Radnorshire 10312614.Pdf

T HE LIBRARY OF T HE UNIVERSIT Y OF C ALIFORNIA ANGELES

P HYSI C AL M A P OF R A D N O R

C AM B RI DGE U N IV E RS ITY PRE S S

AY M A N G E R F . C L , A

O E E E E C . LOND N F TT R LAN , 4

P P U T ’ S N E W Y O R K G. . N A M S S O N BO M B AY ‘ ND C UT T C I N A C O . L T D C AL A MA M LLA , . MADRAS

' ND LT T O N T O : . D E N T A O N D RO J . M S S , .

T OKYO : M A RUZ E N- KA B U SH I K I - KA I S HA

A LL RI GHT S RE S E RV E D RA D N O RS H I RE

L E WIS D A VI E S ( of C ymmer)

’ Diagrams and Illustrations

C amb ridge

at th e U n i v e rsi ty P re ss

P RE FA C E

t han k M rs F H A t o . VE Edmund J Jones, forest ” L e i o n i s Gl n n e ath g , y , for kind aid in the subject

A M r R matter of Ecclesiastical rchitecture ; oger Howel ,

B r n co ch fo r y , facts of interest in connection with the

M r R C u mt wrch geology of the county ; and T . . Thomas , , for his valuable assistance in correcting the proofs .

L . D .

J ug"" 1 9 1 2

C O NT E NT S

PAGE T he o Ff r l T h i n Penins ula f e l ys . e Place o f Rad n or — W T h i t s ales . e Name Origin a n d Meaning

General C haracteristic s

z S . s . D Si e . hape Boundarie etached Portions

Surface a n d General Features

T he Sm S s Rivers a n d Waters hed . aller tream — T he W ye (a ) Main Stream — T he W ye (b) Tributaries

Lakes a n d Reservoirs

Fi s herie s

Geology a n d Soil

Natural Hi s tory

C limate a n d Rainfall — S s People Race , ettlement , Population — W c C s S . Agri ulture Main ultivation , oodlands , tock

Industries a n d Manufactures

Mines a n d Mineral s vi ii CONTENTS

Hi s tory o f t he C ounty — Antiquiti es (a ) Prehi s toric a n d Roman — Antiquities Tb) Iri s h a n d Saxon — Architecture (a ) E ccles ia s tical — Architecture (b) Military — Architecture (c) Domestic — C s an d . s ommunications Pa t Present Road , Railways

— ' Admini s tration a n d Divisions A n ci e n t a n d Modern

T he Roll of Honour

T he C hief Towns a n d Villages o f Radnorshire ILLUST RA T I ONS

A Radnors hire Moorland Scene Vale o f Ne w Radnor A Radnors hire Farm T he m s d Pu p Hou e , Llandrindo T he W ye at Hay O n Radnor Fores t Water - break - i ts - neck

T he s Lug Bridge , Pre teign River Teme near Knighton T h e W ye at Builth Bridge General View o f the W ye Valley with Builth a n d Llanelwedd i s s o f the w e Hor e hoe Bend y , Boughrood ’ T he M arte g near St Harmon s Valley o f t he I t ho n Llyn G wyn Pe n ce rrig Lake C aban C och Dam C a re ddu s E n g Re ervoir , la Valley

T he s C wm E s s Filtering Bed , lan Re ervoir S almon Ladder , Rhayader Bridge Salmon Netting at Llanelwedd Po s ition of t he Radnor Rock s Abe redw Rock s E rratic Boulder on Carn e dda u x ILLUSTRATIONS

Timber Felli n g i n Radnors hire T he Stanner Rock s

T he W e i n y Flood .

n n o f G H C ar n e ddau Fou datio oidel ut, Wel s h Peasant W oman i n Natio n al C o stume A Radnors hire Ploughi n g M atch Sheep - Sheari n g i n Radnors hire

s - o n - W e Hor e Fair , Newbridge y A Rhayader Tan yard S n C s n to e ru her , Lla elwedd

G —C adw a n ( n w elly g marry , Lla el edd

’ C aractacus C amp n ear Kn ighton ’ Llewely n s C ave near Aberedw

T he Mound , Pilleth Battleﬁeld ” T h e s n Pale , Lla degley Prehi storic Sto n e - Hammer T he S s o f n Four tone , Vale Rad or C C s C n Roman amp , a tell olle

’ Off s D K n a yke , near nighto Norman Doorway with Tympanum,Llanbadarn Fawr

’ S n Ll an a n o C Rood cree , hurch

’ T he n O n r C rc Fo t, ld Rad o hu h

M - r - C G s aes y onen hapel , la bury

— - Rui n s o f Abbey C wm Hi r Ruins o f Di n b o d C astle T he Sto n es Farmhou s e

M ae s ll wch C s s a tle , Gla bury

Na n n e rth H s a Farm ou e, ne r Rhayader ” T he s ms s n Radnor hire Ar , Pre teig ’ W Kn . N . ucklas Viaduct , L . Railway T he n Tow Hall , Rhayader Knighto n ’ C wm E n H s S s s n la ou e , helley Re ide ce ILLUSTRATIONS xi

VVa l b e e S s C d Moll tone, Llowe hurchyar

Di n b od C s Ll a n a n o . a tle Moat ,

C o n s ockpit Llanelwedd Rock .

— - Newbridge o n W y e School Interior o f Old Rad n or C hurch Diagrams

MAP S

n s s Rad or hire , Phy ical Geological Radnor Rivers ﬂowing E ast T he Upper W ye a n d i t s Radnors hire Tributaries W S . o t Diagrammatic ection from t he C ounty Boundary N. Rhayader to Hay

E n an d W s s n f gland ale , howi g Annual Rain all Sketch Map s howi n g t he chief C a stle s o f Wale s a n d t he

t 1 1 Border C ounties o f a ce p . 6

’ T he Scene o f Llewelyn s Downfall 1 2 0

T he s n s o n . 2 1 1 1 1 1 2 a n d 1 f illu tratio pp 7 , 9 7 , , , 49 are rom

W - - s . . s s C t he photograph by Mr M Dod on , Bettw y oed ; remainder W f . . A b e r the m are rom photographs by Mr P B y , Builth ells ; aps f o ri . 1 2 1 an d 1 2 0 s s the o n pp 5 , , are rom ketche by author ; that

s s D i s f . p . 49 rom a ketch kindly upplied by r J E . Marr ; that f 1 1 6 i s f n . . E acing p . rom a drawi g by Mr C J vans.

2 RADNORSHIRE

A ll times, a matter of great import . the roads and tracks

- o f of Mid Wales converged on the fords Wye, and whoever dominated them dominated the country o n both sides . R Celt, oman , and Norman successively mastered and

l o f Ffe rll s owned the beautiful va leys Upper y , and each

A Radnors hire M oorland S cene

has left very conspicuous marks of his occupation . The Saxon was not uniformly victorious— his boundary varied from age to age . Now he advanced to the Wye itself,

t o to i and now he had retreat the Severn , unt l at last the great O ffa ﬁxed the boundary that i s still connected with his name . The Dane also raided the district , but did not succeed in making it his permanent abode THE PENINSULA OF FFE RLLYS 3

A lthough this mountain region has a long history , R the county of adnor, as we now know it, is a modern

n o 1 6 division , dating further back than 53 , when at the B same time, and under similar circumstances as recon ,

was Monmouth , Montgomery, and Denbigh , it created

o f u n s hire d M . out the lands of the Borders , or arches

Vale o f Ne w Radnor

Pembroke and Glamorgan were counties before the 1 2 8 fall of the last Llewelyn , and in 4. Edward I by

Rhu dd- s ix — the Statute of lan created others Flint, A Carnarvon , nglesey, Merioneth , Cardigan , and Car mart he n ; but the remainder o f Wales was for t wo and a half centuries an unhappy territory, where legalised

- M oppressors, the Lords archers, to the number of about

I — 2 4 RADNORSHIRE

1 0 4 , held the destinies of life and death over the wretched people, ruling them by the strength of the sword , in “ ” R —a o f virtue of the Jura egalia, martial law the sternest kind . Henry VIII by his A ct of Union in 1 536 swept all this away by adding a number of the Lordships to the . existing neighbouring English and Welsh shires, and

o f forming the remainder into ﬁve new counties, which , R as we have seen , adnor was one . A R lthough the, name adnor, as applied to the county, is comparatively modern , the name as applied to the chief R mountains of the district, adnor Forest, and to the

o f O ld R old New villages and New adnor, is a very one, Radnor even being at least as ol d as the Domesday

Book . The meaning of the word has long been a puzzle t o scholars, but the interpretation most generally accepted “ derives it from the A nglo - Saxon r a de = a road and n or e “ ” “ narrow , making it to mean the land of mountain ” tracks, which it most certainly was . — — The origin of the Welsh name M ae syfe d is also

ma g s doubtful , for although a ﬁeld is deﬁnite enough , there is no satisfactory explanation of the other portion

ff as of the word , the various authorities o ering many ’ ” ea explanations, ranging from yf to drink and “ “ H a i dd = a C dw = yf Welsh hieftain , to y ﬁ the birch ” tree . The last mentioned has at least the merit of being plausible , especially i f compared with the Welsh names “ e Pe n we rn r of other border towns, .g . g (Shrewsbu y), the ” “ - Haw dd head of the alders , Tre y ( Hereford), the town ” ”

C e l n . of the beeches , and y (Clun), the town of holly GENERAL CHARA CTE RISTICS 5

2 . Ge n e ra l C h a ra ct e r i s t ics .

R n o t o adnorshire has coal , and is thus likely always

‘ ast oral co un t . She n o remain a p y has, moreover, rivers

- o f n o s e a . i s commercial utility and coast Indeed , it the

se a so Welsh county most remote from the , and moun tai n ou s i s its general character that it has earned the

A Radnors hire Farm

“ R name of rugged adnor, though certainly not from

the poverty of its elevated slopes . For the crisp turf of the Radnor heights has made it ren o wned among the

- - shee p breeders of the Principality, wh ile its sheep walks

are in great request by stock raisers at all times .

is Heather everywhere plentiful in the uplands, and as a consequence grouse abound . The county in ancient 6 RA DNORSHI RE

days contained no less than four royal forests, and its sparse population , and the great extent of its moorland , made it peculiarly suitable for the chase .

o f Its valleys, though generally narrow , are extreme “ ” “ n o beauty , turf being greener or fresher, and no ” streams being clearer, and more buoyant than those which form the groundwork of the dales around the foot o f the Great Forest . Byron and Shelley felt thei r charm ,

Ke n sham for the former was a constant visitor at , near

Presteign , and Shelley took up his abode in the Elan

Valley during a period o f his ﬁtfu l career . There is an old distich which says,

Bles sed i s the e ye ’ S a n d W e Twixt evern y , in allusion to the acknowledged beauty o f this Meso

o f potamia the Welsh Border, and Shakespeare h imself

Ki n L ea r I has sung the same theme when in g ( . i . 65) he describes Ffe rllys as

’ W ith s hadowy fores ts a n d with cha mpa i n s r i ch d W — ith plenteou s river s a n d wide s kirted meads . Radnor is becoming increasingly the playground of o South Wales, not only for those who can rent a sho ting or ﬁshing, but for all classes . A nglers come in great numbers, for although most of the streams are preserved , there are still manyleft where

o f . ﬁshing may be had free, or on payment a small sum

- Latterly , the well stocked chain of lakes formed in the Elan district for the domestic needs of Birmingham have GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS 7

t o o f greatly added the ﬁsh ing value the county , and

t o ﬁ h anglers from far aﬁeld regularly visit them s .

Radnorshire is very rich in antiquities of all kinds . The county indeed may be summed up as a curious mixture of the very o ld and the very new ; where ’ ff 1 200 O a s Dyke, with a story of years, lies in the path

T h e H s e d d P ump ou , Llandrin o

A o f of the B irmingham queduct yesterday, and where

R - are oman camps, castle mounds, and prehistoric graves lit up every evening by the electric light of Llandrindod

Common .

as M Lying, it did , right on the ercian border, and,

moreover, being halfway between North and South R Wales, adnor, as may be surmised, was constantly the 8 RA DNORSHIRE

o f . battleground the contending forces But, throughout d e the ages of ﬁerce strife, it remaine Welsh in tongu

a o and character until within a century g , when in times of peace it forgot the Cymric language . It is the only , so Welsh county that has entirely done , but it can never b e other than Cymric in character as long as its place

its names survive, and traditions of Llewelyn and Glyndwr linger in the land . The greatest modern development of the county has undoubtedly been Llandrindod, which at a bound B has become one of the foremost of ritish spas, and

- - o f M id incidentally a much needed meeting place North , , and South Wales for national and provincial purposes .

3 . S i z e . S h a p e . B ou n d a r i e s . D e t a ch e d

Port ion s . Having seen how Radnor came to be formed into

its a county, and examined general characteristics as a

- t o shire unit , we must now turn the map to note its size and boundaries . O f R the Welsh counti es, adnor is the tenth in size,

A i n nglesey and Flint alone being less area . Carmarthen

is i t s . shire , the largest , a bout twice size The English county which most closely approximates it is Bedford, e M l R whil Huntingdon , idd esex , and utland alone possess smaller acreages .

" - s ou th i s 26 an d Its length from north to t miles, its

t o I ts breadth from east west measures 29 miles . widest

R re at est l e n t h part is in the latitude of hayader, and its g g

10 RA DNORSHIRE

A R fter striking Shropshire near Knighton , the adnor

- boundary makes a sharp turn to the north west, following 1 the course of the Teme for about 5 miles, after which it ascends the highlands t o meet M ontgomerysh ire under the shadow of the Kerry Hills , when it turns westward , and follows the watershed between Severn and Wye until it touches Cardiganshire in the solitary wilds drained

T h e W y e at H ay

Ra dn or B r econ a n d H er e or d B ou n da r ( , , f y )

Gwn Nan tﬁ e n by the Talog, gy, and g . It follows the

- i ts C lae rwe n last named stream to conﬂuence with the ,

C lae rwe n the until it meets the Elan , and the Elan till it meets the Wye .

o f In the Wye section the boundary, there used t o be a little deviation into Brecon from the river bed S IZE SHA PE B OUNDA RIES 1 1

’ . o f near Glasbury But in the early years Victoria s reign , this portion of Radnorshire south of the Wye was annexed to Brecon for all purposes . The Wye now is the dividing line between the two counties, from its junction with the R Elan near hayader to the town of Hay, and the repairs

o n of Glasbury B ridge, wh ich formerly fell the county of

R n o w adnor alone, are done at the joint expense of the counties of Radnor and Brecon . A nother matter rectiﬁed by the same law was the — giving o f the detached portion of Hereford called Lytton — R Hill near Cascob , to adnorshire . These outliers of l certain counties, who ly insulated by other and neigh b o u rin g shires, open up a page of very interesting medieval

o f R history . This portion Hereford in adnor no doubt belonged at one time to a lord whose chief possessions lay in the former county, and was attached to the hundred he belonged to for the sake of convenience . The Radnor boundary line measures approximately 95 miles and includes an area computed by the D irector General of O rdnance Survey in 1 9 1 0 to be acres or 468 square miles excluding water . It is worthy of note that Radnor is not a county easy t of local government, as its grea est population lies in the towns and villages around the boundary line, leaving the great central tract of the Radnor Forest very sparsely populated . 12 RADNORSHIRE

4 . S u rfa ce a n d Ge n e ra l Fe a t u res .

R 18 Ffe rll s adnor the most mountainous part of y , two- thirds of the whole county being classiﬁed as moun

s o s o tain land . Its peaks are not h igh nor numerous

o f o as those of the neighbouring county Brec n , yet the general elevation is greater, owing to the large area of

O n Radnor Forest

“ high moorland which extends from end t o end of the

. 1 000 county The average height is well over feet, and ‘ nowhere but in the south - eastern corner is it as low as

300 feet . Th e surface o f Radnorshire divides itself naturally into a A I" M c ( ) Mountain rea , ( ) High oorland , and ( ) Valleys . SURFA CE AND GENE RAL FEATURES

(a ) The collective n ame fo r all the mountain tract is

R d o re s t l o f a nor F This occupies the centre the county , where Glas t wyn and Black M ixon rise t o the height of

' 2 1 8 6 a n d 2 1 66 fe e t re s e ct i v e l C p y . lustering around are

c e . other mountains approa hing them in height, g . Bach

R t he Hill , The Whimble, and Whinyard ocks ; but with exception of the fi rst named they do not quite reach the 2000 feet line . T o R the west of hayader, and overlooking the Elan

is reservoirs, a separate group of mountains attaining ‘

A - Fr n almost the same height . mong them are M oel y

1 08 - - the bleak hill 7 , Bwlch y Gader the hollow of - ” “ 1 6 - - h the chair ) 7 5, and Pen y Bwlc ( the head of th e ” 16 hollow ) 33 feet . A t the other end o f the county the famous Hergest Ridge o f Hereford pushes over the Radnor border to end 1 6 1 in Hanter Hill ( 3 feet) . (6) Connecting the greatest heights are a number o f lesser elevations which sometimes spread out into

e n extensive tablelands, and at others form great ridges closing numerous moors, themselves only slightly lower . They are generally designated by the Welsh terms r/yés ’ ’ a s wam es a i r cr a z br n ( py moor), g (ridge), g (rock), y (hill), w a m ca r n marl c n r (moor), (cairn), (a bleak spot), and gf o f fo r (back) . Some these are very noted their prehistoric

C arn e ddau remains and for other reasons, as for example , e l n ar Llane wedd . The heights between Painscastle and Glasbury are

Be wn s and do called g or B eacons, although they not fﬁ l approach the Brecon Beacons in height, su cient y indicate 14 RA DNORSHIRE by their name the uses they were put t o when beacon ﬁres were the readiest method of raising the alarm in tim e of war .

