visiters, who reside at the neighbouring inn.

Llandegvan (Llan-Degfan)

LLANDEGVAN (LLAN-DEGFAN), a parish, in the union of Bangor and Beaumaris, hundred of Tyndaethwy, county of Anglesey, North Wales, 3 miles (W. S. W.) from Beaumaris; containing, exclusively of the borough of Beaumaris, which is within its limits, 812 inhabitants. This parish, which derives its name from the dedication of its church to St. Tegvan, comprises an extensive tract on the western shore of the Menai. During the civil war in the reign of Charles I., a detachment of the parliamentarian forces, under the command of General Mytton, disembarked at Garth Ferry, in the parish, in 1648, and hence proceeded to the reduction of Beaumaris. This is now the principal ferry across the Menai strait, by which the distance from Beaumaris to Bangor is reduced to three miles. The line of road from the Menai bridge to Beaumaris is continued for nearly three miles through the parish, in a direction parallel with the strait, and, throughout the whole of its course, presents a succession of finely varied and highly picturesque scenery: the village, which is about two miles inland, is beautifully situated in a pleasant and fertile district. Though, from its proximity to Beaumaris, and its position on the shore of the Menai, it possesses every facility of commercial intercourse, yet the parish (except the town in it) is wholly rural.

The living is a discharged rectory, with the perpetual curacy of Beaumaris annexed, rated in the king's books at £19. 11. 8.; present net income, £336, with a glebe-house; patron, Sir R. B. Williams Bulkeley, Bart. The church is of very ancient origin, having been founded, it is said, by St. Tegvan, its tutelar saint, prior to the year 450, in which he died. The present church, a long low structure, comprises a nave of early date, and a chancel of the fourteenth century; two chapels have since been added, forming north and south transepts, and at the west end is a square embattled tower, built in the year 1811 by the late Lord Bulkeley. A water-stoup, probably of the fourteenth century, is still employed for the baptismal sacrament. There are places of worship for Calvinistic and Wesleyan Methodists, and Independents. The Rev. John Jones, Dean of Bangor, in 1719, bequeathed to the rector the sum of £50, the interest to be appropriated to the payment of a master to teach ten children to read and write. This sum was invested by a mortgage on the tolls of the road leading from Porthaethway Ferry to Holyhead, and now yields an interest of £2. 10., received by the master of a Church school here for boys and girls. At Beaumaris are Church schools for boys and girls, taught respectively by a master and mistress; and at Craig-y-Don is a small school for girls, also in connexion with the Church, supported by Mrs. Peers Williams, of Craig-y-Don. There are five Sunday schools in the parish, four of them belonging to the dissenters. The principal charity is that of Elizabeth, Viscountess Warren Bulkeley, who in 1823 left £1000, now vested in the three per cent. consols, and producing £38 per annum, to apply the interest to the benefit of the poor. Thomas Davies, in the thirteenth of Charles I., granted a rent-charge of £2. 16., upon the lands of Y Gerraint, and Y Dryll Eithin, for distributing bread every Sunday to twelve of the poorest persons; and another charge of 5s., payable out of the Plâs Gwyn estate, in the parish of Pentraeth, left at a period not ascertained, is paid to the oldest widow in the parish. The church lands consist of several small parcels and tenements, yielding a rent altogether of £13. 19., which is applied to the repairs and other expenses of the church. Among the lost charities are a gift of £7 by an unknown donor, one of £10 by Humphrey Williams, and two smaller sums, of which there is now no certain account.

Llandegwining (Llan-Degonwy)

LLANDEGWINING (LLAN-DEGONWY), a parish, in the union of Pwllheli, partly in the hundred of Gaflogion, but chiefly in that of Commitmaen, Lleyn division of the county of Carnarvon, North Wales, 9 miles (W. S. W.) from Pwllheli; containing 143 inhabitants. This parish is of small extent; it is pleasantly situated on the shore of Cardigan bay, and the lands, which are principally inclosed, are fertile, and in a state of good cultivation. The living is a perpetual curacy, annexed to the rectory of Llaniestyn; and the tithes, payable to the rector, have been commuted for a rent-charge of £140: the church, dedicated to St. Tegonwy, is kept in excellent repair. There is a place of worship for Calvinistic Methodists, with a Sunday school held in it. The sum of £2. 10. per annum, arising from money secured on the Carnarvon turnpike trust, given by an unknown benefactor, is annually divided among the poor at Christmas; and there are some other trifling charitable donations and bequests.

Llandeilo, otherwise Llandeilo-Tâl-Y-Bont

LLANDEILO, otherwise LLANDEILOTÂL-Y-BONT, a parish, in the union and hundred of Swansea, county of Glamorgan, South Wales, 7 miles (N. W. by N.) from Swansea, on the old road to Carmarthen; containing 1410 inhabitants. This parish is situated on the river Loughor, which divides it from the parishes of Llangennech and Llanedy, and which also here separates the two counties of Glamorgan and Carmarthen. It is bounded on the south-east by the parishes of Loughor and Llangyvelach, on the south-west and west by Llangennech and Llanedy, and on the north-east by Bettws, the three last parishes being in Carmarthenshire: it extends eight miles in length, and between one and two miles in breadth; and comprises by measurement about 6000 acres, of which 1500 are arable, 2500 pasture, and 2000 common and woodland. The soil, though generally poor and barren, is, in particular situations, good and productive; the surface is low and level in some parts, in others elevated, and the scenery presented by this diversity, where it is enriched by the fine plantations of oak and ash, is very beautiful. The agricultural produce consists of wheat, barley, oats, and potatoes. Llandeilo is within the extensive coal basin of the county; the south-western extremity to a considerable extent abounds with excellent bituminous coal, and in the north-eastern portion is abundance of a hard coal of inferior kind. The parish contains an extensive colliery towards Loughor, and another in the direction of Llangyvelach. Iron-ore also exists in considerable quantity. The river, which at high tides is navigable to the church, affords a facility for the importation of limestone, which is brought in small craft, and burnt as manure for the supply of the neighbourhood.