6 A s has ( ) been already mentioned , the valleys of the shire , although small in extent, are very beautiful .

are They extensively wooded and well c u ltivated . The

- fame of the Wye Valley is world wide , and the valleys of A the rrow , Lug , and Teme, if less known , are hardly less charming, whether considered from the standpoint of

o r art that of husbandry .

o f C l ae rwe n The valleys the Elan and , in the western

o f part the shire, have been almost wholly taken up by

to the chain of reservoirs belonging B irmingham City . B eing at a great elevation they never were s o rich as those o f R fo r o f - East adnor, but the purpose water collecting they are admirable .

T h e ma l l e r 5 . Ri v e rs a n d Wa t e rs h e d . S

S t re a ms .

' R t wo ro u s adnor possesses g p of rivers,

a ( ) The Wye and its tributaries, running generally south ,

5 o f o f ( ) Some the tributaries the Severn , ﬂowing eastward through Shropshire and Hereford .

The courses of the rivers should be especially noted , fo r it is through the gaps here worn by the water- action of millions o f years that the track of the ancient conquerors led , and the modern road and railway have followed . Radnor Riv e rs ﬂ owing E as t 16 RA DNORSHIRE

The Wye , being such an important stream , demands

o f a chapter its own , and therefore we will ﬁrst examine the character of the lesser rivers that form the second group . It may be said of them all that throughout their R adnor courses they are merely limpid mountain streams, excellent for trout, and better still as possible and actual water supplies to the large population toiling in the indus A ll trial districts o f South Wales and the M idlands . enter England o n the eastern boundary o f the county .

Commencing at the south - eastern corner we ﬁrst

A a rw a r w i e strike the rrow (g or , . . rough) . I t issues

' o n - —Gwe s ta out of a morass a hill called Waun y , O n at the furthest extremity of Colva parish . its

o f banks are the villages Glascwm , Newchurch , and

M - ichaelchurch . Near the last named place it becomes fo r a few miles the boundary between Radnor and

Hereford , before ﬁnally entering the latter county to fall into the Lug, about a mile beyond Leominster . Before

o f crossing into Hereford , it skirts the large camp the R Gaer, one of the many ancient fortiﬁcations in adnor

t he shire bearing this name . Its chief tributaries within

Glascu rn i C wm ru ff dd Glasn an t county are g, g y B rook, ,

C wm will e n - R and g , the last named issuing from hosgoch

Pool , in the parish of B ryngwyn . A Next in order comes the von , which rises in Colva,

- i and ﬂows through a well wooded valley , pass ng through

i s Gladestry, whence it sometimes called the Gladestry

B rook . O n e of its small feeders formerly supplied the moat of Huntington Castle .

18 RADNORSHIRE Making our way still further north we meet the

W e the l o n e small stream called the y . This also rises in of the Colva morasses, and after a short course through

o f W e the l - the village y , and past the celebrated lime kilns o f ld R A o f O adnor, enters the rrow beyond the conﬁnes the shire .

T h e B ri e P e s Lug dg , r teign

The So me rgil claims an importance wholly di spropo r t ion ate fo r is to its size, many authorities hold that it owing to its current being lost in underground channels in the Vale o f Radnor that the Welsh name of the county

M ae s fe d— a y is derived . Its n me also claims some

is attention , as it one of the few rivers in Wales which

A - n s R has a distinctly nglo Saxon ame . It rise in adnor RIVERS AND WAT ERSHED 19

u Forest, and in its early course forms the wonderf l cascade

- - i ts - known as Water break neck, which has a height of

00 . 3 feet It here turns south , and then east , past the

I ts town of New Radnor . subterranean passage extends t wo miles, at the end of which it emerges into a large

A o n pool of great depth . fter continuing this course for 1 4 miles , past Downton , Harpton Court, and many

River Teme ne ar Knigh ton

another ancient seat, it enters Hereford near Lower

Harpton . The Lug is o n e of the principal Radnor streams

o f flowing east . The name is a corruption the Welsh ” “ ” Llu w w g y hich means clear water . It rises in a small lake above Llangunllo called Y n n n o n A u r the a Golden and flows p st that village and Pilleth , ’ h R Gl n dwr s w ere hys the Terrible , y lieutenant, inflicted

2—2 20 RA DNORSHIRE

1 02 . a crushing defeat on Edmund Mortimer, in 4 Thence it runs through the beautiful Vale of Wh itton to Presteign .

A - fter leaving the county town it soon enters Hereford , at f the oot of Stapleton Castle , to pass ultimately another — ’ fateful ba ttl e ﬁe ld M ortimer s Cross . The most northerly of the Radnor streams is the

Teme , which , after rising in the Kerry Hills, ﬂows south

ff a fe diad east through a valley called Dy ryn T . This river for the greater part of its Radnor course forms the

o u r boundary between county and Shropshire . It drains

- a very thinly populated district, which abounds in relics A n ’ of bygone days . fter dividing the e trenchment of

- - B ddar o f Crug y y into two parts, it skirts the castle a clas , and ﬂows through Knighton , past the spot R where Caractacus made his last stand against the omans .

It enters Hereford near the village of B rampton Bryan .

— 6 . T h e W e a M a n S re a m y ( ) i t . The Wye is wholly a Radnorshire river for about 1 0 miles only . For 34 miles more it divides the county

fo r 1 0 from B reconshire , and another miles from Here

fo rdshi re . It has already had a course of 30 miles before reaching the county at all , so it is a considerable stream when it

at enters the border shi re, wh ich it does a place called .

- S - to - afarn y Coed , in the highlands the north west of

- St Harmon , where the Moel Eryn rocks stand in imposing array beside it . From the wild country o n both banks it THE WYE — MAIN STREAM 21

so receives many a mountain torrent, that when it reaches “ ” i e . Rhayader ( . the town of the cataract ) it has a strong A t current . the lower end of this town , it meets with a

G 0 WI E T S ca le o f Mile s 0 2 4

He r e Ll e we ly n Fe l l ll

' B u ii ﬁh

T h e Upper W y e a n d i t s Radnor s hire T r i b utarie s

has to rocky obstruction , which caused th e stream scoop out great cavities in its bed , forming deep, dark , pools like

D e fai A s Llyn d. the salmon found great difﬁculty in ascending beyond these obstructions, a salmon ladder has 22 RADNORSHIRE been made below Rhayader bridge t o aid them in thei r annual upward migration . A short distance south of the town the river strikes

- a ch R B reconshire, where Craig on the adnor side,

- —Fo e l i ts and Craig y Opposite, stand facing each other over bed . The current is again impeded for some distance

for o f its below this point . Indeed th e greater part

T h e W y e a t B uilth B rid ge

R is adnor course the Wye is still a mountain stream . It ‘ only below the gre atLb e n d of Llyswen that it assumes the

. as character of a lowland river But beautiful . are its lower reaches, it is doubtful i f the upper stream is not of equal loveliness .

D o ldo wl o d fl Passing , the Wye ows through a wooded

o n N deﬁle its way towards Builth , receiving near ewbridge THE WYE— MA IN STREA M 23

I tho n o n I rfo n the the left, and near Builth the on the right . O pposite Newbridge (where a still newer bridge was erected in 1 9 1 1 ) the Llys di n am woods cloth e ff A s the B recon blu s with great beauty . the river

t o . approaches nearer B uilth , its bed is very disturbed

— R so a Th is part the B uilth ocks , well known to s lmon — has - anglers another series of smoothed out cavities, where whirling pebbles have , in the ﬂoods of countless years, A formed such dangerous features as Hell Hole, and ber

Pool . A t Builth the Wye is crossed by a famous bridge o f R six arches, towards wh ich all the Brecon and adnor e roads of the district conv rge . Just above this bridge , owing to the occurrence of fairly level ground , the river i s navigable for some distance for small pleasure boats . This is the only part of the river touching Radnor ground

o that can be s utilised . No patriotic Welshman can ponder over the history o f this district of Builth and the Wye without feeling a throb o f sympathy for the heroic Llewelyn ap Gruffydd in his struggle against hopeless odds for the maintenance of Welsh independence . But this will be dealt with in a later chapter . The narrow valley of the Wye for six miles below Builth is a good example of the kind of gorge wh ich on a larger scale is known in A merica as a canon . The sides E s o i A of it are well wooded , the heights of g g and lltmawr being, in particular, beautifully clothed . The rocks of A beredw are a prominent landmark of this part of the river, presenting the most striking instance of the bold

26 RA DNORSHIRE

“ t o - beauty , a rival the better known link near the ff It Windcli . With a perceptible retarding of its current, passes ancient Llyswen , and many a stately Tudor and

Georgian mansion standing back from the stream .

o f Glasbury, nestling in a circle orchards , is a charming district, where the soil gives ample repayment for the

o f W e culture bestowed on it . Here the bed the y has been diverted, some say, artiﬁcially . There is still a chain of pools called H én - wf y (the old Wye) to mark the original

o f course the stream . Y a i . e . C Leaving Cl s , the town of the loisters, as the Welsh call Glasbury, the majestic stream meanders “ ” towards Hay , the Norman enclosure which long formed the principal gateway into M i d- Wales from the southern M arches . Here , on the B recon side , is the delightful

Bailey Walk, and below it is the Steeple Pool , where the old bells of St M ary ’ s Church are popularly supposed to be lying . The river scenery o f this district has been

C ox - immortalised by David , the great water colour artist, who did much t o enhance the fame of this most beautiful of rivers . Beyond the town the B recon boundary falls away

R o n fo r from the river, but adnor continues to rest it 1 0 a further miles, with Hereford on the eastern bank.

Llowes and Clyro, both on the left bank, are beautiful “ ’ M on acht districts containing Boatside, y ( the monk s

- - house Court Evan Gwynne, and Clyro Court, houses well known to artists and antiquaries of many a shire . f O pposite Clyro , the river lows in very deep pools, locally ” S A s called The almon Holes . at Glasbury, the Wye THE WYE — MAIN STREAM 27

at this village has been to a small extent artiﬁcially diverted

for local improvements . O n the right bank o f the river at this point stand the ff ruins of Cli ord Castle , with its reminiscences of Fair

R v o f osamond , the unhappy fa ourite Henry II . Whitney,

is on the same side, a typical Herefordshire village ,

- encircled by orchards and well cultivated ﬁelds . A s the Hereford boundary here crosses to the left

o f R o f bank the river, the adnorshire section the Wye ends at this place near one o f the most ancient and quaint — — inns in the whole country side Rhydspe n ce noted for

o ak its porch and carving . The stream itself here bids a temporary adieu t o the

t o land of the hills, return after awhile to Nether ﬁ f S Went , before nally alling into the evern Sea , below

Chepstow .

— T h e W e é Tr b t a r e s . 7 . y ( ) i u i

M ost of the right- bank tributaries of the Upper Wye

t o belong B recon , but the Elan , with its feeder, the

- C lae rwe n are Radn o r . , rivers The left bank tributaries

r on the other hand are nearly all of o u county . From north t o south they occur in order o f sequence thus

(a) M arte g . — b I thon C l w e do C wma ro n . ( ) feeders y g, , and Dulas

c o r E dw — Bu s n an t ( ) Edwy feeders Colwyn , ,

R . Latbury, and hulen 28 RADNORSHIRE

d Bach - ( ) wy or Bach howey .

e W e n w ( ) y . The Elan rises in a morass between Rhayader and

C wm s t w t h o n . o f y y , the Cardigan border The scenery its narrow vale is strikingly wild . It was this that appealed

to who t o hi s so strongly Shelley, came here live before

hi s sojourn in North Wales, but restless nature found no

’ T h e M a rt e g near S t H a rmon s

abiding place anywhere , and he soon sought fresh faces

o f Na n t w llt and new surroundings . The houses g y and

Cwm Elan (see p . both connected with his stay in R adnor, now lie fathoms deep beneath the waters of the

Birmingham reservoirs, which have practically taken up the whole of the lower course of the Elan and its

C lae rwe n w tributary, the . Their surplus water ﬂo s in to THE WYE— TRIBUTA RIES 29

the Wye , as we have already seen , about a mile below

Rhayader town . “ a M a rt e i e ( ) Th e g, . . the handsome river, rises near the Montgomery boundary, and has a mountainous fl course throughout . In its ow it passes the ancient cell o f St Nan n e rt h Garmon , and joins the Wye at , west of

Rhayader .

b I t hon ( ) The , the only river whose course lies wholly

R - in adnor, rises in Llanbadarn Fynydd in the north of the

has 0 county . It a total length of 3 miles, its numerous meanderings accounting for such a considerable length in s o small a county . It passes through several villages of

o n o f note, mainly interesting account the relics of

Fo r antiquity found in their vicinity . instance , th is stream formed one of the fortifying lines of the Roman station of Magos . I t has many windings, too, around

Cefnllys Castle .

o f I t ho n I tself a tributary the Wye , the receives

- the waters of several well known lesser str eams . The — C l we do o f A - y g passes the ruins bbey Cwm Hi r, wh ere it is conjectured the headless body of Llewelyn the Last lies

C wmaro n t o C wmaro n buried . The has given its name

' Radn o r No rman Castle, now, like almost all the fortresses ,

o f é nothing but a site and a mound d bris . The Dulas i s another feeder of the I t ho n which must not be confounded with the Dulas which enters the Wye itself at the town of Hay and divides Wales from England

at that place . There are several rivers of this name . A part from the two here mentioned there is o n e in the Vale of t T af Neath , another a ributary of the (Carmarthenshire), 30 RA DNORSHIRE

o f yet another a tributary the Llwchwr, and at least one

o f in North Wales, not to speak Scotland , where a stream o f analogous form has given the world the classic name ” Douglas .

I t ho n The course of the , which ends one and a half miles below Newbridge, is said to run through a more extensive portion of enclosed land than any in the county .

Vall e y o f th e I th o n

L e w s C o t hi e o f o f y Glyn , the Lancastrian po t the time Ro m e the Wars of the ses, wrote a ﬁne poe on the b auty of this vale . ‘ c E dw r /J os o f ( ) The or Edwy rises in the Llandegley,

d re ce iv e S » t he and on its way towar the Wye Colwyn ,

B usn an t L athu r R o f i ts , y, and hulen . For the ﬁrst half course it passes through swampy ground characteristic of THE WYE —TRIBUTA RIES 3 1

74951 . a Welsh , but in its lower portion , viz from Colwyn

A . Castle to beredw , its banks are exceedingly fertile Near i ts termination it has been compelled to force a passage f through a magniﬁcent pile of rocks . Near its con luence ’ A with the Wye are Llewelyn s Cave and beredw Castle, both closely connected with the last days o f Llewely n

ff o f his ap Gru ydd . It was the Edwy that Drayton in “ P alyolbi on prettily sai d that it bears the message of the

Radn o ri an W e wood nymphs from far forests to the y . (d) The Bachwy or Bach - howey rises in the red ‘ r bos of Painscastle , and ﬂows due west to meet the parent stream . In its lower course it has carved out a deep and wild glen for itself which from its interests has from time to time been visited by several eminent geologists and naturalists . Here , near the Craig Pwll Du waterfall , it was that Si r Roderick Murchison made many geological

S . as discoveries concerning the Silurian ystem It is here ,

o f to well , that some the rarest of plants are be found . “ ” The corruption of Bachwy to the English form ” M atchway is typical o f a process very common in

R - adnorshi re, wh ere the place names are preponderatingly

Welsh and the vulgar tongue almost wholly English .

' (e) T he W e n wy is a s mall st re am which ﬂows through a pretty little vale ending at Clyro , Opposite the more famous

Vale of Cusop on the south side of the Wye . In dealing with the streams o f this county we cannot but n Ot i ce the numerous variations o f the Celtic word ” w . y, signifying water W We have had y (the Wye) itself,

Ll u - w = g y the clear Wye , 32 RA DNORS HIRE

- w Bach y the little Wye,

- w = o ld Hen y the Wye ,

L at hu r- w y the smooth Wye , A rrow(y) the rough Wye ,

E d- w y the meandering Wye ,

A n d lastly the Wen - wy the white

8 . La k e s a n d Re s e rv oi rs .

From the fact that Radnor is wholly an upland

t o ﬁn d county one would expect that , like Carnarvon and Merioneth , it has a considerable number of natural

n o t . L l n b chll n lakes . But it is so y y y , its largest sheet o f t o water, cannot be compared the Merionethshire

Sa faddan Bala or even the Breconshire in point of size . In character also it is more like a lowland mere than a mountain tarn , its shores being reedy and marshy .

But, like every other outstanding natural feature of

Ll n b chll n a superstitious country , y y y takes a prominent f place in the folklore and tradition o the district . Geologists of the twentieth century say that this lake was formed by a diversion of a stream through the accu mu lat i o n o f é glacier d bris, and that there are certain Signs that it was originally larger in extent than at present . But a more romantic story of its origin is given by “ Gi raldus C a mb re n sis I ti n era r . in his y He says, It came

E l v e n ia e to pass in the province of , wh ich is separat d from Hay by the river Wye , on the night in which

t wo Henry the Fi rst expired , that pools of no small ex tent ,

34 RA DNORSHIRE

- R is Llyn Gwyn , to the south east of hayader, a pretty

o f Rho s fa sheet water . It lies on Common , about the

o f o f centre the parish Nantmel , and is of about the same

l n illi n A - size as L a . long one side of it is a semi circular elevation which traditionally marks the spot where an important town used to be . The immediate neighbour

- n hood o f this pool is well wooded . O that account

P e n ce rri g Lake

“ chiefl y M alkin said it was the only picturesque lake o f ” Radnor . Scattered among the highlands of the county are other pools of less size wh ich are but names to any outside their immediate locality, but which play a more important part when considered in connection with local folklore and' topography . Such are the Gaer pool in the mountains of LAKES AND RESERVOIRS 35 .

Llanddewi - Ystrad - Enny situated near to no less than

t he Pe n e r wm three ancient camps, and p g lakes near

s Gla bury, which are entirely due to glacial drift and are

Pe n ce rri Llan e l hollows in the drift itself. g Lake near

He n dwe ll So me r il wedd , and Pool , formed by the g brook

O ld R . near adnor , are others worthy of mention

— - A t Cefnpawl in the parish of A bbey Cwm Hir there used to be a remarkably large ﬁshpo n d wh ich supplied the

fis h monks with . — But all the anc ient lakes of Radnor natural and — artificial pale into i n sign i fica n ce when compared with the Elan series of lakes recently formed in the north - west

o f of the county . Both in size and sublimity surroundings

are they beyond anything that South Wales can show ,

so and well constructed are they, that for ages to come they will doubtless form one of the most striking features of this border shire . Some one has said that in Wales one can always hear

t o t the sound of running water, and no coun ies in the Principality is the statement more applicable than to R adnor and Brecon . Numerous streams of pure clear fl water ow from the hillsides in all directions, unpolluted by the refuse from any great industrial undertaking . It is

n n no wonder , the , that many populous tow s come to these V V e l sh h ills fo r their water - supply and that s o many

o r important waterworks lie within , are situated near,

o f . fo r the conﬁnes these counties Here , their water, ff come Birmingham , Cardi , Swansea, and Merthyr, while A lesser works supply Neath , berdare , Ebbw Vale , and other large towns, and an immense scheme is even under 36 RADNORSHIRE consideration whereby the B reconshire I rfo n will be tapped for the purpose o f supplying Londo n W ith Welsh water . The most important of the waterworks are those constructed by the city of Birmingham in the valleys

C lae rw e n . of the Elan and the Part, only, of these

- works lies within the county, the border line between

Cab an Coch D arn

Breconshire and Radnorshire running along the line

o f taken by the ancient courses the streams in this part .

o f The Caban Coch dam , formed at the junction the

C lae rwe n and the Elan , is the ﬁrst of a series of dams which have transformed the picturesque Elan valley into the three huge artiﬁcial lakes o f the Caban Coch com

e n sation Pe n a re p reservoir, and the yg g and Craig Goch LA KE S AND RESERVOIRS 37

supply reservoirs . The ﬁrst dam stands at an elevation

8 20 Pe n a re of feet, the yg g dam at an altitude of 9 45 feet, 1 0 0 f and the Craig Goch dam at 4 eet, the water surface

o f 1 2 area the th ree reservoirs being 497 acres, 4 acres,

2 1 . A t C are ddu and 7 acres respectively g , where the Caba n Coch lake shoots out one arm to the north along the Elan valley and another to the south along the valley

C a re dd u s v E g Re er oir , lan Valley

C lae rwe n of the , is a huge submerged dam from which

the conduit leads . These lakes contain million

t o gallons of water, and yield a daily supply B irmingham 2 of 7 million gallons .

C lae rwe n l D o l m n ach In the val ey is the y y dam , which 1 8 impounds a mass of water with a surface area of 4 acres . Further dams are to be constructed in the C lae rwe n valley ; 38 RADNORSHIRE one at Cil O e rwyn t at an altitude of 1 09 5 feet will create 26 a reservoi r of 9 acres surface area, and one at Nant y Beddau at 1 1 75 feet altitude will impound a lake with

A Bi rmi n 244 acres of surface . ltogether the city of g ham has acquired upwards of acres o f land in the watershed, thereby ensuring that the sources whence the city derives its water shall be absolutely uncontaminated .

T h e t B d s C wm E s v s Fil ering e , lan Re er oir

In all , this stupendous undertaking will cost some

The aqueduct, from the intake to B irmingham , is some 73% miles long . Fo r the ﬁrst 36; miles it consists of a brick and concrete structure 9 feet in diameter, 2 miles of which is in tunnel and 3 miles in cut and cover . For the remaining 37 miles the water is conveyed in huge iron pipes . FISHERIES 39

o. Fi s h e rie s . There has been a time— and not so long ago— when

W e - the y was considered a salmon river of the ﬁrst class .

to It no doubt had supply its share when Edward II , wishing in 1 308 to se t his troops in motion to wage war

S L d d e B d almon ad er , Rhaya r ri ge

000 against Scotland , requisitioned 3 dried salmon from

Wales to victual them . But the Domesday Book, compiled

almost two and a half centuries before that date , mentions

Gi raldu s C amb re n s is the ﬁshermen of Downton , and ,

o f speaking of Siluria towards the close the twelfth century , “ R writes, iver ﬁsh are plentiful , supplied by the Usk on 40 RA DNORSHIRE one side and by the Wye on the other ; each of them produces salmon and trout, but the Wye abounds most l with the former and the Usk with the latter . The sa mon o f the Wye are in season during the winter, those of the

Usk in summer , but the Wye alone produces the ﬁsh ” called umber (grayling) . “ A n d Shakespeare makes Fluellen say , there is ” salmons in both ; and Churchyard , the Elizabethan

Gi raldu s rhymester of Ludlow , corroborates when he says :

A thing to note when s ammon fai l e s i n W ye

A n d s a s i s ( eason there goes out, order ) Then s till o f course i n O s ke doth sammons lye

s A n d o f good ﬁs h i n O s ke you s hall n ot mi s . A n d this seems s traunge a s doth through Wales a ppe a re I n some o n e place a re sammons all t he y e e r e

So f s s o s we e te s o r e d s o c m wi thal l re h , , , ri p

ma n m That might say , loe , sa mon here at call .

e . . But owing to a variety of causes, g a series of bad seasons and the prevalence of pike and other coarse ﬁsh ,

20 a o ff the Wye about years g greatly su ered in reputation .

Since that time , however, it has to some extent retrieved — . 1 02 itself In the winter of 9 3, for instance, there was a somewhat exceptional quantity of salmon on the Spawn “ ” f ing redds , and hence the numerous con licts with

. 1 08 poachers at that time In 9 , too, many more spring

fish were caught than had been the average for a generation , while the restriction of net fishing which has been in operation for the last three years has had a most beneficial result on the river generally .

42 RADNORSHIRE

The Wye salmon record for the last few years is as follows Number ki lled v er a e ei /yt w . . g g 1 06 68 1 1b 9 4 7i . 1 9 07 1 424 1 4 lb . 1 08 1 1 1 l b 9 57 7i . 1 0 1 6 1 1b 9 9 35 5 . 1 1 1 9 0 2 7 1 5 45 lb .

In 1 9 1 0 no less than 8 4 ﬁsh scaled 27 lb . and

6 1b . upwards, the heaviest of all being 4 % A century ago Theophilus Jones, the county h istorian o f B recon , enumerated the ﬁsh of the Wye to be salmon , trout, grayling, pike , perch , dace , loach , gudgeon , eel , lamprey, roach , bullhead , minnow, and shad , besides cray

ﬁ h n s . He also makes the remarkable stateme t that the crayﬁsh o r freshwater lobster is found in many brooks running into the Wye, but seldom , if ever , in those which fall into the Usk or I rfo n . Many unsuccessful attempts have been made to remove it into the rivers of Glamorgan

I rfon and Carmarthen , and even into some brooks of the , which empties itself into the Wye , but in vain .

Since Jones wrote, the Wye has been visited by at

fo r least one other species of ﬁsh , it is recorded that on 2 rd 1 8 2 the 3 of July, 3 , a sturgeon was caught near

1 1 ft . 6 i n . Boughrood weighing 3 lb . and measuring 7 in length . It cannot be claimed that the main stream of the

i s ﬁrs t- O n e Wye a class trout river . of its B recon — — tributaries the Llyfn i is unfortunately connected with

Safaddan - Lake , which is a proliﬁc breeding place of the FISHERIES 43

pike , and these , ﬁnding thei r way into the main stream, destroy more trout than all the nets and lines put together .

The presence of that very local ﬁsh , the allice shad ,

o f is also a certain signal for the emigration the trout, but occasionally ﬁne specimens are still caught , one landed at Llyn D e faid near Rhayader B ridge in 1 904 weighing lb 5& . f E dw O the Wye tributaries the , once had a great reputation for the number and quality of its trout, as had

I thon has o n the in a less degree . But the latter fallen

as . evil days, its waters swarm with chub The former, t o o t o , has been sorely depleted and cannot be compared what it was half a century ago . A The rrow, Teme , and Lug, all outside the Wye system , still contain an abundance of trout and grayling .

The ﬁrst - named is also credited with containing the

o f crayﬁsh , whose vagaries in the matter habitat we have already noticed .

O f Ll n b chll n Sa faddan the natural lakes y y y , like of

Breconshire, teems with pike and perch . Leland in

1 t o 540 noticed the same fact . It appears bear out the

Nat u ral ' His tor remarkable assertion in y that pike , although w abnormally voracious, ill not attack the much smaller

Ll n ill n perch . y y Pool abounds with carp and large eels, while He n dwe ll Pool contains also lake trout .

The Elan reservoirs have been well stocked with trout, and bid fair t o become one o f the most noted ﬁshing districts south of the Tweed . 44 RADNORSHIRE

l o . Ge ol og y a n d S oi l .

o f By Geology we mean the study the rocks, and we must at the outset explain that the term r ock is used by the geologist without any reference t o the hardness or compactness of the material to which the name is applied ; thus he speaks of loose sand as a rock equally with a hard substance like granite .

R o f t wo 1 ocks are kinds, ( ) those laid down mostly

2 . under water, ( ) those due to the action of ﬁre The ﬁrst kind may be compared to sheets of paper

beds one over the other . These sheets are called , and such n beds are usually formed of sand (often containi g pebbles), mud or clay , and limestone, or mixtures of these materials .

as or b u t They are laid down ﬂat nearly ﬂat sheets, may afterwards be tilted as the result of movement of the ’ as o f earth s crust, just we may tilt sheets paper, folding them into arches and troughs, by pressing them at either

. A t he s o ro end gain , we may ﬁnd the tops of folds p du ce d worn away as the result o f the erosive action o f

s e a- rivers , glaciers, and waves upon them , as we might cut o ff the tops of the folds of the paper with a pair of shears . This has happened with the ancient beds forming ’ parts of the earth s crust, and we therefore often ﬁnd them tilted , with the upper parts removed .

The other kinds of rocks are known as igneous rocks, and have been melted under the action of heat and become solid on cooling . When in the molten state they have been poured out at the surface as the lava of GEOLOGY AND SOIL 45

o r volcanoes, have been forced into other rocks and cooled in the cracks and other places of weakness . M uch material is also thrown out of volcanoes as volcanic ash

o n and dust, and is piled up the sides of the volcano .

s so Such a hy material may be arranged in beds, that it

' partakes to some e xt e n t o f the qualities of the two great o r ck groups . The relations o f such beds are of great importance t o geologists, for by means of these beds we can classify the rocks according to age . If we take two sheets of paper, and lay one on the top of the other on a table, the upper one has been laid down after the other . Similarly with t wo 18 beds, the upper also the newer, and the newer will

- remain on the top after earth movements , save in very

n o t exceptional cases which need be regarded here , and fo r general purposes we may look upon any bed or set o f beds resting on any other in our own country as being s t the newer bed or e . The movements which affect beds may occur at

ff . O n e se t o f f di erent times beds may be laid down lat, then thrown into folds by movement, the tops of the

o ff s e t beds worn , and another of beds laid down upon the

e worn surface of the older beds, the dges of which will abut against the oldest o f the new s e t of ﬂatly deposited beds, which latter may in turn undergo disturbance and renewal of their upper portions . A gain , after the formation of the beds many changes may occur in them . They may become hardened , pebble beds being changed into conglomerates , sands into sand e stones, muds and clays into mudstones and shal s, soft 46 RADNORSHIRE

deposits of lime into limestone , and loose volcanic ashes into exceedingly hard rocks . They may also become cracked , and the cracks are often very regular, running in

o S two directions at right angles one t the other . uch r as oi n ts c acks are known j , and the joints are very important

ff o f in a ecting the physical geography a district . Then , as o f the result great pressure applied sideways, the rocks

b e may so changed that they can be split into thin slabs, s which u ually , though not necessarily, split along planes R ff standing at high angles to the horizontal . ocks a ected

as sla tes in this way are known . f If we could latten out all the beds of England , and arrange them o n e over the other and bore a shaft through them , we should see them on the sides of the shaft, the newest appearing at the top and the oldest at the bottom , as in the annexed table . Such a shaft would have a depth o f between and feet . The strata beds are divided into three great groups called Primary or Palaeozoic,

Secondary or Mesozoic, and Tertiary or Cainozoic, and the

o f are lowest the Primary rocks the oldest rocks of B ritain , which form as it were the foundation stones o n which the other rocks rest . These may be spoken of as the

- Pre Cambrian rocks . The three great groups are divided into minor divisions known as systems . The names of

o fde r these systems are arranged in in the table, and the rocks which are found in Radnorshi re are also stated . With these preliminary remarks we may now proceed to a brief account of the geology of the county. In the east o f England the rocks o f the Secondary and Tertiary periods are the only ones that reach the n d e ce n t Pl e i s t o ce n e a . R Pli o ce n e

E o ce n e

Cre t ace o u s

uras s i c

P e rmian

L u dl ow S e ri e s (uppe r) Ayme s t ry Lim e s to n e L o we r L udl ow R o ck s We n l o ck Lime s t o n e W e n l o ck Sh ale Wo o lho pe Lime s t o n e T aran n o n Sh al e — Ll an dove ry R o cks u ppe r an d lowe r B a la o r Carado c Be ds S ub divi s io n o f Ll an de ilo Be ds L o we r Sil uri an Are n ig Be ds

Camb ri an

Po s i t ion o f th e Radnor Rock s 48 RA DNORSHIRE

surface to form the landscape, whereas in Wales the older rocks are much the more common . It is owing to the greater hardness o f these that Wales is s o rugged and

. hilly The words Cambrian , O rdovician , and Silurian are all names o f well- known series of rocks which have been so called from their prevalence in the Principality . We shall probably best understand the geology of

Ab ered w Rock s

' n (Ou tcr op qf S i l u r i a n B e s . ) South Wales (and Radnor as a particular part of it) if we compare this half of the Principality t o an immense dish

Old Re d with the Silurian , Sandstone, Carboniferous M M u Limestone, illstone Grit, and the Coal eas res placed I ts in it in regular order from the bottom upwards .

t o R greater length is from east west, and adnor forms,

o f as it were, the middle portion its northern lip , where

5 0 RADNORSHIRE By a reference to the geological map at the end of the

’ book it will be seen that the oldest rocks of Radn o r crOp out in the north , and that from the O rdovician beds to the

ld Re d o O i . e t Sandstone , . from north south , there is a series t o S of steps, the majority of them belonging the ilurian

i s n o t System . The border line between each at all

E rrati c B oul der o n C a rn e d d a u

regular, as portions of one bed often enter far into the ﬁ eld of the succeeding one . It must not be imagined that even the same systems have the same character throughout thei r courses . In one locality a particular feature of the Silurian beds,

e . . g sandstone , may be emphasised , while in another neighbourhood the outstanding characteristic will be GEOLOGY AND SOIL 5 1

o r fo r so loca l limestone shale . This accounts many geological names being given t o the rock prominent in certain places . For instance we have Woolhope Lime O ld R stone beds near adnor, the Wenlock rocks, the

T aran n on shales, the Llandovery rocks, and the Llandeilo shale in other parts of the county . The relative positions

- o f of these locally named beds, as shown in the section the Silurian system , can be seen by further reference to the table on page 47 . Bursting through all the strata of Silurian and O ld Re d Sandstone we ﬁnd at different points of the shire the

rn e dda volcanic or trap rocks . Such is the case at C a u in

w C a rre wi b e r W o rse l the est, g in the centre, and Hanter

S C arn e ddau and tanner in the east . in particular is a

- very important geological district, its ice markings, perched rocks, and moraines being very numerous . These igneous rocks are of the greatest importance to the social life and business of the county, for they are the origin o f the medicinal springs . The igneous matter coming in contact with the schist has produced much sulphuret of iron , the decomposition of which gives rise to the various sulphur , saline, magnesium, and chalybeate e springs of Llandrindod , Llandegla and oth r places . These rocks are continued into Breconsh ire, where the Builth ,

Llangammarch , and Llanwrtyd Wells are situated . It would be natural t o surmise that Radnor owing to its variety of rock foundations has also a corresponding

t o variety of soils , and we ﬁnd this be the case . O n e o ld writer had noticed 1 20 years ago that the soil in the Builth neighbourhood was remarkably argillaceous — 4 2 5 2 RADNORSHIRE

or clayey, and that the water therefore was prevented fﬁ from sinking su ciently deep , and was held upon the

A s the surface until it soured . Wye valley is descended ,

i n o f however, there is a great improvement the quality s the soil . It lose its injurious tenacity and admits a portion of loam and sand . A nother authority states that the soil o f Glasbury o n the banks of the Wye is the pride of the country side . B roadly speaking the best portions of the county in this respect are those where the O ld Re d Sandstone rocks predominate . These are the Glasbury, Clyro , Painscastle, A Norton , and Presteign districts . notable exception is the valley of the Teme, where the land around Knighton ,

- though not of the red earth variety, is of very good quality . The limestone valleys, though not barren , are at

to a disadvantage owing the extreme thinness of the soil , the rocks in many neighbourhoods being struck imme di atel y beneath the turf. 1 The report of Joh n Clarke who wrote in 794,

as although in error regards the area of the county, remains true t o- day as to the proportion of the various R characters of soil in the county . He estimated adnor

b e to contain acres, and of these classiﬁed

as acres tillage land ,

as meadows, pastures and woods, and as common mountain land ,

which gives one acre in four as consisting of good land . NATURAL HISTORY 5 3

r l H 1 1 . Na t u a i s t o ry .