The living is a discharged vicarage, rated in the king's books at £4. 14. 7.; present net income, £172, including a glebe, valued at £32 per annum; patron, Howel Gwyn, Esq. The church is dedicated to St. Teilo, from which circumstance the parish takes its name. It is a spacious but low and dilapidated building, most inconveniently seated upon the verge of the river Loughor, about a mile below the populous village of Pont-ar-Ddulas, and surrounded by wet marshes, which are often in the winter overflowed by high tides, and floods that even cover the footpaths leading to the church. There are places of worship for Baptists, Independents, Wesleyans, and Calvinistic Methodists. Handsome and commodious National schools for boys and girls have been recently erected; there is also a British school for both sexes, and three Sunday schools are held, one of them in connexion with the Established Church, and the others belonging respectively to the Calvinistic Methodists and Wesleyans. Two rent-charges for distribution among poor parishioners, one of £2. 10., under a bequest by Mary Price, in 1720, and another of £1 by William Roberts, have been discontinued since 1805, in consequence of the loss of the securities, though paid for eighty years previously.

At the distance of about 200 yards from the Loughor is a tumulus, called by the inhabitants Banc Llwyn-y-Domen, surrounded by a trench, and supposed to have been thrown up for the purpose of defending the passage of the river: opposite to it, in the parish of Llanedy in Carmarthenshire, is a similar one, at about the same distance from the stream. At Court-y-Carw, to which a manor is attached, was a small monastery, dependent on the abbey of Cadoxton near Neath: till within the last century, the site was appropriated as a burial-place for unbaptized infants. According to the late Mr. Edward Williams, the eminent antiquary, of Flemingston near Cowbridge, commonly known as the Bard of Glamorganshire, this was the birthplace of St. Patrick, the apostle and patron saint of Ireland; but from its proximity to Loughor, from which it is distant only a mile and a half, Dr. Owen Pughe and other writers refer his nativity to that borough. At Glynloughor, a hamlet within the parish, was born Ieuan Lawdden, the most celebrated poet of his time, and who was for many years curate of Machynlleth, in the county of Montgomery: towards the close of his life he retired to his native village, where he died and was buried, but no monument has been erected to his memory.

Llandeilo-Graban (Llan-Deilo-Graban)

LLANDEILO-GRABAN (LLAN-DEILO-GRABAN), a parish, in the union of Hay, hundred of Painscastle, county of Radnor, South Wales, 8 miles (S. E. by S.) from Builth; containing 283 inhabitants. This parish extends along the banks of the river Wye, and is situated in the centre of a mountainous district: it comprises 3059 acres, of which 1500 are common or waste land. There are not only no public roads leading to it, but even the private roads by which it is traversed are almost impassable in some places. It is, however, a considerable thoroughfare in summer for cattle from parts of the county of Brecknock to Herefordshire, the drovers preferring this route, as there are few or no turnpike tolls. The surface is chiefly mountainous, but the lower lands are principally inclosed and in a tolerable state of cultivation: the soil is for the most part gravelly; the lower grounds produce comparatively good crops, and the bottoms, which are well drained, afford good pasturage. The parish is separated from that of Llanstephan by a stream called the Bâchwy, which here forms a beautiful cascade, surrounded by some very magnificent scenery. Its surface is bold and striking, but, in common with that of the adjacent country, is in general destitute of beauty, owing to the nakedness of the mountains; from some of the higher hills, however, the prospects are grand beyond description. On the side towards Brecknockshire, nearly the whole of the mountains in that county are conspicuous in one continuous chain, extending more than thirty miles; and part of the mountains in the counties of Cardigan and Carmarthen are seen from some of the other heights. Near the line of demarcation between this parish and Llanstephan is a beech-tree of remarkable growth, allowed to be the loftiest in Radnorshire, and forming a singular and striking object from many points of view, both in this county and in that of Brecknock.

The living is a perpetual curacy, endowed with £800 royal bounty; net income, £72; patron, the Prebendary of Llandeilo-Graban in the collegiate church of Brecknock: the impropriate tithes have been commuted for a rent-charge of £250, and there is an impropriate glebe of nine acres, valued at as many pounds per annum. The church, dedicated to St. Teilo, is a plain neat edifice, consisting of a nave and chancel, with a low tower covered with a shelving roof. There is a place of worship for Primitive Methodists. David Bedws, in 1726, bequeathed to the poor of the parish £100 in money, which, being vested in land, produces £6 a year. Thomas George, in 1673, gave certain portions of land at present worth £50 per annum; but at the time of proving the will, a compromise took place between the heir and the parish, by which the latter, to save litigation, granted a lease of the property to the former at £10 per annum. This lease was, however, declared void, in July 1833, by the Master of the Rolls, who ordered that the same should be surrendered, new trustees appointed, and rent of the full value of the premises paid from the time of filing the information in 1832, since which the tenant has removed the boundary marks on the land, and refused (in 1837) to surrender the lease. The amount of these charities is received by the minister, and distributed by him on St. Thomas's day among such poor as receive no parochial aid.