Closely dependent o n the geological formation o f a f county is the record Of i ts lora and fauna . It is well known that our islands at a remote period be came entirely submerged . Th is of course would destroy

as the plant and animal life then existing . B ut quite certain is the fact that since that time the B ritish Islands have been connected with the Continent, and by this means were stocked anew with plants and animals .

t o But it takes time stock a land , and consequently the nearest districts may become abundant in species when the more remote have not been reached . When separa

Se a tion occurred later, as it did , and the North and the

Channel interposed their barriers, only comparatively few of the continental species had spread s o far west as Ireland

o ff before that island , in its turn , had become cut from

has England . Hence it comes about that the Continent more Species than any part of England , while the south and east of our land are richer than its more remote northern and western parts, and these again richer than

Ireland . There are , however, many other factors which ff a ect the number o f species in any given locality . We have noticed in the last chapter that Radnor has quite a variety of soils . We have also seen that while it possesses a number of sheltered valleys it has, in addition , a great expanse of upland meadows as well as a portion of a wholly mountainous character . These facts supply the conditions for a great di versity of fl ora and such diversity

t o is found exist . 5 4 RADNORSHIRE

The place - names of the county show that some of the “ larger fauna used to be numerous . There is Bleddfa ( the ” abode of wolves ) in the north and the W olfpits in

t he . east Indeed , there is a tradition that the last wolf of

‘ S was outh Wales killed in early Tudor times at Cregrina ,

is between Builth and Glascwm . Near Glascwm Cwm “ ” T wrch ( the valley of the boar ) and near Glasbury “ ’ Cil - T wrch ( the boar s hiding

The marten , although not quite extinct, must be

s almost o . The last recorded in the county was in the ’ 1 8 B ela year 8 9 . is the marten s Welsh name . The word exists in such place - names as C wmb e l e near Pains

L l n b l e castle and a e (Gladestry) . The wild cat has apparently only recently become o extinct ; the polecat, th ugh not quite killed out, is fast disappearing . Stoats and weasels still abound ; foxes, ’ badgers, and otters are also numerous, although the otter s skin is not now an article of the commerce of Builth as it was at the time of the Beaufort Progress in 1 684. ’ Even as late as Leland s day the county abounded

o f - with deer . There is a tradition a deer park seven miles

A - - in circumference at bbey Cwm Hir, and some old ruins are still pointed o u t as the site of two large de e rhou se s i n

i A - r- h ddo d connection w th the bbey . Ffos y y the ditch of the deer ”) is mentioned in an old lease of the Grange of

C wmdau ddwr 1 62 dated 4, and the county has numerous

- other place names making reference to these animals .

The county has at least ﬁve kinds of bats, viz . the

- Pipistrelle , the Whiskered , the Noctule, the Long eared

was the and the Barbastelle . The last seen for ﬁrst time NATURAL HISTORY 5 5

in 1 9 04 in the porch of Llanelwedd Church . Previous to that it had not been recorded west of Worcester . It ’ is believed that Daubenton s bat also exists in the county .

R n o w adnor is remarkably destitute of snakes, even

- the common grass snake being but seldom seen . But “ ” the name C arre gwib e r ( the rock o f the viper ) near ff Llandrindod , implies a once di erent state of things . The W e llﬁe ld rocks near Llanelwedd also were known o o t be infested with adders about half a century ag .

- Lizards and slow worms are still plentiful .

O u r county has a great variety of birds, especially of those that are approaching extinction in Great Britain .

The kite, the buzzard , the raven , and the carrion crow fo r instance still make their homes in the wilds of the

M at chwa y and Cwm Elan , while other birds , such as the

- peregrine falcon , stock dove , nuthatch , greater and lesser spotted woodpecker, are perceptibly increasing in numbers after having once been in danger of total extinction . The crossbills are very erratic in thei r visits , being in some years very plentiful , wh ile in others they forsake the county almost entirely . The following uncommon birds are known t o have — f bred within the county pied lycatcher, spotted crake ,

o wl - e kite , buzzard , raven , hobby, little , long ared owl , dipper, wryneck, woodlark, quail , curlew, nightjar, lesser and greater spotted woodpeckers ; wh ile the following : have also been recorded as occurring hoopoe , grey

- phalarope , hen harrier, pine grosbeak, pomatorhine skua, green sandpiper, and (a rarity in these western lands) the

- garden warbler . 5 6 RADNORSHIRE Radnor is poor in its number of butterfl ies but has a

o f o f great number moths , many rare specimens which are found within the county . The Cusop Dingle, situated R mainly in Hereford , but right on the adnor boundary, is o n e o f the most famous entomological districts in Great ri Britain . In it are found many rare insects, and o e (Pla typez a bi r ti ceps) found there in 1 8 99 was new to science .

T imb er F e lling i n Radnors h ire

R adnorshire can show some ﬁne trees . Its excellent timber was noticed by writers of two or three centuries a o h 1 68 M g , notably by D i ely in 4 and alkin at the close 1 of the eighteenth century . John Clarke in 794 said “ Few if any mountainous districts of this island are s o ” well adapted by nature t o the propagation of timber . ’ “ - as are To day , in Clarke s day , oak and ash the great

5 8 RADNORSHIRE

A lthough Radnor has such diverse types of plants it cannot b e said t o have a large proportion of the 2047 species o f fl owering plants and ferns which are known to

t o has be indigenous our country, though it some of the

R s o rarest kinds . The Stanner ocks are rich in this respect that they have been locally known as the “ Devil ’ s

- - D u o n Garden . The glen of Craig Pwll the Bachwy is a special resort of botanists fo r the many rare species growing there . The Radnor Forest bears the Welsh poppy (M eeonopsi s — ca mbr i ca ) found only in ten counties o f Great B ritain

W e s ide has y toothwort, Llanelwedd chives, Cwm Elan

Ll n b chll n sundew and butterwort, y y y the ﬂowering rush

Osmun da r e a li s i v l e av e d fl and g , and Presteign the y toad ax,

M oen ebi a er ecta curved stonecrop , henbane, and , wh ich is uncommon .

1 2 . C l i ma t e a n d Ra i n fa l l .

The climate of a country or district is, brieﬂy, the average weather of that country or district , and it depends upon various factors, all mutually interacting, upon the

o f latitude , the temperature, the direction and strength the winds , the rainfall , the character of the soil , and the proximity of the district to the s e a . The differences in the climates of the world depend mainly upon latitude, but a scarcely less important

e n factor is this proximity t o the s a . A lo g any great climatic zone there will be found variations in proportion “ ” to this proximity, the extremes being continental CLIMATE AND RAINFALL 5 9

climates in the centres of continents far from the oceans, “ and insular climates in small tracts surrounded by s e a . Continental climates show great differences in seasonal

t o temperatures, the winters tending be unusually cold

o f and the summers unusually warm , while the climate insular tracts is characterised by equableness and also by greater dampness . Great B ritain possesses, by reason of its position , a temperate insular climate , but its average annual temperature is much higher than could be expected

- from its latitude . The prevalent south westerly winds cause a dri ft of the surface - waters o f the A tlantic towards o u r - shores, and this warm water current, which we know as S the Gulf tream , is the chief cause of the mildness of our winters .

o f o u r A Most weather comes to us from the tlantic . It would be impossible here within the limits o f a short chapter to discuss fully the causes which affect or control ffi weather changes . It must su ce to say that the conditions are in the main either cyclonic or anticyclonic, which terms may be best explained, perhaps, by comparing the

o o f ai r currents t a stream water . In a stream a chain of eddies may often be seen fringing the more steadily R a moving central water . eg rding the general north A easterly moving air from the tlantic as such a stream , a chain o f eddies may be developed in a belt parallel with

o r its general direction . This belt of eddies, cyclones as

to they are termed , tends shift its position , sometimes

o r passing over our islands, sometimes to the north south

of them , and it is to this shifting that most of our weather

changes are due . Cyclonic conditions are associated with 60 RADNORSHIRE a greater o r less amount o f at mospheric disturbance ; anticyclonic with calms . The prevalent A tlantic winds largely affect our island in another way, namely in its rainfall . The ai r, heavily laden with moisture from its passage over the ocean , meets with elevated land - tracts directly it reaches our — o f shores the moorland D evon and Cornwall , the Welsh

of mountains, or the fells Cumberland and Westmorland

— - and blowing up the rising land surface , parts with this moisture as rain . To how great an extent this occurs is best seen by reference to the accompanying map of the

he annual rainfall of England, where it will at once is noticed that the heaviest fall in the west, and that it decreases with remarkable regularity until the least fall

o n 1 08 is reached our eastern shores . Thus in 9 , the maximum rainfall fo r the year occurred at Llyn - Llydaw 2 in the Snowdon district, where 37 inches of rain fell ; and the lowest was at Bourne in Lincolnshire , with a record 1 of about 5 inches . These western highlands, therefore, may not inaptly be compared to an umbrella, sheltering the country further eastward from the rain .

The above causes, then , are those mainly concerned f in in luencing the weather, but there are other and more local factors which often affect greatly the climate of a

e as place , such , for exampl , conﬁguration , position , and h soil . The s elter of a range of hills, a southern aspect, a sandy soil , will thus produce conditions which may di ffer greatly from those of a place— perhaps at no great — distance situated on a wind - swept northern slope with a cold clay soil . CLIMAT E AND RAINFALL 6 1

Radnor being an inland county is not tempered by the s e a t o i ts - the extent that Pembroke , with long sea coast,

is A . gain , on account of its being at a greater altitude

as than Glamorgan , it cannot be expected to be warm as

O n o f that county . the other hand , the fact that many the Radnor districts are sheltered by high hills tends t o

raise the general temperature of the valleys, while abundance

of trees and other vegetation also helps . The position of the shire with i ts mountain wall in the path of the warm westerly winds has an important bearing on its general climate and part 1cu l arly on the abundance of its annual

rainfall . When the resultant of all these factors, as expressed in degrees of temperature and in number o f

is R hours of bright sunsh ine, examined , adnor cannot be

considered a sunny county . The Llangammarch station (just outside the Radnor A 1 1 0 1 1 2 boundary) for the month of pril , 9 , registered

o f ff fo r hours bright sunshine, whereas Cardi the same 1 1 R 1 month received 4 hours, hyl 44 hours, Pembroke 1 0 1 1 8 5 hours, Bournemouth 53 hours, and Lowestoft 9

hours . During the month of November of the same year ff the di erence was still more noticeable, for wh ile Lowestoft 1 0 1 00 ff 1 received 7 hours , Bournemouth hours, Cardi 9

u 8 R L l an am ho rs, Pembroke 7 hours, and hyl 75 hours, g

march showed only 59 hours .

A o f The great rchdeacon Brycheiniog, Gerald the

Welshman , had noticed some time about the end of the twelfth century that northern Siluria suffered from a lack ff of sunshine , but he expresses it in a di erent and more “ a 011 pleas nt manner, for he says, B eing thus sheltered the

CLIMATE AND RAINFALL 63 south by high mountains the cooler breezes protect th is ” district from the heat o f the su n . No observant visitor to a breezy Radnor moor can

fail to notice the direction of its prevalent winds . The

trees, large and small , whether they be oak, birch , or

mountain ash , all grow somewhat bent to the east and

north - east as the result o f continuous west and south - west

as winds . But the great feature of the westerly winds bearing on the climate of Radnor is the high average of

o n is annual rainfall they bestow it . It this fact, in

e conjunction with other favourabl conditions, that has

R — t he made adnor the water provider of midlands . When we come to look into the Radnor rainfall records we ﬁnd that some o f the ﬁgures tell a remarkable ff tale . While Cardi over an extended period has shown

i n s an average rainfall of 37 ins . and Neath of 47 .,

Nan t ll gwy t in Cwm Elan has averaged ins . over

a has three dec des . In certain years this high average

l 1 8 2 . been great y exceeded , for in 7 it totalled. ins ,

i n s . 1 8 2 and the rainfall of 43 43 in 9 , although well over the English average (336 1 was considered extremely R low for adnor . The fl oods of Ffe rllys have played an important part i s was even in our national history . It recorded that it owing to the inundation of t he Severn and its tributaries that O wen Glyndwr failed to join Hotspur in time for the Battle of Shrewsbury A gain in 1 483 it was a fl ood that probably saved the throne of England for

R o f ichard III , when the Duke Buckingham had raised his standar’ d of revolt at Brecon Castle and had commenced

66 RADNORSHIRE The periods have been named from the material of which the weapons and implements were at that time — fashioned the Palaeolithic or O ld Stone A ge ; the Neolithic or Later Stone A ge ; the Bronze A ge ; and

A e as ﬁn d the Iron g . But just we stone axes in use at

s o the present day among savage tri bes in remote islands, it must be remembered the weapons o f o n e material were

n A e ofte in use in the next g , or possibly even in a later

o n e A . that the ges, in short , overlapped

Let us now examine these periods more closely .

O ld A e . M an First, the Palaeolithic or Stone g was now i n his most primitive condition . He probably did not till the land or cultivate any kind of plant or keep a n y

on domestic animals . He lived wild plants and roots and as such wild animals he could kill, the reindeer being then

- abundant in this country . He was largely a cave dweller and probably used skins exclusively for clothing . He

hi s erected no monuments to dead and built no huts . He f could , however, shape lint implements with very great

as e t t o dexterity, though he had y not learnt either grind

i s ff or polish them . There still some di erence of opinion among authorities, but most agree that, though this may not have been the case in other countries, there was in our own land a vast gap of time between the people of this and the succee ding period . Palaeolithic man , who inhabited either scantily o r not at all the parts north of England and made his chief home in the more southern h districts, disappeared altogether from the country, whic

re - was later peopled by Neolithic man . Neolithic man was in every way in a much more P — S T M T P S . 6 EO LE RACE, E TLE EN , ETC 7

advanced state of civilisation than his precursor . He

b re d . s to ck tilled the land , , wore garments, built huts, made rude pottery, and erected remarkable monuments .

n o t He had , nevertheless, yet discovered the use of the metals, and his implements and weapons were still made o f stone or bone , though the former were often beautifully shaped and polished . Between the Later Stone A ge and the Bronze A ge

was o n e there no gap, the merging imperceptibly into the other . The discovery of the method of smelting the ores of copper and tin , and of mixing them , was doubtless a ff slow a air, and the bronze weapons must have been ages i n o f i n te rco mmu n i supplanting those of stone , for lack cation at that time presented enormous di fﬁculties t o the

A e spread of knowledge . B ronze g man , in addition to fashioning beautiful weapons and implements , made good pottery, and buried h is dead in circular barrows . In due course of time man learnt how t o smelt the

A e ores of iron , and the g of Bronze passed slowly into

A e o f the Iron g , which brings us into the period written R history, for the omans found the inhabitants of B ritain using implements of iron . We may now pause for a moment to consider who these people were who inhabited our land in these far- o ff f ages . O Palaeolithic man we can say nothing . His

A e successors , the people of the Later Stone g , are believed

o f to have been largely Iberian stock ; people , that is, from

- t south western Europe, who brought with hem their knowledge of such primitive arts and crafts as were then

Ho n discovered . w lo g they remained in undisturbed — 5 2 68 RADNORSHIRE

osse ss i on o f l do b u t r p our and we not know , they we e later conquered or driven westward by a v ery different race

— - of Celtic origin the Goidels or Gaels, a tall , light haired

e peopl , workers in bronze, whose descendants and

language are to be found to - day in many parts of

S . A cotland, Ireland , and the Isle of Man nother Celtic .

n o f G d H C a rn e d d a u Foundatio oi el ut,

people poured into the country about the fourth century

- B c. , the B rythons or Britons, who in turn dispossessed

as the Gael , at all events so far England and Wales are concerned . The Brythons were the ﬁrst users o f i ron in our country . R " d B . C . The omans, who ﬁrst reache our shores in 55 ,

ab ou t A . D . 1 0 b ut i n , i held the land till 4 ; u d sp te of the — " P P S M S . 69 EO LE RACE, ETTLE ENT , ETC

‘ ' length of their do mi n at i on t hey do n ot seem to h ave left

o n . A much mark the people fter their departure , treading

t e Saxo n s 4 ute A . close on heir he ls, came the , J s, and ngles

‘ But with these and with t he i n cu rs io n s . of the Danes an d I rish we have left the uncertain region of the Pre hi s to r1c h f A ge fo r t e s u re r ground o His tory . We have now arrived at the time of the A nglo—Saxon R M kingdoms . The nearest of them to adnor was ercia , which gradually became strong enough to keep the British ’

. Off e within their mountain valleys a s Dyke, which mark d

- o f the line compromise after several centuries of ﬁghting,

r o R skirts the eastern bounda y f, the modern adnor, and

M to . a beyond this ercia failed keep permanent footing . B ut what O ffa ’ s descendants failed to do the Saxons

o f i t . Wessex accompl shed, for Harold Godwin cer ainly established a colony in New Radnor before he w as called to the English throne The Irishman from the west had also some meas u re

ri to the n as of success here, although ot same exte t in the

n e 1 hb ou ri n g g B recon , where an Irish prince became the

n C fou der of the long line of B rycheiniog hieftains . Still , “ w dde l f i C wm o i n . Nan tme l g y ( the vale the Ir shman , and ’ “ ’ ” C yti au r Gwydde lo d ( the I ris hme n s huts ) in various

fa r- ff a n o . p rts , testify to their prese ce in those times By their adoption of the language of the country they were

t wo soon lost as a separate entity and the nations united ,

s o with Welsh as their common speech , that when the Norman came Radnor was apparently as Welsh in character

as ever, although in race the people were a mixture, the S descendants of the ilures doubtless preponderating, but 70 RADNORSHIRE with a large infusio n of Irish and a weaker infusion of R o oman and Sax n blood . ’ O ffa s Dyke was something more than a political

was - boundary . It also a sharp dividing line between the

English and Welsh languages . For over a thousand years Welsh was as prevalent within a mile or two west of it

t o as English was the east of it .