Llandeiniolen, or Llanddeniolen (Llan-Ddeiniolen)

LLANDEINIOLEN, or LLANDDENIOLEN (LLAN-DDEINIOLEN), a parish, in the hundred of Isgorvai, union and county of Carnarvon, North Wales, 5 miles (N. E. by E.) from Carnarvon, on the road to Bangor; containing 4202 inhabitants. This parish, which is divided into an Upper and a Lower portion, is separated from that of Llanberis by the lake called Padarn and the river Seiont, which form its boundaries on the south. The mountains of Elyder Vawr and Carnedd Viliast, both rich in mineral wealth, form its eastern boundaries; and the secondary hills of Moel Lucci towards the north, and Moel Rhiwen to the south, are within its limits. Near the latter of these hills a battle is said to have been fought at some remote period, and on the side of the hill are numerous hillocks, considered to be the graves of the warriors who fell on that occasion. Llandeiniolen is said to have been known to the Romans: within half a mile south-eastward from the church are the remains of an extensive camp, of British formation, but which is supposed by some to have been afterwards held by the Roman conquerors. The parish is about seven miles in length and three in breadth, and comprises by computation about 10,000 acres, three-fourth parts of which are under various kinds of cultivation. The scenery, though of a bold and striking character in the mountainous district, is generally throughout the parish uninteresting and unpleasing: scarcely a tree is to be seen on any of the farms; the farmhouses are commonly of a very mean description, and the fences, of loose stones, have a cold and cheerless appearance. The lands are thickly strewed with stones, and large fragments of rocks, scattered almost in every direction, greatly impede the process of cultivation. The soil is generally poor, cold, and unproductive; the arable parts are sown chiefly with barley and oats, and, in some few places, with a small quantity of wheat. Large tracts of land are fit only for the purposes of planting, the soil being such as to promise no indemnification for the expense of bringing them into tillage; and, from the great want of timber prevailing throughout this extensive parish, the application of them to that use would be productive of the most essential benefit. Some waste lands were inclosed under an act of parliament obtained in 1806, explained and amended by another passed in 1808. In the upper part of the parish are some very extensive slate-quarries, the property of T. Assheton Smith, Esq., the chief owner of the land, and lord of the manor: they are noticed under the head of Llanberis, in which parish they are partly situated, the boundary line of the two parishes running nearly through the centre of the quarry.

The living is a discharged rectory, rated in the king's books at £13. 8. 9.; patron, the Lord Chancellor: the tithes have been commuted for a rentcharge of £368. The church is dedicated to St. Deiniolen, said to have been the son of Deiniol who founded a college at Bangor, and to have flourished early in the seventh century: in the churchyard are several yew-trees, of luxuriant growth, one of which measures twenty-eight feet four inches in girth. There are places of worship for Calvinistic Methodists, Independents, Wesleyans, and Baptists. In the populous village of Dinorwig, near the quarries, is a school on the plan of the British and Foreign Society, established in 1844, by the quarrymen, and intended for the benefit of the two parishes of Llandeiniolen and Llanberis; it appears to be supported by the children's pence, and payments received from the quarrymen in return for a right of presentation to the school. Eleven Sunday schools are held, seven of them belonging to the Calvinistic Methodists, two to the Wesleyans, one to the Independents, and one to the Baptists. A sum of £6. 7. 6., the interest of several benefactions by the Rev. Robert Wynne and others, is distributed in money, bread, and flannel, among the poor, generally on St. Thomas's day.

The camp above-mentioned, which was probably an outpost to the Roman station Segontium, near the present Carnarvon, comprises an extensive area on the summit of a lofty eminence, defended by a rampart of small stones, backed by a stronger one, with two wide and deep ditches: this post, formerly called Dinas Dinorwig, is at present designated Pen Dinas; and in the neighbourhood are the remains of several other camps and fortresses of British origin. At no great distance from Llyn Padarn are the remains of Llŷs Dinorwig, an ancient palace, and formerly the residence of Prince Llewelyn ab Grufydd, which, together with the manor of Dinorwig, was bestowed by Edward I. on Griffith Lloyd, of Trêgarnedd, in Anglesey, who is said to have been knighted by that monarch on conveying to him the intelligence of the birth of his son Edward at Carnarvon, and who subsequently, rebelling against that sovereign, was taken prisoner in an unsuccessful attempt to surprise Mold Castle, and soon afterwards executed. The manor at a later period became the property of Sir William Williams, of Vaenol, Bart., who left it by will to Sir Boucher Wrey for life, with remainder to King William III., who granted it to an ancestor of T. Assheton Smith, Esq., the present proprietor. The mansion is now in ruins: near it a stone, resembling a Roman milliary, was discovered about half a century ago, bearing the inscription IMP. Q. DECIO. The river Cegin has its source in a strongly chalybeate spring, about two miles south of the church, called Fynnon Cegin Arthur, or the "well of Arthur's kitchen," and, after flowing through this and the adjoining parish of Llandegai, falls into the Menai strait at Port-Penrhyn. At Rhŷd-Vawr, about a mile to the south of the church, is Fynnon Deiniolen, or "St. Deiniolen's well," the water of which was formerly in high esteem for its efficacy in the cure of rheumatic and scorbutic diseases. Yr Allt Wen presents an interesting field for the researches of the botanist, producing a variety of scarce plants, such as the rubus saxatilis, &c.

Near Penllyn lived the celebrated Margaret ach Evan, denominated by Mr. Pennant "the Queen of the Lakes." This extraordinary woman, who lived to be more than ninety years of age, had a boat upon the lakes, and was employed in bringing down the copper-ore from the mines in the neighbourhood. She is reported to have been the greatest hunter, shooter, and fisher of her day; an excellent musician, playing well upon the harp and violin; at the age of seventy, the best wrestler in the country; a good blacksmith, shoemaker, boat-builder, and harp-maker; excelling, indeed, in almost every mechanical art, and being long the wonder and admiration of the surrounding country.

Llandeloy (Llan-Dylwyf)

LLANDELOY (LLAN-DYLWYF), a parish, in the union of Haverfordwest, hundred of Dewisland, county of Pembroke, South Wales, 7 miles (E. by N.) from St. David's; containing 205 inhabitants. This parish, which derives its name from the dedication of its church, is pleasantly situated in the north-western part of the county. The living is a discharged vicarage, annexed to that of Llanhowel, rated in the king's books at £5, and endowed with £800 royal bounty, and £200 parliamentary grant; impropriators, the Dean and Chapter of St. David's. The impropriate tithes of Llandeloy have been commuted for a rent-charge of £71, and the vicarial tithes for one of £44. The church, dedicated to St. Teilaw, presents no interesting architectural features. There is a Sunday school connected with the Independents, held in a farmhouse.

Llandeusant, or Llandeusaint (Llan-Y-Ddeusant)

LLANDEUSANT, or LLANDEUSAINT (LLAN-Y-DDEUSANT), a parish, in the hundred of Tàlybolion, union and county of Anglesey, North Wales, 6 miles (W. by N.) from Llanerchymedd; containing 524 inhabitants. This parish, which is of considerable extent, lies near the river Alaw, and partakes generally of the scenery common to this part of the principality; the village is small, but pleasantly situated. The living is a discharged rectory, with the perpetual curacies of Llanbabo and Llanvair-ynghornwy annexed, rated in the king's books at £20. 16. 3.; present net income, £615; patron, the Bishop of Bangor. The tithes of Llandeusant have been commuted for a rent-charge of £250; and there is a glebe of nearly an acre, with a glebe-house. The church, dedicated to St. Marcellus and St. Marcellinus, is a small but venerable edifice, in the early style of English architecture, with a good lancet-shaped window of three lights at the east end, of which the gable is externally surmounted with an antique cross. There are places of worship for Independents, Calvinistic Methodists, and Baptists, with a Sunday school held in each of them. The produce of two small rent-charges is annually divided among the poor of the parish, in conformity with the will of the benefactors; and some trifling donations in money have been lost.

Llandevailog-Tre'r-Graig (Llan-Defailog-Trêf-Y-Graig)

LLANDEVAILOG-TRE'R-GRAIG (LLAN-DEFAILOG-TRÊF-Y-GRAIG), a parish, in the hundred of Pencelly, union and county of Brecknock, South Wales, 5½ miles (E. by N.) distant from Brecknock; containing, exclusively of the township of Llanywern, the population of which is returned with that of the adjoining parish of Llangorse, 35 inhabitants. It is of small extent, comprising only about 500 acres. Nearly one-half constitutes a single farm, and the rest is divided among three others, the greater portions whereof are included within the adjacent parishes, to the poor's rate of which they are assessed, although the houses are in Llandevailog parish, which, however, contains not a single labourer's cottage. A farmhouse is pleasantly situated near the road from Brecknock through Llanvihangel-Tàlyllyn to Talgarth, on the western bank of the small river Llynvi, which falls into the Wye near Glâsbury, and by which this parish, bordering upon the hundred of Talgarth, is separated from that of Llangorse. The Brecknock and Hay railway passes along the eastern margin of the Llynvi, within a hundred yards of the church. The living is a rectory, annexed to that of Llanvillo. The church, dedicated to St. Tyvaelog, was erected in 1710, at the sole expense of the Rev. Gregory Parry, A.M., who resided at that time in the adjoining mansion. It is a neat structure, consisting of a nave and chancel, appropriately fitted up; at the western extremity of the roof is a shed containing a small bell. There is no separate register kept, the births and burials being entered in that of Llanvillo.

Llandevailog-Vâch (Llandefaelog-Fâch)

LLANDEVAILOG-VÂCH (LLANDEFAELOG-FÂCH), a parish, in the hundred of Merthyr-Cynog, union and county of Brecknock, South Wales, 2¼ miles (N. by W.) from Brecknock; composed of the Upper and Lower divisions, the former of which constitutes the chapelry of Llanvihangel-Vechan; and containing 382 inhabitants, of whom 200 are in the Upper, and 182 in the Lower, portion. This parish derives its name from the dedication of its church, and is distinguished by its adjunct from Llandevailog-Tre'r-Graig, in the same county. It is pleasantly situated on the river Honddû, and on the old turnpike-road from Brecknock to Builth, which runs for nearly four miles through the parish over the Eppynt hills. On the north lies the parish of Garthbrengy, on the south that of Llanthew, on the east that of Llandevalley, and on the west that of Battle. The parish comprises by admeasurement 5712 acres, of which 1700 are arable, 1735 meadow and pasture, 743 wood, and the remainder common, waste, and roads; the whole forming a fine tract of country, partly mountainous, the rest hilly, and in some places richly wooded. The scenery is diversified, and combines features of picturesque beauty and romantic grandeur. From the higher grounds are obtained interesting and extensive views of the surrounding country, in which the Black Mountains of Talgarth, and the Brecknockshire Beacons in the distance, form distinguishing characteristics. The soil is chiefly loam, with some clay and gravel, producing wheat, barley, and oats; and the wood consists of oak and ash, with large plantations of larch, and various kinds of pine. There are a few small stone-quarries, and a fulling-mill.