When the Norman - French crossed into Wales they

o f freely intermarried with the natives, in spite numerous decrees of monarchs and parliaments forbidding them to

so R - do , and adnor to day has many families such as

R Pro e rs ff ogers, g , Je rey, Pritchard, Bailey, Venables, M . t oo Harris, and ortimer, to testify to the fact But they fell under the Spell of the ancient tongue , and became

as - in time Welsh speaking as the Vaughans , Gwynnes,

Prices, Parrys, and Powells themselves . It was towards the close of the eighteenth and the beginning of the nineteenth century that Radnor became A A nglicised . Shropshire solicitor touring the county in 1 744 says of the frequenters of the D isserth feast that

as a lmost e ver one els e they played very well , but spoke, y ” did . , in the Welsh tongue The same thing struck him A “ A at beredw , for he says, gainst the tower were some of the most active lads I have seen playing at ﬁves . Thei r ” en ti r e Welsb . M language was ly Lewis orris, the ancestor ’ E i c o H aaes 1 of the author of the p f , also said in 747 that “ in all the Radnor Churches divine service was given ” 1 8 1 8 in Welsh alone . But in , Williams, the county

A n d h istorian , deplored its decadence . from that time its neglect has bee n s o great that Radnor commences — P P A S M S E T C . 7 1 EO LE R CE, ETTLE ENT , the twentieth century as practically wholly an English speaking county .

has n o t a o This come b ut by any great immigration ,

- for, beyond a few Scots attracted to its sheep walks, there has been no national invasion of any kind since the

as Norman period . Here , in some parts of Brecon and ff o f Monmouth , it is owing to the indi erence the Welshmen themselves that they have become gradually

A t o nglicised . It is a pleasant fact, however, record that although the present Radn o rshi re man has lost the speech ’ o f h is forebears, he still cherishes his country s great institution—the Eisteddfod— Llandrindod and other places within the county having periodic meetings in connection therewith . Having seen what the men of Radnor were like in

us n times past, let now further glance at their descenda ts

- of to day . There was no regular census in England and Wales

1 8 0 1 R e before , but the population of adnor was comput d about the middle of the eighteenth century to vary between and Th is number in 1 8 0 1 had increased to whereas in 1 9 1 1 the number was shown to be Th is latest record , however, is not ’ 1 8 1 e the highest in the county s h istory, for in 7 the peopl numbered This is doubtless owing t o the fact

R u o f that adnor, like all the other agricultural co nties ff Wales, has su ered to some extent from the steady r mig ation of the young people to the industrial districts . But a census means much more than a mere counting of heads . It is a decennial picture of the soc ial li fe of the W el s h Pea s ant W oma n ’ i n N at i o nal Co s tume

74 RADNORSHIRE

1 — 4 . Ag ricu lt u re M a i n C u l t i v a t ion s , W od l a n o d s , S t ock .

When we reflect that Radnor is an upland county it is a matter o f some surprise that it takes such a prominent place in Welsh farming . Th is can be accounted for in s everal ways . 1 ( ) By the care bestowed on its best land . (2) By the encouragement given to excel in farm work . (3) By i ts fre edom as a whole from such mines and manufactures as would be injurious t o good agr1cu lture . History has give n u s some interesting pages on the state of agriculture in this county at various times ; and perhaps we can better understand its present condition after a careful perusal of the records of the past . Towards the end of the twelfth century Giraldu s said “ his of this neighbourhood (it was no shire in time), Th is country sufﬁciently abounds with grain ; and if there be any deﬁciency it is amply supplied from the neighbo uring

E . parts of ngland It is well stored with pastures, woods, ” and wild and domestic animals . The gift tendered by M oll W al b e e of Hay to King ’ “ John s wife during the reign o f that monarch was 400 kine all milkwhite except their ears which were tipped ” i s to with red . Th is kind claimed be the parent stock e of the mod rn Hereford breed of cattle . Leland in the sixteenth century was enthusiastic R so concerning the productions of adnor, more , in fact, AGRICULTURE 75

’ Of o f than the neighbouring county B recon . He says “ R d ” “ a e n o r wolle ys moch praised . The valey about ” “ Rade n o r m an res t e i n e is veri plentiful of co e d gresse . P m ” is a very good market of co e . But when we come to t he end of the eighteenth century we ﬁnd John Clarke taking a very unfavourable ’ o f n o t view the county s agriculture in his day . He does “ hesitate to say that the natural poverty of the soil is rendered still more unproductive from the uncommon c indolence of the inhabitants, who ultivate the land in the same manne r nearly as their ancestors did a thousand ” years ago . B ut he makes an important reservation in

e fo r o f favour of the Hundr d of Painscastle, this neigh “ b o u rho o d he says : The superior industry and good management of the inhabitants as farmers have been successfully exerted to avail themselves of every natural They contribute in a considerable degree to rescue this much neglected county from a censure ” almost general . A bout ﬁfteen years after Clarke wrote was founded

R A has t o the adnor gricultural Society, which done much improve the husbandry of the county . From the annual Government Returns for 1 9 1 0 we l earn that in that year acres, or somewhat more

e . O f than hal f the county, wer under crops and grass

t - these , acres, or less han one eighth of the county ,

e s o r - ﬁfths were arabl , and acre , almost two , under hay of all kinds . The total corn area was acres,

R e of which oats alone accounted for acres . y fo r w growing evidently is not quite abandoned , it was sho n 76 RADNORSHIRE

” ‘ - t h to be cultivated to e extent of 1 0 acres . Turnips and s 2 1 0~ 6 0 man wedes , occupied 5 acres, potatoes only 9 , and e a cre s golds only z bz . It is rather remarkable that although Hereford—the s d hO o u nt o f l a — R econ c y Eng nd adjoins adnor, the latter l grows no hops whatever . Th is has not a ways been the

' A Ra d n o rs h i re P l o u g h i n g M atch

’ for M the case , alkin, towards the close of eighteenth “ n - century, saw ear Cregrina, a very fruitful hop garden i f b ” n the narrow lat etween the river and the h ill, and “ hi sto ri an s o ke 1 8 1 0 Williams, the county , , p in of the numerous and e n l 1v e n 1n g plantations of hops and cider

w e fruit trees which decorate the vales of the y , the ”

So me r il - g , and the Lug . AGRICULT URE 77

In the cultivation of the cider fruit trees, for which a R Hereford is equally f mous, adnor, however, shows more

fo r t o 6 0 emulation , it grows the fruit the amount of 9

acres, which is the third greatest apple acreage in Wales,

coming next to those o f M onmouth and Brecon . But little small fru 1t l S grown ; yet the terrier o f Llanelwedd

m hav m Church includes hops , ﬂax , he p, and honey as g

' S h ee p S hearing i n Rad no r s hire

once been objects of culture within that parish . It is certain that ﬂax was once a ' common product o f th e

1 2 0 a Go ro n w ~ C o n s table o f , p , county, for in 7 . O wen y

W illiam F itz Builth Castle , sent the following letter to ’ “ A M : , dam one of ortimer s henchmen Know " ye that

M mo w . hi s a n d cl ea n se if . you do not p ermit adoc to crops

bi s a x an d as has

ﬂ , ' harvest his hay been fully agreed 78 RAD NORSHIRE

’ u o n « o u cho o se p , y war, and this beyond doubt ye shall ’ hav e f Radnor for its size takes a prominent place in Welsh 1 1 0 wool and mutton , for in 9 it was credited with

o f R sheep , mostly the adnor , Cheviot , and Kerry stock . It also had cattle , mostly Herefords, but butter and cheese - making are de clining as regards

t he i s quantity produced , for much of milk now sent daily by train to supply the populous centres of the

M idlands and even of distant Lancash ire . Finally the farm produce o f the shire is connected 2 22 with 3 holdings of various sizes over an acre in extent, 86 1 2 of which are owned or mainly owned , and 937 rented or mainly rented . In the proportion of freeholders R within the county , adnor with a percentage of takes third place in Wales ; followi n g Cardigan with ° ° A . /o and nglesey with /o It is also interesting to note that it was amongst the ﬁrst counties in the country to take advantage of the Small Holdings A 1 ct of 9 07 . “ M uch o f t he stock business o f Radnor i s carried on at fairs, of which every town and considerable village has a number held periodically . Knighton , dealing mostly

has 1 8 s ix in sheep and store cattle, fairs and special sales 1 1 1 T o for 9 . transact this business it has a large sheep R market nearly two acres in extent . hayader also has

1 6 M a fairs for this year, the month of y alone accounting for four . The chief horse - fair of the county is that of New

- on - the bridge Wye, wh ich is annually held about middle so RADNORSHIRE

o n R o f of O ctober . Llanelwedd, the adnor side Wye , shares with Builth the prosperity attendant on its great 1 0 cattle and sheep fairs, where in one year alone ( 9 9) 6 60 sheep , 44 9 cattle , 3 cows and calves, and

1 637 pigs changed hands . R o f adnor, like Brecon , has a great area mountain

i ts and heath land , acres, or nearly half area,

to being returned as belonging this class . O ver all these

T he mountains sheep and ponies roam in large numbers .

o f latter had attracted the notice Leland , who traversed “ n - 1 0 the ewly formed county in 54 , for he says, In M e l e n n i th is a good breed of horse on a mountain ” H l - called e rdo e . The raids and counter raids on both sides o f the M arches i n ancient days were doubtless

o f productive much booty, if the sheep, ponies, and cattle of those days were as numerous and valuable as those

R - that adnor can show to day .

r e s a n d Ma n fa r 1 5 . I n d u s t i u ct u e s .

There i s no more interesting chapter in the history of our country than that which tells of the rise and fall of

as industries . No such thing absolute stability exists ff in any trade . The ﬂuctuations that a ect a particular industry may be caused in various ways . New conditions

o f of labour, the competition other districts, and even the changes in the habits of the people— especially in the — matters of food and drink, dress and amusement all these and more besides must b e reckoned with in the

o n carrying of successful trade .

8 2 RADNORSHIRE

is o ld naturally ﬂourish . Th is an i n dustry and every town in Radnor at one time was engaged in tanning and

“ R has dressing h ides . hayader retained this industry until

- i ts . to day, tanning being still chief commercial activity A part from the hides and bark utilised within the shire n o f itself, great qua tities both products used to be exported in thei r raw state to other counties . Until 1 8 20 glove - making used t o be carried on n ear “ e t he the astern border, where industrious poor of not less than twelve parishes of Hereford and Radnor were ff ” a orded employment thereby . But Radnor ’ s most ambitious efforts in the manu factu ri n g world have been in connection with the treat — A ment of wool its chief product . cloth manufactory was established at Presteign as early as the reign of “ ff Elizabeth , and of it an old record states that it su ered ” i rreparable injury through the pestilence . This factory

- ﬂan n e l . M aest ro l e was latterly converted into a mill y , three miles west of Presteign , .possessed a similar factory at R the beginning of the nineteenth century, while hayader factory about the same time boasted “ carding machines ” and Spinning jennies as a feature o f its equipment .

1 - Llandrindod in 794 also commenced wool weaving, but like the other attempts within the county the venture id a d not prove a permanent success . It was found th t conveying the wool in its raw state to Yorkshire a n d the

at rho me West of England paid better than dealing with it .

No t that all attempts were utterly given up . Dressing an d dyeing wool was carried —o n at Knighton for a con s ide rab le i period later, and the same town st ll has a small INDUSTRIES AND MANUFA CT URE S 8 3 R woollen factory carrying on the trade . hayader possesses

- another, but the wool sorting establishment that existed in

Glasbury about 60 years ago has long been idle . The present state of the woollen trade within the

o n e c i s county is certainly of de ay, and not even as ’ M a fo r u encouraging as it was in alkin s d y, , tho gh he said “ ” that there are no large manufactories established , he

S r s w d tone C u her, Llanel ed

ufﬁ also added , but the people make a s cient quantity of ” u s e coarse cloth , ﬂannel , and stockings for thei r own . The burning of limestone fo r agricultural purposes is comparatively an o ld industry and has been continuously followed at O ld Radnor for more than a century ; but the breaking up by machinery of stone blocks fo r road metalling is a modern one . It is done by means of great steam crushers which can be regulated so as to give a

6—2 8 4 RADNORSHIRE

o f macadam any required size . This industry gives em R ployment to a number of people at hayader, Llandrindod ,

A t - and Llanelwedd . the last named place the small chips of the rocks are utilised for making artiﬁcial stone blocks which are in great request for building . R The L . and N . W . ailway has an important railway de Ot R 1 00 p at Builth oad, employing about skilled work men fo r the upkeep of the long railway section between

u Sh rewsb ry and Swansea . Llanelwedd has a Similar but R smaller dep6t servi n g the Cambrian ailway . It will be noticed from the above that although Radnorsh ire has but few manufactures they are o f a varied character .

1 6 . Mi n e s a n d M i n e ra l s .

Radnor is the poorest county of South Wales from a

o f n o mining point view . Not only has it coal or iron , but there is n o other mineral of such value as to induce operations on a large scale . Lead - mining has been attempted from time t o time and the county records even Show this industry t o have

i s temporarily ﬂourished in ages past . It asserted that the old lead mine of the parish o f Llandrindod was worked R by the omans, but no proof has been adduced to justify

. 1 the statement It certainly was worked as late as 79 7 .

When we come to Stuart times we are on ﬁrmer ground , and there is no reason t o doubt that Sir Hugh Middleton won much lead in the C wmdau ddwr district about the

8 6 RADNORSHIRE quarries of Rhayader also produce a hard stone which is

- in great demand for road making . In various parts o f the county are rich d e posits of peat

“ ma wn called in Welsh . Since the depletion of the forests of the common lands peat - beds have been the chief fuel supplies of the shire for some centuries . They have

G - C a d w a n d elly g " uarry , Llanelwed

ﬁ before now been a source of erce litigation , scarcity of fuel on the one hand and feudal privilege on the other asserting each its imperious claim .

n ow v mdau ddw r The best turbaries worked are at , R Disserth , and hosgoch (Painscastle) . The saddest remains of former mining adventure in Radnor are those which mark the sites of the hopeless MINES AND MINERALS 8 7

‘ - o f attempts at coal winning . In Spite the teachings of geology me n have been found at various times ready to

o f risk their capital in this vain quest . The proofs thei r

Rhiw o ch failure are still to be seen near Presteign , g

' W e the l an d (Nantmel), y , a few other places .

1 7 . Hi s t o ry of t h e C ou n t y . There is no separate mention in Roman B ritain of

R « the land we now know as adnor . It lay for the most

’ C a ract a cu s C amp n e ar Knigh ton

part within the district of the Silures , and shares the glory R n of Caractacus in his stand against the oma legions .

Caer Caradoc , for ever associated with his name, is the i ’ a camp near Kn ight o n whe re h is last battle w s fought. That the Romans thought this district to be important 8 8 RADNORSHIRE is attested by the number of roads and camps which they constructed within its bounds . When they left in the year 41 0 it was ﬁercely contested for by its various invaders between the ﬁfth and the eleventh centuries . Gwrt he rn io n R y , th e wild region in the west of adnor, i s t o Gwrthe rn believed have been named after y , better

as known Vortigern , the wretched prince who ﬁrst invited the Saxons to aid him against the incursions of the Picts and Scots . Tradition points to th is district as the place to which he ﬂed when his power was usurped by his

w e Saxon guests . Be this as it may, are certain that the Mercians were the untiring foes of the Welsh border tribesmen at all times . ’ f A A D f D . to 1 66 . . The tale of O a s Dyke from 7 50 . 0 is one of unceasing warfare, when each nation held out ff grimly to p revent the transgression o f th e other . Gru ydd a s p Llewelyn , in the time of Edward the Confes or, M burst into the lowlands of the Western idlands, sacked

Hereford , and carried ﬁre and sword throughout the ' country Side . But immediately after we ﬁnd Harold Godwin establishing an English colony west of the Dyke

R to at New adnor, and it is probably owing him that we

ﬁnd such purely Saxon names as Kington , Huntington ,

Walton , Kinnerton , Harpton , Preston , Whitton , Norton , and Knighton interspersed with others of a distinctly

t o Welsh character . Domesday refers his possessions thus : “ R ” The King holds adnor, Earl Harold did hold it . Radnor never was a district unit in the sense that

Ceredigion or Glamorgan was . These were governed by their own line of princes and formed small states in

’ e s C A b Llew lyn ave , near eredw HISTORY OF THE COUNTY 9 1 to lie under the martial government of the M ortimers and ’ B re os 1 until 536 .

R M of oger ortimer, the favourite of " ueen Isabella

M e l e n dd England , had his estates conﬁscated , and Cantref y R M became royal property . But after another oger ortimer had his equipped a body of natives and led them at Crecy, n honours were restored to h im . So high stood the ﬁghti g

prestige of the district at the time that, soon after, we ﬁnd Edward III raising 2000 men in the Cantrefs of

lv ae l E and B u allt to ﬁght against the Scots . This prestige was still further enhanced by the valour of another body

i ct i e r under B ryan Harley of Stanage at Po s . But military prowess was no new characteristic of A these mountain people . When the rchbishop Baldwin of Canterbury and Gerald the Welshman made their

o f re achm famous circuit Wales for the p g of the Crusades, it was New Radnor they ﬁxed upon as the best starting

place for the purpose .

R . R ichard II , being childless, announced the oger

M - i ortimer of h is day to be his heir . But that far see ng nobleman modestly declined the honour and went to

- Ireland as Lord Lieutenant , where he was killed in a

skirmish with the natives . R During the Glyndwr crisis, adnor was the cockpit

of the ﬁghting in South Wales, its castles being taken and R retaken again and again . It was at N ew adnor Castle

60 o f that Glyndwr hanged the garrison , and it was at “ ” Pilleth also that the irregular and wild Glendower, R through his lieutenant, hys the Terrible, inﬂicted the

" all u on the n lish greatest defeat of p E g arms . 9 2 RA DNORSHIRE

Henry IV and his gallant so n Prince Hal often traversed the district in those troublous times . It was here doubtless that the latter learnt the art of war, which A he afterwards so well exercised on the ﬁeld of gincourt, when he was loyally followed by Si r John C o rn e wall

a Llw d o f Stapleton and Downton , William p y of — T re ll w di on R o f y , and Sir oger c han Clyro all tried and true men o f Radnor .

T h e M P l B t ﬁ ound , i leth a tle eld

M 1 2 Edmund ortimer, who died without issue in 4 5, was the last M ortimer who was both Earl of M arch and

M e le n dd His A n n R Lord of y . sister espoused ichard

s o n R Plantagenet, whose , ichard Duke of York, received

s all these e tates and titles . He was killed at Wakeﬁeld ’ 1 was n — ~ Green in 460 . It his so the victor of M ortimer s

9 4 RADNORSHIRE throughout the eighteenth cen tury was the scene of the f labours of some o the leaders of Welsh Nonconformity . A mong them were Vavasor Powell , Walter Craddock, and Howel Harr is . The Wesleys, John and Charles, ’ were also frequent visitors . John Wesley s diary shows

‘ R 1 0 1 6 he mi n i s te re d . that , at hayader in 75 and 75 hi s Charles, brother, married Sarah Gwynn , of the great

Garth and Llanelwedd family of that name .