In this vicinity are some handsome villas and pleasing residences, of which the principal within the parish are, Castle-Madoc; Glàn Honddû, an elegant villa, beautifully seated on a gentle acclivity, under an elevated ridge whose summit is adorned with timber of stately growth, and commanding a pleasing view of the fertile Vale of Honddû; and Llandevailog House, situated at a little distance from Glàn Honddû, to the north, and nearly adjacent to the church, a mansion surrounded by grounds tastefully laid out, at the back of which is a large tumulus, perfectly level on the summit. This tumulus probably forms the sepulchre of some native British chieftain of remote antiquity, or was formerly surmounted by a military work to defend the passage of the river Honddû, over which at this place is a substantial stone bridge of one arch. One of the most delightful scenes in the Vale of Honddû is viewed in the approach to Llandevailog church: opposite to the wooded heights above Glàn Honddû, several woody knolls decline in verdant meadows towards the margin of the river, which is partially seen emerging from a thick grove that here covers its steep banks; the tower of the church is seen just rising above the dark foliage of the venerable yew-trees by which it is surrounded, with Llandevailog House nearly adjacent; while in the background the landscape appears to be entirely inclosed by successive ranges of distant hills. The village, though small, is highly prepossessing in appearance, being delightfully situated on the western bank of the river, which washes the eastern wall of the churchyard, in its course through the parish to join the river Usk at Brecknock.

The living is a rectory, rated in the king's books at £13, and in the patronage of the Lord Chancellor; present net income, £258. The advowson was formerly vested in the lords of Brecknock, but, upon the attainder of Stafford, Duke of Buckingham, escheated to the crown. The church, dedicated to St. Tyvaelog, a dark, damp, and greatly dilapidated edifice, was rebuilt in the year 1831, of stone raised on the glebe-land, and given for that purpose by the rector. The new building was erected at an expense of little more than £200, by subscription, aided by a grant of £60 from the Incorporated Society for the erection and enlargement of churches and chapels, in consideration of which 55 out of the 150 sittings it contains, were declared free and unappropriated. It consists of a nave and chancel, having a boarded floor, raised on dwarf walls, and is fitted up with every regard to comfort; there is a neat porch. The old tower, which is a heavy and rude edifice, of much more recent date than the ancient church, is still remaining in its original state; and most of the monuments have been preserved in their former situations. In the chancel are several memorials of the seventeenth century, to the Powels of Castle-Madoc: on the north wall is a shield of armorial bearings of sixteen quarterings, of the Prytherch family, now extinct; and on the west wall is an elegant tablet of white marble, richly sculptured, to the memory of the late Pennoyre Watkins, Esq. The churchyard, from its beautiful situation on the bank of the river, and from its being ornamented with some fine yewtrees, has a strikingly picturesque appearance. It contains a very large mausoleum, surrounded by a high wall, belonging to the family of Watkins, of Pennoyre, in which the coffins are all placed upon iron trestles above the ground.

On the west side of the wall of this mausoleum, near the entrance, is an ancient carved stone, about two yards in height, and varying from half a yard to a foot in breadth. It is divided into four compartments, the uppermost of which contains a rude cross, encircled with scrolls; the second, the rudely-carved figure of a man with a battle-axe in the right hand, and a dagger in the left; the third, an inscription which has not yet been decyphered; and the lowest is ornamented with scrolls similar to those in the first compartment. This stone, by some thought to have been raised to the memory of Brochmail Yscythrog, is conjectured by Mr. Jones, the historian of the county, to commemorate Rhain, the eldest legitimate son of Brychan, Prince of Brycheiniog, who, according to an old manuscript, died some time in the fifth century, and was buried at this place; and perhaps the tumulus above noticed was raised over his remains. Another stone, probably of Roman workmanship, which bore the inscription CATVC, and has been noticed by all antiquaries since the time of Camden, was preserved here until the recent reerection of the church, when it was accidentally destroyed.

The chapel of Llanvihangel-Vechan is situated about three miles to the north of the church, on the road to Builth. There are places of worship for Independents in the Higher division, and Calvinistic and Wesleyan Methodists in the Lower division, of the parish; also three Sunday schools, one of them in connexion with the Church, and the others belonging respectively to the Calvinistic Methodists and the Wesleyans. Miss Sarah Prytherch, who died in 1793, charged an estate called Peytin Glâs with the annual payment of £10, which is distributed shortly after Christmas, in sums varying from 5s. to £2, among ten or twelve of the most deserving poor not receiving aid from the parish, the recipients generally continuing on the list during life. A road from the Roman station near Brecknock to that of Loventium in the Vale of Teivy, called Sarn Helen, or Sarn Lleon, is supposed to have entered the parish near a village called Sarnau, about a quarter of a mile westward from the church. Sir David Gam, who so gloriously distinguished himself in the battle of Agincourt, was probably a native of this place, where he passed the early years of his life on an estate called Peytyngwyn, the mansion on which was burned to the ground by Owain Glyndwr, during the insurrection headed by that chieftain, who regarded David as his personal enemy.