” T h e s L d Pale , lan egley

V I Sl t The Society of Friends, consequent upon the of 1 6 R George Fox in 57, met with more success in adnor than in any other part of Wales . The quaint old meeting “ l ” house , called The Pa es, is still standing at Llandegley, a relic o f the time when the " uakers were a power in the religious and political li fe of the shire . ANTI" UITIES 9 5 The last occasion on which Radnor became prominent before the outside world was during the Rebecca Riots of 1 8 — 43 5, when the turbulence of the rioters and their frequent depredations made an unfavourable impression as th to the conditions of life then obtaining wi in the county .

n — a r h r a n d 1 8 . A t i q uit i e s ( ) P e i s t o ic

Roma n .

No people can occupy a country or district for any length of time without unwittingly leaving marks of their occupation . In the absence of written records these remains are the only means by which the history and customs of early man can be ascertained . In various places ancient weapons, ornaments, utensils, and even

o f carvings on bone , have been found , all which tell us

o f - somewhat the life o f those far o ff days .

A as lthough South Wales a whole , compared with S as outhern and Eastern England , cannot be considered R anything but poor in th is respect, adnor as a particular county has produced a considerable number of such relics , and the twentieth century has already added several items to its good record . The prehistoric stone hammers or hatchets found in

Wales have been very few in times past, that of Llan madoc near Swansea perhaps being the most notable ﬁnd .

1 1 0 saw But November, 9 , the discovery of another similar

E s rn de rw R weapon on gy Hill near hayader, where a

a . 6 i n s . good specimen was une rthed It measured % long, 9 6 RADNORSHIRE

A and was perforated by a hole 1 inch in diameter . nother recent discovery was that o f an obj ect supposed to have been a prehistoric ornament or charm . It was found

1 0 - near Llandrindod in 9 9 . It is crescent Shaped , and

6 o n e . measures ins . from horn to the other O f the larger remains of primeval man Radnor has

o r many examples . Its barrows mounds, round huts,

mei n i - bi ri an cr omlecb a u menhirs ( ), cromlechs ( ), stone circles, and camps are s o numerous as t o be quite “ a striking feature of the county .

Preh i s tori c S tone - H ammer

’ ’ ( Un ea r tlz ea n ea r R/zay a a er 1 9 1 0)

tumuli . O f Mounds, barrows, or are generally graves n o these there are a great number in the county, less than

30 being in the neighbourhood of Llanelwedd alone .

- - i A remarkably large one is Bedd y Gre in the par sh of

- - u Llanddewi Ystrad E n n a . It has a foss all round it with A a rampart circling that again . nother moated mound is

e d Yr Hen Gast e ll in A beredw . Ther is in eed scarcely a district in the whole shire which does n o t possess o n e ’ R St or more of these tumuli . hayader, Harmon s, and

- e dw Stanage in the north , Blaen and Llandrindod in the

98 RA DNORSHIRE

arre Bi ca A - - u (C g ), Glascwm , bernant y Bedda , and Llan dri n do d has , while only recently another been discovered

‘ “ - - in a hedge a t Ne wb ridge o n Wye . The Garreg B ica of C wmdau ddwr is 7 feet 2 inches long by 1 2 inches

. wide , and has a cross roughly outlined upon it R The celebrated Four Stones of the Vale of adnor, thought by some to be merely erratic boulders from

o f Hanter or Stanner Hills , are clearly the work man , and there is another quartet of similar Stones at Nant- y ’

Sae s o n . , St Harmon s O n e of the chief circles of Wales is to be found on t he crown of a dome - like elevation at Rho s fae n in the

o heart of Radnor Forest . It consists f 37 stones set in 2 a circle 37 feet in circumference . The height of the

2 1 t o stones varies from feet inch 5 feet, and their distance

2 8 to 2 1 apart from feet inches feet . O n o n e of the summits of C arn e ddau near Llanelwedd is a great cross marked in stones on the surface of the ground and pointing and o n C ae rmae rdy farm (Glascwm) , set in the midst of huge coarse stones, a r t he e remains of the only cromlech of the county . ‘ “ f C e l tic f crosses, some of them showing beautiful lace R work design , exist at New adnor, and Llowes . The 6 last stands 7 feet inches above the ground , and is 3 feet

O wide at the base . S much supersti tious lore has grown round this stone in connection with the story o f Moll

W alb e e i s of Hay , that the stone itself now called by her name . But perhaps the most interesting of all the prehistoric “ ” t t he remains are the camps, generally buil around A NTI" UITIES 9 9

ff - e summit of a hill or blu , fronted by a dry Ston wall as a breastwork, and having a Spring somewhere within its

. O f R boundary these adnor has an unusual number, varying much in size , but all generally roughly circular

m- —- . C w or oval in form Those situated at cefn y gaer,

Cefnllys, Beguildy, Burfa Bank , and Newcastle are the t u bes known . That at Beg ildy , locally known as

n s Roma Camp , Ca tell Collen

- - B dda ir Crug y y , is traditionally connected with the great

is n to da Caractacus . Near it a meadow know this y as

The B loody Field . O f traces of the Roman occupation Radnor has a

R . large number . For instance oman tiles marked Leg II R have been found near Llanelwedd , oman coins and bricks at Castell Collen , two leaden seals (one each of — 7 2 100 RADNORS HIRE

' ' ~ P e s Hon r d A - u- o o 1u s I I I . an p IV) at bbey Cwr Hir, and

R e has ' a oman urn at Bryn llwyd. The last decad added to fo r e A this list , som black ware marked ttili was found

' i n 1 0 C ast e ll C o ll e n at 9 9 at . , and a cinerary or burial urn t Llandrindod in 1 9 1 0 . But the greates discovery of all

ar - a - i n 1 8 r s e t was N ntmel 99 , when a gold . ing with an

‘ a a n d t onyx , gold necklet, a gold armle were found in — the rocks all remarkably ﬁn e examples which are now in the British M useum . There is also a centurial stone in the church porch of Llanbadarn Fawr measuring 1 4 inches by 4 inches which is supposed to have been brought thither from Castell Collen . O f Roman camps Radnor has some conspicuous ex

- - . E n n au amples The Gaer, in Llanddewi Ystrad , Castell C wm Collen or (also formerly called The Gaer), and yet another Gaer in th e Vale of A rrow being the largest and

hu best known . It was the great Welsh writer C arn a n aw c who latterly drew attention to the importance of the Cwm Station when it was in danger o f being almost lost sight of in th e thick growth of underwood . R The traces of the oman roads are very plentiful , but these need n o t occupy us here as they will be more fully dealt with in the chapter o n the Communications o f the

County .

1 02 RADNORSHIRE

has mari usque ad mare . It also been an important factor in the laws of both countries, because from its

- well guarding only could safety be assured . " There is a general but erroneous impression that the ’ Dyke was a militarybarrier Similar to Hadrian s Wall or the Great Wall of China . It really was only a marked boundary line which could not be crossed in ignorance of

’ O ff s D k e K n a y , near nighto

' was its existence . It undoubtedly well patrolled , and the towns and villages near it were compelled t o equip a horseman fo r the chase o f armed trespassers . By the law of Harold such trespassers if caught on the Saxon side

to fo r were lose their right hands, thus depriving them ever of the power to bear arms . The Dyke enters Radnor o n its north - eastern fron t ier

' o f from the county of Salop . Passing th rough the town ANTI" UITIES 103 Knighton it runs for two miles almost in a straight line to the south , and can be plainly traced through the parishes O ld R n of Norton , Wh itton , Discoed , and ad or . It then

t o o f enters Hereford , passing the east the town of

Kington , thus making that town with Huntington and the more famous Hergest district entirely W elsh i n ancient

s e a- days . Its highest point above level is on Garb e t h farm between Newton and Knighton . The latter town “ ”— is called in Welsh T ré f- y- Clawdd the town o n the ’ Dyke . The section of the Clawdd near the town s golf links t o - day shows it t o be about 8 feet deep and 20 feet across at the top . O ther points where it is still conspicuous are Evenjobb Hill and Burfa Bank, before it descends into ” m r i l o the So e g valley t cross the stream at Ditch Held . O ffa ’ s Dyke has within the last ten years received A dis much attention . mong other interesting things covered in connection with it is the fact that wherever it is ca rried on a hillside the Slope is always fr om the Mercian

r border t ow a ds the Welsh territory . This was doubtless of intent s o that the lVl e rcian sentry could overlook the

A S valley below . a study in local corruption of place names it may be mentioned that the natives between Knighton and Presteign variously d esignate the great ” ” as He ve D e t ch D e tch ff ditch y y , Have y , Ho ” “ ” ; D e t ch h . y , and even Half D itc O n the Beacon Hill in the parishes of Llangunllo and Beguildy is a remarkable ridge o f earth artiﬁcially thrown “ ” up . It is called the Short Ditch , but it is no part of ’ f w as Of a s Dyke . It possibly th rown up for defence by a raiding party of either nation overtaken by a superior :104 RADNORSHIRE

o a . A s imilar d ke i s to b s , , force _ y; e een about mile from

Ne w Radno r which is continued from o n e .end of t he narrow vale to the other .

“ 4 ~ cl s a s t l 2 A rch i e ct u re a e a . 0 . t ( ) Ec i ic

A - R i bout one fourth of adnor , consist ng of the eastern

o t o M parishes fr m Knighton ich aelstone, lies within the

- diocese of Hereford . The remaining three fourths, con ‘ Sisting of the deaneries of Elvel and M e l e n ydd in the

t o archdeaconry of Brecon , belong the diocese of St

Davids .

‘ Most of the churches of the county are plain and ordinary in structure and are built almost exclusively of n “ ative stone . They often Show the cove or cradle roof and are surmounted in almost every case by a square n battleme ted tower. A lthough the churches are plain and unpretentious in

e R . thei r outward app arance , adnor being poor in good

- o i s building stone , the wo dwork throughout of a superior

so t hat Radn o r character, so much , churches are noted

l l . in th is respect . They general y have large chance s but very often n o aisles and no architectural division between chancel and nave . A So much for general features . preliminary word on the various styles o f English architecture is necessary before we pass t o the special points o f the churches and other important buildings of our county .

- — o r as i s n o Pre Norman it usually , though ‘with great — b certainty termed Saxon uilding in England , was the

RA DNORSHIRE

ribs were of intricate patterns, the pinnacles and spires i s l oaded with crocket and ornament . This later style “ known as Decorated , and came to an end with the

Black Death , which stopped all building for a time . With the changed conditions of life the type of building changed . With curious uniformity and quick ness the style called Perpendicular " ’— which is unknown — abroad developed after 1 360 in all parts of England and

1 A s lasted with scarcely any change up to 5 20 . its n ame implies, it is characterised by the perpendicular arrangement of the tracery and panels on walls and in

u windows, and it is also disting ished by the ﬂattened arches and the square arrangement of the mouldings over

- them , by the elaborate vault traceries (especially fan

o f vaulting), and by the use ﬂat roofs and towers without S pires . The medieval styles in England ended with the dissolution o f the monasteries ( 1 530 fo r the

Reformation checked the building of churches . There e — succeed d the building of manor houses, in which the

— - Style called Tudor arose distinguished by ﬂat headed windows , level ceilings, and panelled rooms . The orna ments o f classic style were introduced underthe inﬂuences O f Renaissance sculpture and distinguish the Jacobean

‘ s t l e s o A y , called after James I . bout this time the professional architect arose . Hitherto , building had been r entirely in the hands of the builder and the c aftsman . When the early builders wanted a larger place of worship they did n o t pull dow n all the work of thei r forefathers but added to or altered it . Hence we often ARCHITECTURE— ECCLE S IASTICAL 107

ﬁnd a portion of a church built after one style while another portion or portions belong to a wholly different period .

R o r adnor, like other counties, has churches , portions of them , representing every period we have mentioned .

There is n o doubt that several pre - Norman churches once occupied the sites upon which the present - day churches of the county Stand . Th is is notably the case where the ﬁ t o e . . buildings were rst dedicated Welsh saints, g Glas ’ cwm (St David), St Harmon s (St Garmon), Llanbister

C n llo Pa darn . (St y ), Llanbadarn Fawr (St ), etc ’ The churches o f Glascwm and St Harmon s are speciﬁcally mentioned by Gi raldu s C amb re n s is in his

- I ti n er a r well known y, and are there spoken of as old sanctuaries, around which seve ral Observances had in the course o f time become recognised as customs . Now as

Gi rald i e . us 1 1 8 8 . wrote th is about the year , when the R e t o Norman or omanesqu Period was drawing a close, it is almost certain that the original churches of these

- places were pre Norman . There is an undoubted relic of the same period within half a mile o f the present w Llanel edd church , where the foundations of the ancient

to E lwe dd Celtic church , dedicated St , are still to be seen .

Llanbadarn Fawr has a celebrated tympanum , wh ich with its porch form the only Norman work, that can

n o w unmistakably be pointed out as such , existing within 1 1 0—1 1 60 the shire . The arch was probably built about 5 , its feature of out- turned zigzag moulding proclaiming it to w be late Norman ork . Tympana are rare in Wales, ’ N m D w t T m m L b n a or an oor ay wi h y panu , lan adar F wr

1 10 RA DNORSHIRE where the greater part o f both chancel and nave displays the style characteristic of that half century . When towards the close of the fourteenth century the country recovered from the ravages of the Black

ad o u r Death , which h wrought such havoc throughout R land , adnorshire , in common with the rest of the country, showed great activity in the building of new,

- n and the re buildi g of old churches . This was the beginning of the Perpendicular period , exempliﬁed within o u r shire by the ﬁne east windows of Gladestry and ’ o f Old R Disserth , and the St Catherine s wheel adnor . ur Glascwm ch ch , mentioned above, was evidently rebuilt about this time , for it has several good Perpendicular windows dating from that revival . Several Radnor churches have structural features o f R . O ld note The oak screens of adnor, Llanbister ,

L lan a n o A w Cefnllys, and bered are beautifully carved . ’ Llan b is te r s tower is placed at the east end of the church , and the chancel of A beredw is lower than the nave . T he font o f O ld Radnor i s probably one of the oldest ecclesiastical relics now used in connection with public worship within the kingdom . It has long been the puzzle

who - of antiquaries, however agree as to its pre Norman

- character . The organ case of the same church is believed t o be the only survival of its kind in the country . It t dates back o the Gothic period . A s a compared with these vestiges of long p st centuries , any structure connected with Nonconformity appears as

L lw n llw d of yesterday , but it may be stated that y y and

M - r- aes y onen , both near Glasbury, are among the oldest

1 1 2 RA DNORSHIRE

“ Nonconformist places in the Principality, and The ” Pales, a thatched building in the parish of Llandegley

o f (p . has been a chapel the Society of Friends (once R numerous in adnor) for about two hundred years .

R — chi e ﬂ Before the eformation , religious houses y — abbeys, priories , and friaries were very common through

No t out the country . only were the monks the leaders

T h e O l d d h Font , Ra nor C urch

in religious matters, but they led in learning, agriculture , m as edicine , and other branches of knowledge well . Radnor possessed one abbey— that of Cwm Hir— dear to the heart of every Welshman o n account o f i ts being the resting- place (according to the Chronicles of Chester and Worcester) of the headless body of Llewelyn

1 1 d llo n the Last . It was founded in 43 by C a wa ap

1 14 RADNORSHIRE

i n n o t appear to have been totally destroyed by him , for 1 6 the Civil War it underwent a siege in 44, when Sir

. .Thomas Middleton , the Parliamentary general , stormed “ ” 0 . it, taking 7 prisoners and much store of ammunition

h e e arch Now, ow ver, th re is left no , window, door,

. f or column on the Site o this famous ediﬁce . We

‘ ' ‘ whe re t he must seek them elsewhere, pointed arches of

lan an o Llanidloes church , the screens of Newton , L , and

w Fae n o r Llanbister, the oodwork of Ty House, and many farms in the district have been embellished by the

- - beautiful handiwork once adorning A bbey Cwm Hir .

Very interesting are some o f the records of this abbey .

’ The abbot owned a sheep - walk o n L le che ll W i ha m i —‘ e - i n Common , and possessed ﬁve ranges besid s two . g “ “ ” R G rai n e add Pe ll W ll t adnor, Cly ro g py y , and

‘

- a . C lO . A r three in Montgomery Five mountains g rthu , ‘ “ i W i t ho n Be rfath A ll t M n ac hlo o — w , , y g , and an ther ere t also owned by him , Showing upon wha scale ), a we the farming operations of the abbeys re e ted .

For while the Benedictine monks paid for labour, the

o i fi t o f - A Cistercians made a p being self supporting . bbey

- r Cwm Hi r, therefo e , doubtless had its mill , smithy,

fo r well , and bakehouse in the immediate vicinity , the

‘ n o t o vvn c brethren only grew thei r orn , hay, ﬂax, wine ,

’ and wool , but also made their cloth , fulled it, and tailored it . R Near hayader bridge the Blackfriars once had a cell , but very little is known of it o r its temporalities beyond

' ce ll was - the fact that the afterwards a dwelling house ,

' w - hich had some subterranean passages leading from it . A RCHITECTURE—ECCLESIA STICAL 1 1 5

M o f Capel adoc , another cell in the parish Cwm dau ddwr . o f S A , was an outpost the trata Florida bbey in Cardiganshire . In several parts of Radnor there are ancient fa rm ’ f h M o n h i o uses ac t e . M called y, . The onks House . These

Ruin s o f Ab b e y - Cwm - H ir were probably granges which belonged to o n e or other 01

o r the religious houses of South Wales the Border Counties , but which on occasion served for other purposes . The

M o n acht y of Pilleth has a dungeon and a large hall , which seem t o verify the local tradition that justice was occasi onally administered there . 1 16 RA DNORSHIRE

2 1 Ar h t e t re — b M l a r . c i c u ( ) i it y . We have already noticed that the British and the Romans erected many strong fortiﬁcations within the county, and that even the churches at times were built

t o n with a view defence . In the ext chapter we shall have something t o say about certain manor- houses that answered the same purpose . But the most perfect build ings from a military point of view were undoubtedly the R Norman castles, of which adnor, in proportion to its size , had a larger number than any other shire within the four countries .