Llandevalley

LLANDEVALLEY, a parish, in the hundred of Tàlgarth, union and county of Brecknock, South Wales, 7 miles (N. E.) from Brecknock; containing 705 inhabitants, of whom 360 are in the Upper, or North, and 345 in the Lower, or South, portion. This parish comprehends a rich and fertile tract of country, consisting principally of arable lands, of which the soil is very productive; there are 1300 acres of common or waste land, and the total area is 6122 acres. The village is pleasantly situated about a mile to the north-west of the turnpike-road leading from London to Brecknock, through Hay, and consists of a few neat and comfortable dwellings, the inhabitants of which are principally employed in agriculture. The living is a discharged vicarage, consolidated with that of Crickadarn, and, by the will of the Rev. David Williams, of Stapleford, in the county of Hertford, dated January 16th, 1712, endowed with the rectorial tithes. The tithes of Llandevalley have been commuted for a rent-charge of £560. The church, dedicated, according to some accounts, to St. Teilaw, and according to others to St. Matthew, is an ancient structure, with a tower at the western end, containing five bells, and was formerly one of the finest churches in the county. The body of the edifice consists of a nave, nearly seventy feet in length, with a narrow aisle on the south, and a chancel about twenty-five feet long. The aisle is separated from the nave by four pointed arches, resting on octangular pillars; the roof, which is of oak, is finely arched, and supported by transverse ribs springing from corbels; the chancel is separated from the nave by the ancient rood-loft, which is still in tolerable preservation. The windows are in the later style of English architecture. In that facing the east is some stained glass, presenting chiefly heads with stars and other devices; and in a window on the south side are two half-length figures of bishops with their mitres and crosiers, one of whom is represented in the act of giving a benediction. In the south aisle is a finely painted window, representing the Crucifixion, in which the figures are well proportioned, especially those of the Virgin and Mary Magdalene; and in another window of this aisle are half-length figures intended to represent the Father and the Saviour, inscribed over which, in old English characters, are the two first sentences of the Apostles' Creed. Adjoining the churchyard is a large parsonage-house, erected in 1713, to which are annexed about fifty acres of glebe land. There are places of worship for Independents and Calvinistic Methodists, of which the former is endowed with a sum of £100 under the will of the late William Parry, Gent., of Llŷswen, directing the interest to be applied towards the support of the minister, who consequently receives from this bequest £4 per annum. A Church school is supported partly by subscription, and there is a Sunday school, held by the Independents.

The Rev. David Williams charged the tithes with the payment of 40s. per annum, to be distributed among the poorest housekeepers, day-labourers, and widows, of Llandevalley, one-half on St. Thomas's day, and the other half on Good Friday; and double this sum in default of payment by the vicar on the days specified. Mr. William Lewis, of Caer Gitto, in the parish, gave in 1740 the sum of £16, directing the interest to be annually distributed among the poor at Christmas; but this charity has been lost by the failure of the party to whom the money was entrusted. Mrs. Elizabeth Williams, of LlandeiloGraban, in 1748, bequeathed 10s. per annum, for a sermon to be preached by the minister on Good Friday, and £5 to be distributed immediately after divine service, on the same day, in half-crowns, to forty poor parishioners; with the payment of which sums she charged an estate in the parish.

On the farm of Pwllcwrw, situated upon an eminence, are vestiges of a small British encampment; and in a lane near the northern extremity of the parish, called Heol Einon, or Pen Heol Einon, is a stone about four feet high, supposed to be a sepulchral memorial. In the parish is a mineral spring, the properties of which are similar to that of Llanwrtyd: the water is strongly impregnated with sulphur, with a small portion of marine salt, and also partakes in a considerable degree of a chalybeate nature; it is highly recommended in scorbutic and cutaneous diseases. Trebarried, formerly the seat of William ab Harry Vaughan, by whom it was built, about the middle of the seventeenth century, partly with the materials of a more ancient mansion, has been for many years abandoned by the family, and is now a farmhouse. In this parish was anciently settled a family of Norman extraction, named Bois, who had within its limits a castellated mansion, called Trebois, of which nothing now remains but the moat by which it was surrounded: of this family was David Bois, prior of the Carmelite friars at Gloucester, and author of several Latin works on religious and ecclesiastical subjects.

Llandeveylog (Llan-Dyfaelog)

LLANDEVEYLOG (LLAN-DYFAELOG), a parish, in the hundred of Kidwelly, union and county of Carmarthen, South Wales, 6 miles (S. S. E.) from Carmarthen; containing 1303 inhabitants. This parish is situated on the navigable river Towy, by which it is bounded on the west; and contains 8059 acres of fertile land, the whole, with a very trifling exception, inclosed and in a good state of cultivation. The scenery is richly varied, and that portion of the parish situated between the turnpike-road from Carmarthen to Kidwelly, which passes close to the village, and the river Towy, is not inferior, for the beauty of its scenery, to any district in this part of the principality. There is an ancient weir for taking salmon and sewin, attached to the Plâs Gwyn estate. Several good family residences are situated within the limits of the parish, but most of them have been deserted by their proprietors, and converted into farmhouses.

The living is a vicarage, rated in the king's books at £9. 13. 4., and endowed with £200 royal bounty, and £1600 parliamentary grant; present net income, £64 a year; patron, Mr. Barker: the impropriation is vested in trustees. The church, dedicated to St. Maelog, the reputed founder, is of great antiquity, and of a very irregular form, differing as to structure from the generality of parochial churches. There are two places of worship for Calvinistic Methodists, two for Independents, and one for Unitarians: one of the meeting-houses for the Methodists is an ancient edifice, formerly a chapel of ease to the mother church, but which, having long fallen into disuse, was repaired for the purpose to which it is at present appropriated. A day school is supported in connexion with the Church, partly by subscription, and partly by school-fees; three Sunday schools are held by the Independents, three by the Calvinistic Methodists, and one in the parish church. Three children receive instruction in the day school from the proceeds of a bequest of £10 for the purpose, in 1722, by David Griffith John, and of a rent-charge of £1 per annum, in the year 1778, by Henry Mansel, who also left £2 for annual distribution among the poor of the parish.