The best land in the county , as we have seen , lies almost wholly within the valleys of the principal streams ,

t hat ' l e d and this it was, no doubt, the Norman adventurers to conquer M e l e n ydd. When it fell into their hands they forthwith built strong castles t o retain their hold . A lmost without exception therefore we shall ﬁnd the

’ castles dominating the most fe rt il e porti o n s of the vales . These strongholds had much in common in the plan o f h t eir construction . The usual type had a towering

o r o r keep donjon , with inner and outer baileys yards, surrounded by a h igh wall . The massive gateway was entered by the drawbridge over the moat wh ich , when

was . ever water obtainable, encircled the castle There were also outbuildings within the yards, a chapel and courthouse , as well as the necessary stables and smithy . O f the numerous castles the county once possessed

n o t o n e t o— o f there is day which has any its parts intact ,

A RCHITECTURE— MILITA RY 1 17

the stern warfare of e arli e i° times and the vandalism of

modern days having all but obliterated their walls . The

mound , the foundations, and portions of the moat all

é t o littered with d bris, are usually the only marks left tell

thei r story t o the coming ages . The oldest as well as the most important of these

was R great forts undoubtedly the castle of New adnor, originally built by Harold Godwin on Radnor Tump in 1 064 to guard the colony recently planted by him in the

A s vale below . this castle was erected before the Norman

o f conquest , and , moreover, by the hand a Saxon of

Saxons , it has been denied by some to have been a fortress

of the Norman type at all . But when we remember that Harold had visited Normandy before the date of its erection and had as a warrior doubtless noted the great

a military structures there, and especially as we are cert in that Ralph Mortimer in 1 09 1 had greatly enlarged and R strengthened its defences, New adnor must undoubtedly

as be described the ﬁrst Norman keep in Wales . It was

i ts walls probably also the last in the county to keep , for the ﬁnal spoliation of the material o f its sturdy ediﬁce w as l only made within the memory of iving man . This old fortress played a stirring part in the wild life

was of the marches, and it quite in keeping with the warlike reputation of the neighbourhood that A rchbishop

A i r d Baldwin and rchdeacon G al us Should ﬁrst preach the . fﬁ Crusades here . Glyndwr found it a di cult place to

conquer, and in order to strike terror into the hearts of his enemies he hanged sixty of the garrison on the castle walls . 1 18 . RADNORSHIRE The castle underwent another siege during the Civil War, but gunpowder and cannon having then come into general u s e the garrison was soon compelled to capitulate the t o the victorious Parliamentarians . That castle was ’ of large extent is shown by Speed s map , one of the oldest

e Welsh maps in xistence , which also shows that a large R area was occupied by the town of New adnor, which M A was walled in the iddle ges . Its defences were at e 1 0 least partially in exist nce as late as 54 , for Leland in “ ' that year said , In the walle appere the ruins of four ” gates . A R nother interesting adnor fortress was Painscastle , s o 1 1 0 named after its founder , who built it in 3 in the

r n o w i pa ish which is named after the . castle tself. He

o f ﬁ R was a comrade the rst alph Mortimer, a strenuous

who ﬁghter, and one Of the Crusaders fell in the Holy h “ Land . T is is the Welsh castle so often mentioned in ’ ’ T b e B etr otb ea o f Ga r de D olor euse Scott s , under the name , and the particular Siege described therein is the one it

o f Gwe n w n n o f . underwent at the hands Prince y y Powys . Colwyn Castle was built a few miles above A beredw

Bre o s 1 2 1 6 w as by William de in , and by him given over

- W alb e e to his wife , the strong minded Moll of Hay . For ’ this reason it is still sometimes called Maud s Castle . Under the shadow of its walls Llewelyn the Last fought

‘ ' Si r M afte rwards die d and defeated Edmund ortimer, who of his wounds .

v I thon Cefnllys Castle , almost surrounded by the ri er , 1 2 2 R t was built in 4 by the alph Mortimer of hat day . Its chief claim t o notice is the fact that the Court of the

1 9 9 RA DNORSHIRE

t o E i n o n C l d E lv ae l being credited y , the Lord of ,

C wmdau ddw r murdered by the Normans at , whose assassination is commemorated by the crossed stone still

Standing in that parish . In order to guard the Wye Valley from depredations

Bu i l th

’ S c e ne o f L lewely n s Downfall

from the north Rhayader Castle was built in 1 1 78 by

R a ff another Welsh prince, hys p Gru ydd , better known R as the Lord hys . Up and down the county there are sites o f various other fortresses about which little or nothing is known . A RCHITECTURE— MILITA RY 121

u fale d M at chwa C S ch are Knighton , Knucklas, F , y , y — A . O f maron , and beredw Castles the last named , for

o f instance , nothing beyond the fact its having been a

hunting- seat of the last Llewelyn can with certainty be

is Stated . It conjectured by some that when on his hunting expeditions he had at various times visited his — — o ld comrade of the Battle o f Lewes John Giffard at the neighbouring castle of Builth , just beyond Wye .

his This was used to lure him to destruction , for when he left A beredw fo r the last time he travelled towards

Builth , expecting to be received with open arms as usual . For that reason he had taken with h im but a small retinue, and thus became the victim of a foul plot in ’ ff R L E s t ra n e R which Gi ard , oger g , and oger and Edmund

M ortimer were the chief actors . Entrance to the castle being denied him , he and h is trusty followers had no chance in the open country and all fell victims t o ’ ff L E s t ran e successful villainy . Gi ard and g received large estates in Gloucester and Norfolk from Edward I for thei r share in the massacre . It is worthy of note that the large tract Of land west

n of Rhayader ever possessed a castle of any kind . The poverty of the soil probably accounts for this .

— 2 2 A r c D me s . . rch it e ct u e ( ) o t ic

During the period o f the castles and for many ages prior t o it the peasantry of this country had t o be content with habitations o f wood and even wattle or plastered 122 RA DNORS HIRE

osier work . These were naturally very fragile , and it is no wonder that few, if any , survive . But the presence

ﬁn e of such stone structures as the castles, abbeys, and ff churches had its e ect in time on the lowlier buildings .

I t - u took some ages, however, before stone built ho ses

was w ho became common . It the landed gentry led the way, being doubtless encouraged by the less frequent

T h e S t one s Farmh ou s e ( W/zer e Cha r les 1 wa s en ter ta i n ed) occurrence of war after the Battle of Bosworth

They wanted to be free from the discomforts of a castle, and at the same time to be ready in defence Should an

the M emergency arise . The result was Tudor anor

House , a building which was sometimes moated and

‘ always capab le of sustaining a siege of some duration .

124 RADNORSHIRE

Harpton t he home o f t he Lewis family 3 5 Downton Percival Lewis gg Hergest C ourt Gwyn Vaughan s 04 5 Glades try Meyrick T he Stones

Solers C astle Solers g g 5 T re we l le y (Llowes ) 2g Old C lyro C ourt Vau ghan w W 6 5 G e rn fythe n hitney T he Screen Vaughan W illiams

0 Bou l t i b roo k - s E) Jones Bridge E H f. venjobb arleys E5 Trewern Hartstong ue

M o n acht y ( Pilleth) Price a n d Pilleth Hall Price Lewis 1 ) Farrington C ulter T h e Great Hou s e C rowther Stanage Hou s e Rogers Llanddewi Hall

Ll yn we n t Vaughan a n d Meredith C roes C y n on

T M ae n o r , y Fowler C r yche l l E van Stephens

A fe w of them are still inhabited by descendants of their former owners, but many more have been turned into farmhouses .

The story of these manor - houses carefully and worthily written would make a most interesting volume .

Charles I was entertained at The Stones . Hergest ’ Court (east of the s hi re S modern boundary but west of — A RCHITECTURE DOMESTIC 125

’ O ffa s Dyke) has given Wales o n e of its oldest and most ’ Ll r C ocb H er est I a n tbe prized books yf g , and Byron s

was t o lived at Kinsham Court in the same district . It D o ldo wlo d that Watt retired after maki n g the whole

t o was world indebted him , and it at Cwm Elan and Nan tgwyllt that Shelley found inspiration for some of his

ﬁnest work .

M a e s l l wch s t G s b Ca le , la ury

M any o f the mansions that have arisen since that time

M ae s llwch fully sustain the great reputation of the past, A Castle , bbey Hall , Newcastle, and Bough rood Castle being representative of a large number o f perhaps equally beautiful country seats . a The farmhouses and cott ges of the county are also ,

o f generally speaking, a spacious and therefore healthy “ a o character . Malkin , over a century g , said , Their ( 126 RA DNORSHIRE

e cottages in general seem to be substantially w atherproof, ‘and the favourable remarks by him and by more recent

' write rs have been strikingly b Orn e out in the report s Of

f e the war against consumption now being ought . Tub r culos is i s w t o e kno n be largely a qu stion of housing, and when the a ccou n ts o f its ravages i n the di fferent counties had been tabulated Radnor w as found t o suffer less i n

N an n er t h H s e h r Farm ou , near R ayade proportion than any other county in South Wales .

i s e l R n . Cardigan , which the shir that most resemb es ad or e in everything but housing, was found to have the high st death - rate from consumption . M any of the Radnor farmhouses Still remain very n e much as they were built in Elizabethan times . O a t l uthority says, They were rude but subs antial dwe lings constructed of the large schistose ﬂagst o n e s of the district

128 RADNORSHIRE

It is worthy of note that oaken walls still do service

o f R in some the adnorshi re public ediﬁces, an inn in the main street of Rhayader and a portion of the Town Hall

o f of the same place giving evidence of the fact . Several the inns of the county are of great antiquity and o f n o “ ” - Ll an ﬁ little interest . The well known Forest Inn ( ’ han ge l - Nant - Melan) and Beggar s Bush (Discoed) are “ both ancient ; Rhydspe n ce with its wonderful o ak carving i s o n e of the sights o f the Whitney district ; and ” ‘ the Radnorshire A rms at Presteign i s known t o have

t o belonged B radshaw the regicide .

= 2 3 . C ommu n ica t ion s Pa s t a n d P re

s e n . a d s l a s t Ro , Ra i w y .

We know nothing o f the roads of our province before

o 1 A D . the subjugation of Carad c in the year 5 . by the

R . omans, who hastened to connect thei r chief stations The nearest to Radnor o f these great arteries were the

Julia M ontana from C ae rlle o n - o n - Usk t o C ae rb an n iu m

m t o (Brecon) and the Sa Helen from Neath Chester . The principal forts of the Radnor district were connected with these main roads, and with each other by means of cross roads of similar structure .

C ae rfa u o r g Castell Collen , Llechryd , and the Gaer (M ichaelchurch) were among the chief Radnor stations o f R the oman era , and a causeway connecting the three undoubtedly passed from C ae rfagu to Llechryd via D is

Se rth , and thence through Llanelwedd and the uplands of COMMUNICATIONS 129

ff Llansant raid, Glascwm , and Newchurch to join the Gaer

on the A rrow in East Radnor . A smaller road joined C ae rfagu to Llan e ll e o n fe l in

Breconshire over the Wye ford of Newbridge, and another

connected it with Caersws in the north .

M ichaelchurch - on - A rrow was also connected w ith the Julia Montana t o the south by means of a branch via A Clyro and bergavenny, which crossed the Wye near the

present Hay bridge . A ll these roads were excellently made and served the R country for many centuries . But after the omans left,

- road making seems to have become a lost art, for during

1 0 A D . 1 0 the long period between 4 . and about 79 the dwellers of the land— native and alien alike— not only

n e w t o did not construct roads, but neglected keep the R excellent oman causeways in ordinary repair . Williams, 1 60 the historian of the county, said that about the year 7 “ ” the roads were mere gullies worn by torrents, while “ John Clarke declared in 1 794 that the parochial roads ” were bad and those called turnpike much worse . B ut the close of the eighteenth century saw the

commencement of a great change in this respect . In the years 1 79 1 or 1 79 2 the Radnor Turnpike Road A ct was c passed , to connect the ounty with Cheltenham A through Hereford , and with berystwyth through

Rhayader . Th is road was well made and the coach

travelled it for many years .

That the improvement of the roads, although steadily

was i s R persisted in , a slow process proved from the ebecca R R iots of the Forties, when the adnor roads came in for

D . R. 130 RADNORSHIRE

O n e much attention . witness before the Government

Commission of 1 844 said -i t was a grievance to have t o pay for a road which was a perfect basin , and held water ’ ” R and mud up to the horse s belly . The hayader district was much disturbed about this time : several gates had

o f R been destroyed , and in the town hayader itself the presence both of policemen and soldiers was found

K k N W s d t L . . a nuc la Via uc , . R ilway

necessary to support the collection of the tolls at the gates, which were exceedingly unpopular as they were higher here than under any other trust in South Wales . . Radnor to - day has roads that can compare with any

has in the Principality, and this fact been found in this day o f motor - cars to have been a splendid investment for the prosperity of the county .

132 RADNORSHIRE

u law court, which also constit ted the principal instrument

was of local government , the Court of the Commote . ’ i s B ut mention also made of the Prince s Court, Court

S . of the Cantref, pecial Court, and Ecclesiastical Court The principal o ﬂi ce rs engaged were the br a wdw r

ca n b ellor ma er s olba i (judge), g (chancellor), (mayor), y g g — (secretary) and r bi ngyll (sergeant) all nominated by the

n o t ruling prince . Professional lawyers were unknown , for we ﬁnd the names o f cyngb a w s (pleader) and can /l a w

(guide) in connection with particular cases . T he courts were usually held in the open air and the pleadings were mainly oral . When the formalities of the constitution and opening of the court had been minutely observed, a priest prayed , the judges recited their Paternoster and the witnesses were sworn on relics, this mode of swearing being of all others considered the ’ most binding on one s conscience . The weight of the evidence tendered depended t o a

o n great extent the social position of the witness . The ’ word o f an a ll tua (foreigner) was worthless against a Welshman of pure descent n o wife could give evidence against her husband , and apostates, perjurers , and common thieves had fo r ever forfeited the right to bear witness at any time .

The punishment was borne in ﬁnes, there being a

o f ff complete system assessment for all possible o ences . A t a later period we ﬁnd that the commote court,

was instead of being held in the open air as formerly , held within the castle , the dungeon became the prison ,

the o ﬂi e r and Norman retainers c s of the Court . These ADMINISTRATION AND DIVISIONS 133 underlings had n o sympathy with the Welsh and often oppressed them unmercifully . Relics of these days are the Courts of the M anor still R A held in various parts of the county of adnor . lthough in the twentieth century they have almost become mere names, in Norman times they played no inconsiderable part in the adjustment o f rights and privileges as between lord and tenant in connection with the land and the forest . There is nothing more confu sing than the constitution o f o f the various parishes our county . Subdivision and “ changes of boundary are constantly going on , the parcel of one decade may be the independent parish of the next, and a . n u mb e r of parishes may often be amalgamated to make one larger authority .

A 8 8 0 Rho dri M bout the year , when awr was Prince R of all Wales, the land now called adnor was divided into three cantrefs, viz .

M e l e n dd y subdivided into 4 commotes,

Elvel 3 commotes,

i . e . Y Clawdd ( The Dyke) 3 commotes .

When Henry VIII formed the new county, it contained

52 parishes arranged in s ix hundreds . The number of the 1 8 0 1 1 1 parishes remained constant until 9 , but by the 9

Census they had increased to 63. The county is also divided into parishes o f another — — kind the ecclesiastical o f which it has 46 .

The chief ofﬁcers of the county are the Lord- Lieu tenant and the High Sheri ff. The former is appointed 134 RADNORSHIRE

by the sovereign for life , and is generally a nobleman or ff great landowner . The High Sheri used to be appointed

of fﬁ for life also , but now h is term o ce lasts a year only , the new High Sheriff being chosen every year on the ’ o morrow f St M artin s Day . Great changes were made in county government in 1 8 88 , when the various bodies governing the police , high

T h e n H d Tow all , Rhaya er

ways, asylums , etc . were merged into one County Council , R 2 consisting, in adnor, of 4 councillors and eight aldermen , the latter being chosen from the elected councillors or from suitable outside men without an election . Since that date the management of county education , elementary

to . and secondary, has also been given them

I n 1 894 there was a further t e - arrangement in local

136 RADNORSHIRE

county . The remaining portions of the shire are allocated

t o Unions centred in other and neighbouring counties, the overlapping being comprised of the several districts covered R R by the ural D istrict Councils of Colwyn , New adnor,

o f and Painscastle above . The total rateable value these

o f was 1 0 divisions for the incidence the county rate , in 9 9 ,

R has S adnor one Court of " uarter essions, and is divided into seven Petty Sessional D ivisions to try and ff to punish petty o ences against the law . This duty is

carried out by local magistrates, of whom the county 1 has about 0 5 at the present time . R R adnor has now no corporate town , but New adnor

o once possessed a charter given t it by " ueen Elizabeth . 1 8 8 6 Before , this town (with the contributory boroughs R of Cefnllys, Knighton , Knucklas, Presteign , and hayader)

had separate representation in Parliament, but at that date they were all merged in the county to elect one member

fo r the whole area .

T h f 2 5 . e Rol l o Ho n ou r .