A farmhouse near the church is supposed to have been anciently a monastery, but the only memorial is preserved in the appellation "Nant-y-Llan," by which it is known. On a tenement called Pistyll, in the lordship of Cloigin, is a spring of limpid water, formerly in great repute for its efficacy in curing diseases of the eye. In the same lordship was an extra-parochial chapel, in which no other service was performed than the solemnization of marriages; but not any vestige of it is at present discernible, except the foundations, the materials having been removed at various times for private uses. Some traces of an old causeway, now a bridle-way to Carmarthen, are visible just above the river.

Llandeveyson (Llan-Dyfeisant)

LLANDEVEYSON (LLAN-DYFEISANT), a parish, in the union of Llandilo-Vawr, Lower division of the hundred of Cayo, county of Carmarthen, South Wales; comprising a small part of the market and post town of Llandilo-Vawr, on the eastern boundary of it; and containing 267 inhabitants. It is situated on the river Towy, and the lands, which are tolerably fertile, are, with the exception of a very small portion, inclosed and in a good state of cultivation; the scenery is diversified, and the distant views present numerous objects of interest, and features of picturesque and romantic beauty. A very considerable portion of the parish is occupied by Newton Park, the property of Lord Dynevor, which comprehends within its limits, besides his lordship's modern residence, the venerable ruins of Dynevor Castle, the ancient seat of the princes of the house of Dynevor, and of which a more detailed account is given in the article on Llandilo-Vawr. The present mansion, formerly called Newton House, and now Dynevor Castle, is a plain, substantial, quadrangular structure, crowned at each of the angles with a cupola. The grounds, which are very extensive, are finely laid out, and comprise some noble heights to the west of the town; the plantations are of stately and luxuriant growth, and the park comprehends a richer assemblage of scenery than is perhaps to be found within the same circuit in almost any other part of the principality. The poet Spenser refers to the "woody hills of Dynevor." Among the most prominently interesting objects in the grounds, which are seen to great advantage from the opposite side of the river, are the parochial church of Llandeveyson, and the ruins of the ancient castle of Dynevor, the towers of which latter, rising above the luxuriant foliage by which they are partly concealed, and preserving even in their ruins an air of venerable majesty, form a strikingly romantic feature in the scenery.

The living is a donative, endowed with £200 private benefaction, and £1000 royal bounty; net income, £51; patron and impropriator, Earl Cawdor, whose tithes have been commuted for a rent-charge of £150, and who has also a glebe of thirty acres, valued at £8 per annum. The church is a small edifice, situated within the limits of Newton Park, and is supposed to have been built on the site of a Roman temple, upon the foundation of which its northern angle is said to rest. In levelling the churchyard some time since, the walls of an old building were discovered; and, within three hundred yards of the spot, a pot of Roman coins was subsequently found. The ebbing and flowing well noticed by Giraldus Cambrensis as having some dependence on the fluctuation of the tides, and the stream issuing from which is called Nant-y-Rheibio, "the bewitched brook," is, in the opinion of the most competent judges, nothing more than a natural syphon, the operation of which is easily deducible from the principles of hydrostatics.

Llandewi-Velvrey (Llan-Ddewi-Felfre)

LLANDEWI-VELVREY (LLAN-DDEWI-FELFRE), a parish, in the union of Narberth, principally in the hundred of Narberth, and partly in that of Dungleddy, county of Pembroke, South Wales, 2 miles (E. N. E.) from Narberth; containing 788 inhabitants, of whom 745 are in the Narberth, and 43 in the Dungleddy, portion. The place is situated in a rich and fertile vale, watered by the river Tâf, which separates the parish from that of Llangan, in the county of Carmarthen. The lands are wholly inclosed, and in a good state of cultivation; the soil is eminently fertile. This neighbourhood abounds with pleasing and interesting scenery, and is enlivened with several gentlemen's seats, of which the principal are Trêwern and Hênllan. Llandewi consists of a rectory and a vicarage: the rectory, which is a sinecure, is rated in the king's books at £8, and is in the patronage of the Principal and Tutors of St. David's College, Lampeter; net income, £200. The vicarage, which is discharged, is rated at £7. 9. 4½., and is in the gift of the Lord Chancellor; net income, £260, with a glebe-house. The church, dedicated to St. David, is remarkable for the simplicity of its architecture, and displays evident features of a remote antiquity; an elegant mural tablet of white marble, to the memory of the late David Lewis, Esq., of Hênllan, and his youngest daughter, was put up in the chancel by his widow. The vicarage-house has been nearly rebuilt on an enlarged scale by the incumbent, under the provisions of Gilbert's Act. There are places of worship for Independents and Baptists; a day and Sunday school, held in a schoolroom built many years ago at the expense of the parish, on the glebe-land; and two Sunday schools belonging to the dissenters.

Llandewi-Ystradenny (Llan-Ddewi-Ystrad-Enau)

LLANDEWI-YSTRADENNY (LLANDDEWI-YSTRAD-ENAU), a parish, in the union of Knighton, partly in the hundred of Kevenlleece, and partly in that of Knighton, county of Radnor, South Wales, 11 miles (E.) from Rhaiadr; containing 693 inhabitants, of whom 336 are in the church township in the hundred of Knighton. This place derives its name from the dedication of its church to St. David, and its position in a winding vale. The parish contains by admeasurement 8075a. 1r. 27p.; it is situated on the river Ithon, and intersected by the turnpike-road leading from Builth, in Brecknockshire, to Newtown, in the county of Montgomery. By far the greater portion of the land is inclosed and cultivated, and besides the township of Llandewi, the parish includes that of Maestyr Rhoslowthy; the surface is boldly undulated, the soil in general productive. The scenery among the hills is extremely magnificent, and the distant mountains are seen in distinct ranges, varying in elevation and differing in aspect, finely grouped in almost every variety of form, and so numerous, that it is impossible with any degree of correctness to allocate them to their respective counties. The village comprises only a few houses, occupying a pleasant situation: the inhabitants obtain their letters from a receiving-house at Pen-y-Bont.

The living is a perpetual curacy, with that of Llanvihangel-Rhyd-Ithon annexed, both of which were originally parochial chapels, subordinate to Llanbister church. It is endowed with £600 royal bounty and £200 parliamentary grant, and the perpetual curacy of Llanvihangel with £800 royal bounty and £200 parliamentary grant; net income of the united benefice, £112; patron, the Chancellor of the Collegiate Church of Brecknock. The tithes of the parish have been commuted for a rent-charge of £365. The church, dedicated to St. David, has undergone extensive alterations, the northern aisle having been removed, and the southern new-pewed and rendered commodious; it is a small but neat edifice, with an east window of good design: the churchyard is surrounded by some ash-trees of majestic growth and very imposing appearance. There is a place of worship for Calvinistic Methodists, with a Sunday school held in it. The produce of two charitable donations, amounting to £1. 10. per annum, is given to the poor; one being a rent-charge of £1, by an unknown donor, and the other 10s., a portion of the Rev. Robert Barlow's grant in the parish of Llanbister.

On the summit of one of the mountains within the parish, impending over the Vale of Ithon, are the remains of a strong intrenchment, termed the Gaer, considered to be one of the fortified posts alternately occupied, in the twelfth century, by Cadwallon, and Mortimer, during the arduous conflicts which took place between them. It is elliptical in form, is inaccessible on the side towards the vale, and on every other side defended by two parallel intrenchments. On the opposite hill is an extensive tumulus of earth surrounded by a moat, called Bedd Ygre, "the grave of Ygre," supposed to have been raised in memory of some ancient British chieftain of that name who fell near the spot and was interred there. About two miles from this place formerly stood an old fortification, termed Castell Cymaron, on the banks of the Cymaron, thought to have been originally built by the Anglo-Normans, to protect the territories they had violently seized in this part of the principality, and which was soon afterwards destroyed by the Welsh, in their continued efforts to recover possession. It was subsequently rebuilt by Hugh, Earl of Chester, who, in 1142, obtained the whole of the district of Maelienydd, in which it was included; and was constantly an object of contention between the AngloNormans and the Welsh, in the frequent conflicts that arose from the repeated efforts of the former to extend their encroachments, and of the latter to repel them. The castle at length fell into the hands of the Mortimers, about the year 1360, and remained for ages with their descendants. Its site, and the moat by which it was surrounded, may still be distinctly traced; but of the building itself not the slightest portion remains.

Llandewy-Aberarth (Llanddewi-Aberarth)

LLANDEWY-ABERARTH (LLANDDEWI-ABERARTH), a parish, in the poor-law union of Aberaëron, Lower division of the hundred of Ilar, county of Cardigan, South Wales, 13 miles (N. W. by W.) from Lampeter; containing, with part of the town of Aberaëron, 1066 inhabitants, of whom 268 are in the town. The name of this parish, which comprises about 3000 acres, is derived from the dedication of its church, and the distinguishing adjunct from its position at the mouth of the small river Arth, which here discharges its waters into the bay of Cardigan. The parish is also situated on the river Aëron, and, from the vale through which this stream winds, the greater part of its surface presents a hilly aspect. The scenery, though bold and varied, is not distinguished by any peculiarity of feature; the higher grounds command extensive views across the open bay, and some good prospects over the adjacent country. The village, which stands on the turnpike-road leading from Cardigan to Aberystwith, is remarkably neat and well built; and in the neighbourhood are some pleasing seats, of which the principal in the parish is Tŷ-Glyn, situated about two miles from the village of Llandewy. A tract called Morva Mawr, or "the great marsh," extending along the sea-side, and the meadows on the banks of the Aëron, which are liable to inundation, have a fine, deep, loamy soil; the soil of the more elevated tracts is lighter. The whole is productive of superior grain of every kind; the only uncultivated portion of the parish is about fifty acres of woodland.

The living is a perpetual curacy, endowed with £800 royal bounty and £400 parliamentary grant, and in the gift of the Prebendary of Llandewy in the Cathedral Church of St. David's; income, £100. The tithes have been commuted for a rent-charge of £255. The church, dedicated to St. David, is a very ancient structure, forty-four feet in length, thirty in breadth, and thirty-eight in height, with a tower sixty feet high. A chapel, dedicated to St. Alban, was erected in 1809, for the accommodation of the family residing at Tŷ-Glyn, by the late Rev. Alban Thomas Jones Gwynne, who endowed it with a small farm called Rhôs Taverne, in the parish of Llandyssil, now producing £20 per annum: the living, which is further endowed with £200 royal bounty and £800 parliamentary grant, is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of the Proprietor of the Tŷ-Glyn estate. There are places of worship for Calvinistic Methodists and Independents. Three schools are supported in connexion with the Church; a school has been established by the dissenters, and three Sunday schools are held, one of them in connexion with the Church, another belonging to the Calvinistic Methodists, and the third to the Independents. An endowment of several pounds per annum is applied in aid of education. Near the sea-shore are vestiges of an old circular encampment, called Castell Cadwgan, supposed by some antiquaries to have been thrown up by Cadwgan, about the year 1148; but its defences are now almost levelled.