Ymbob g wla cl y megi r g lew Every country breeds ” great men ) is a popular as well as a true proverb, and

R as adnor, sparsely populated it always has been and now

o f is, has many names which it is proud . In this chapter,

however, we can select only a few of the more prominent and representative . A lthough the history of the county deals largely with THE ROLL OF HONOUR 137

kings and princes, viz. Henry III , Henry IV , Henry V ,

Edward IV , Charles I, Llewelyn the Great, Llewelyn

the Last, and O wen Glyndwr, it was only from stress

of war or politics that they entered the county . 1 2 1 The third Henry kept court at Painscastle in 3 , and Charles I was glad to ﬁnd a refuge in the wilds of B A s the order after the fateful battle of Naseby . le s trustworthy story says that his so n Charles II followed

h is example after the battle of Worcester, and traversed the eastern part of the county in the company of the

faithful Penderel . Radnor was often visited by Edward IV in his younger M t o days, when as Earl of arch he was heir the great

house of Wigmore . This shi re also saw the last and saddest chapter in the life of Llewelyn ap Gruffydd as it did of the brightest in ’ Gl n dwr s y meteoric career . The Lord Rhys of Dyfed had as much to do with the

R as making of the h istory of hayader and Painscastle , his

Gi raldus C amb re n s is kinsman and contemporary, , had in

the writing of it . The former led a strenuous life in

endeavouring to stem the Norman invasion , and the latter n o less strenuously fought for the independence of the A ncient British Church . Radnor has given several divin es of note both to the

A nglican Church and the Nonconformist bodies . Thomas R Huet, ector of Cefnllys and D isserth , helped William Salisbury in 1 567 to translate the Greek Testament

’ W l n R —a e sh a d . into , W Jenkin ees clergyman who lived nearly half a century in Radnorshire— produced 138 RA DNORSHIRE

Li v es o tbe C a mbr o- B r i ti sb Sa i n ts t the f , a work of grea

e m rit .

Vavasor Powell , one of the pioneers of Welsh Non conformity , was born at Knucklas , and William Williams

’ E H s S h e s e s d lan ou e , ell y R i ence (Now s u b merg ed)

Pan t ce l n i ts his y y , sweetest hymn writer, received educa

L lw n llw d . O f tion at y y , near Glasbury the modern school of Welsh Nonconformist pulpit orators Radnor has o f been connected with two the most famous, for

140 RADNORSHIRE

M er r Vi lla ers D ido a nd en e s has y g and A a . In music it “ ” n o St — outstanding name , but Garmon one of the — — most popular hymn tunes o f to day was composed by ’ . St J Price of Harmon s, and by him was called after his native place .

M r M The late James ansergh , the engineer of Cwm " She riﬂ 1 0 1 Elan , was for the county in 9 , and another

D oldowl o d great engineer, James Watt , bought to reside in after his great services to British trade and commerce

t o had enabled him reap his reward . O f other men of action Radnor can boast of Roger A S Vaughan , of gincourt fame , and B ryan Harley of tanage , who so Po i ct i e rs fought well at . Its most celebrated women also won thei r renown by fﬁ their daring, for Ellen the Terrible, whose e gy and story are to be seen in Kington Church , was a member of the

Ll n w en t M St y family of Vaughans . aud Valery, better “ ” as W alb e e known Moll of Hay and Llowes, was a

fo r she who kindred spirit, it was had the temerity to charge King John to his face with the murder of Prince A R rthur at ouen . Her husband had been at the Norman

she town when the dastardly deed was done, and evidently knew more of the affair than was compatible with John ’ s

he peace of mind . S was thrown into the dungeon of

s o n to Windsor Castle, where she and her were allowed

o f die starvation . O f politicians the greatest Radnor names are Sir David

e Williams, the friend and associate of the gr at Burghley ’ — ’ o f Elizabeth s court ; Sir Rowland Gwynne M acaulay s — honest country gentleman who introduced the B ill for M ll W al b e e S o l o e s C c o t ne , L w hur hyard 142 RADNORSHIRE settling the succession in the House of Hanover ; and Sir — ’ George C o rn e wall Lewes Lord Palme rs ton s lieutenant in the ﬁfties and sixties of the last century . There is a bronze statue of the last - named in front of the Hereford S — R — hire Hall , and h is native place New adnor has also Shown i ts apprec i ation of his worth by erecting a column to his memory in its main street .

1 44 RADNORSHIRE

C a s cob (5 5) is a hamlet o n th e north - east slope o f the

- o f i s Radnor Forest s ome ﬁve miles north west Presteign . It

a o f mentioned i n Domesday as C scope . A portion the parish

s f a n o f f called Lytton u ed to orm insulated portion Here ord . p ( .

C e fn lly s a n ancient parish out o f a part of which the

W c h as f m modern Llandrindod ells Urban Distri t been or ed . Prior to 1 8 8 6 it formed o n e o f the contributory boroughs attached

Ne w fo r n . pp . 2 to Radnor separate parliamentary represe tation ( 9 ,

1 9 9 , 36 ,

C r o o n the W e o n e - o f i s ly y mile north west Hay , a very beautiful district rich i n remains of antiquity a n d i n manor

. p 2 1 2 2 1 1 1 1 2 1 2 p . 6 8 0 houses ( , 3 , 5 , 5 , 9 , 9 7 , 9 , 5 , 4 , 7 ,

D i s co e d a parish i n north - east Radnor two an d a half ’ m o f s Off . i s me n iles west Presteign , inter ected by a s Dyke It ’ t io n e d i n s Di s co te . i t i s an Dome day as Near Beggar s Bush ,

n n pp . 1 i C . 0 said to have been so named by harles I ( 3,

D i s s e rt h a village i n the I tho n Valley ﬁve miles north “ ” o f . f s i n o f i t s west Builth Its east , celebrated honour patron

m i n the T he saint , were uch attended eighteenth century . Roman road joining C ae rfag u to Llechryd pas sed through this

p 1 1 1 2 . p . 0 8 6 0 8 place ( 7 , , , ,

E v e n job b four an d a half miles north - west o f ’ K i s i n . O ff s s ington , mentioned Domesday a s Dyke pa se through

c C m f s i s i n i t s it . New astle a p , a prehistoric ortre s , neighbourhood .

1 (pp . 0 3,

Gl a d e s tr y ( 2 5 8 ) i s a pretty village o n the river Avon i n the s o f the f - o f ea t county our miles south east New Radnor .

s C i s a n . . 1 6 Glade try ourt ancient house (PD , 5 4 , 9 3,

Gl a s b ur y (460) i s a beautiful village s ituated o n the W ye the s o f he h W s C at extreme outh t county . T e el h call it Y M; CHIEF TOWNS AND VILLA GES 145

C - - ( ) . r Llw n l lw d a n d M the loisters Maes y onen , y y , ae s l l wch are i n the m o d m d v c y . (pp . 1 0 1 1 1 2 6 n te i e iate i init 9 , , , 3, , 35 , 49 ,

Gl a w m s c a village eight miles eas t o f Builth i n the c o f the s f m entre county , which pos esses a a ous church mentioned

G i ra l dus i n 1 1 8 8 . C l a s w r by g y , a prehistoric double intrench m i t he . ) . 1 6 8 1 0 1 1 1 2 er t , lies near village (PI , 5 4 , 9 , 7 , 0 , 7 ,

D i n b o d C s t M L l a n a n o a le oat ,

Kn i g ht on ( 1 8 8 6) is a market town o n the river Teme i n the - o f north east corner the county . It is very old , its streets are

S a n d a n d o f . s teep narrow , many its houses quaint It u ed to

f c of c n ow m have a tories woollen loth but they are uch decayed , a n d the chief trade at present cons i s ts i n the buying a n d s elling

of ha s f a n . live stock . It many airs d a large sheep market

T he W It was once a town o f much importance . elsh know “ ” ’ - - f C the o n t he D . o f Off it as Tre y lawdd , town yke Traces a s

D . R. 1 0 146 RA DNORSHIRE

Dyke are still seen i n t he vicinity a n d th e famous C aractacus ” f t t C amp i s o n t he Shropshire s ide o he river oppo s ite he town .

o f t 1 Very little i s known i s Norman castle . Before 8 8 6

K t o the of . pp . nighton was contributory borough Radnor ( 9 ,

2 8 2 8 8 8 1 0 1 2 1 1 2 - 1 1 I I ° 49 ) 5 ) 7 , 8 ) 7 ) ) 9 3 ) 31 ) 4 7 3 7 35 1 36 )

Kn u kl a s 1 8 1 i s s K h c ( ) a decayed town hip near nighton , whic h as the s o f a n s remain ancient ca tle. Vavasor Powell was a

. pp . 2 0 1 2 1 1 6 native ( , , 3 ,

L 1a n a n 0 z o n th e I tho n te n m - o f ( 44) , iles north west Rhayader , h as the s o f Di n b o s n n ruin d C a tle . n n o Newydd at the foot o f R l l t a c . pp . 1 1 0 1 1 2 1 is a halybeate spring ( , ,

Ll a n b a dar n F y n y dd (4 5 2 ) is a n outlying pari s h i n the

h S - m i n extreme north of t e county . ome lead ining was done here

n n o n f - - Of i s s - i n former days . n Da ydd y G a ulphur spring its

2 neighbourhood . (PP. 9 ,

Ll a n b i s t e r a large parish i n the north o f t he county .

Ll n we n t a n n o f t he s i t . y , ancient ma sion Vaughan , lies within

pp . 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 ( 7 , 9 , , 4 ,

Ll a n dd e w i - y s t r a d - E n n y (39 1 ) is the centre o f a district

for i t s s o f o f the c noted remain antiquity , which Gaer (a amp)

- - s a n d C wmaron C s a re the . Bedd y gre (a tumulu ) , a tle best known

pp . 6 ( 35 , 9 ,

Lla n de g l e y ( 2 9 2 ) i s an extensive parish ﬁve miles north - west

o f h a s t he f o f . Ra dnor . It a sulphur spring at oot Rhosgoch Mt

T he a re o f s . pp . 0 Llandegley Rocks great intere t to geologists ( 3 ,

1 5 , 8 5 ,

Ll a n dr i n do d W e ll s ( 2 7 7 9) i s by far th e most important an d o f s f i ts mi well known Radnor hire towns , rom neral springs , which a re vi s ited by about pe ople during the s eas on:

s t s a n d Although these well , with heir sulphur , chalybeate , aline ,

s fo r t he s 2 0 0 i t magne ium waters , have been known la t years , is only within the last quarter o f a century that they have attracted

148 RADNORSHIRE

L l a n ﬁh an g e l - n a n t - M e l an ( 1 2 6) i s a village i n the mid s t o f the s n d o f the antiquitie a phy s ical beauties Radnor Forest .

m C s a n d W - - i ts - To en a tle , a large tumulus , ater break neck , a

s c i n the . pp . remarkable ca ade , are immediate neighbourhood ( 33,

Ll an g u n ll o (47 8 ) i s a n upland pari s h i n the north - east o f the i x n - f K county s a d a half miles south west o nighton . It

N ewb ri d ge - o u - W y e S ch ool

h as s s c m i s f of c i s T he C everal prehi tori re a n , chie whi h amp ’ f s . C e r w n i G a ll a C n ll o s i s a circular tumulu y y , y barrels , a

s s of c s i n the b e d . . 1 erie remarkable avitie river (PP 9 ,

L l a n s a n t ffr a e d - l n - E lv e l four a n d a hal f miles

- s of i n the s o f C was c north ea t Builth Fore t olwyn , on e a Royal

- - C s . h a s c a G ff f ha e It a astle , near which Llewelyn p ru ydd ought

a n n p . i deci s ive battle with E dmund Mortimer . ( CHIEF TOWNS A ND VILLAGES 1 49

l L a n s a n t ffra e d C w mdau ddw r ( 1 2 7 9) i s a pari s h west o f n w Rhayader which contai s most o f the waters of C m E lan .

. 8 1 1 (Pp 5 4 , 4 , 9 7 , 9 8 , 5 ,

o w e s 2 1 8 i s s o f ﬂ for i t s Ll ( ) a uburb Hay , chie y noted Moll W al b e e s . . 2 6 8 1 0 1 1 0 tone (PP , 9 , , 4 ,

M i h a e ch ur ch i ii th e f o f i s c l ertile Vale Arrow , a s e t i n th o f n T village e mid s t Roman a d prehi s toric remains . he

Interi o r o f O l d Rad nor Church camp o f T he G aer i s a large o n e a n d wa s connected by Roman

G o b a n n i um an d C ae rfa u . . 1 6 roads with (Abergavenny) g (PP ,

1 2 9 3, 8 ,

Na n t m e l a towns hip between Rhayader a n d Llan dri n dod h as f the C wm E s s . , largely beneﬁted rom lam re ervoir It ha s a n aqueduct carrying t he Birmingham water over t he

. pp . 6 8 1 00 valley ( 34 , 9 , 7 , , 15 0 RADNORSHIRE

N e w b r i d e - o n - W e i n th e s o f i s g y pari h Llanyre , a

ﬂ s i n th e s o f ouri hing village mid t a large agricultural distri ct .

It h a s s everal fairs where much bu s iness i s transacted . Its

f n e w bridges have o ten been washed away . A bridg e was

i n 1 1 1 . pp . 2 2 2 0 8 8 opened 9 ( , 3 , 3 , 7 , 7 9 , 9 ,

N e w Ra dn o r th e once county town , is a township

n I n s ituated o t he So merg il i n the east o f th e county . spite o f i ts i t i s n n i n s a n d name a very old tow , bei g mentioned Dome day

to f T h known have been ounded by Harold Godwin . e C rusades

i n i ts s i n 1 1 f m were preached treets 8 8 . It received a charter ro

Og s an d 1 8 8 6 i t s h ad een Be s until , with contributory boroughs , w separate repres entatio n i n Parliament . It a s once a con s iderable

s t ha s s h a town but at pre ent i adly decayed . It still s a Guild

o f s m . c Hall , a part which is utili ed as a arket Its astle under

o n e the s a n d th e i n went two sieges , during Glyndwr ri ing other th W r Si r C o r n e wal l s o f the e C ivil a . George Lewe was a native t hi di s trict . A column o s memory was erected i n th e main street

i n I 8 6 pp . I 1 1 I 4 ( 4 , 9 , 8 8 , 9 , 9 3 , 9 8 , 04 , 35 ,

N o rt o n ( 2 8 3) i s a charming village s ituated i n the valley o f the I t s i s o n e o f the m s f i n the Lug . neighbourhood o t ertile

O n t he s n K i county . hill ide between this village a d nighton s

m t o f o f Si r placed a monu ent a ormer Member Parliament , Richard

- . pp . 2 8 8 Green Price ( 49 , 5 , , 9 3, Ol d Ra dn o r (343) i s a n ancient towns hip which h a s greatly w I ts i s f s decayed during the las t fe centuries . church a amou o n e a n d o f the s i n th e a re , several county eats neighbourhood

s i n D . Bu rl i n o b b Bi rcho e hi toric j (pronounced p ) , mentioned omes

Bi rche l i n co e i s s s i s a n d day as p , a uburb where lime tone quarried ,

f i s a n c i n the . pp . 1 8 Bur a ancient military amp vicinity ( 4 , , 35 ,

1 8 8 1 0 1 1 5 , 5 7 , 3 , 5 , 3 , 0 ,

P a i n s a t e i n the o f th e i s c s l southern portion shire , m . c h ad an d another decayed town It on e a market so e trade ,

1 5 2 RADNORSHIRE

Rh a a de r o n the W e i s c W s y Upper y , a typi al el h

m the c o f c a n d arket town , entre a highland agricultural distri t,

o f f . f h as a large number airs It is also a avourite angling centre . Rhayader ha s always borne the name o f a lawless town from the erection o f i ts castle by t he Lord Rhys i n 1 1 7 8 down to i the Rebecca riots o f the forties . It s asserted that the Radnor As s i z es were formerly held here but were removed to - Presteign ’ - - o n o f H . M s Pe n after the murder of e . judges . y maes to the north o f the town i s po inted out a s the S pot where convicts were

executed o f old . Rhayader h as several small tanyards a n d formerly manu

fact ure d c . pp . 8 1 1 1 2 1 2 2 2 8 2 8 loth ( , , 3, , , , 9 , 34, 39 , 43 , 7 3 , 7 ,

2 8 8 8 6 6 1 1 1 2 0 1 2 1 1 2 1 2 1 2 8 1 8 3 1 41 5 1 ; 9 3 1 94 1 9 5 2 9 1 41 1 1 31 6 1 7 1

1 2 1 2 1 0 1 1 I I 1 6 I I ° 8 1 9 1 3 1 3 1 34 1 35 1 3 1 3 7 ) 39 )

’ S t H ar m o n s the o f i s a parish to north Rhayader , s uppo s ed to have bee n named after the hero o f th e Hallelujah n W c s o f f i c c s . Vi tory , o ten re erred to an ient elsh hronicle Its

Gi ral du s the c s ff o f church , mentioned by , contained mira ulous ta

h s o f s ff St C urig whic cured glandular disease all kinds . This ta i s s aid to have been burnt i n t he turbulent days o f the Reforma

. pp . 2 0 6 8 1 0 tion ( , 9 , 9 , 7 ,

S t an a e K n ow g a township near nighton , is noted only m o f t h fo r S C e f m . O n tanage astle , the ho e Rogers a ily Reeves i s s Hill near the village a prehi toric camp .

m m s S O s b e rn o n e o f Do esday ention tanage as belonging to , t he . . 1 6 1 2 Norman adventurers (PP 9 , 9 3, 9 , 4 ,

W al t o n m O m a ha let near ld Radnor , is the eeting c o f ma n o f the o f t he o f the : pla e y , roads eastern part county

O n i t i s f c fo r that account a avourite entre county gathering s .

(p . DIAGRAMS 15 3

R a dn or

1 . T h e A e a o f h a e d Fig . r R a dnors i re ac re s ) c omp r wi t h th a t o f E ngl a nd a n d W ale s

m a 2 . T h o Fig . e P opul a tion o f Radnors h ire c p red t h h a o f E a a n d W a s 1 1 1 wi t t ng l nd le , 9 115 4 RADNORSHIRE

1 9 1 1

b e s h w r i n t Fig . 3 . Ta l o ing Va iation Popula ion o f Ra dnor s hire

R adn o rshir e Wal e s 20 3 G l amo rg an 1 38 3

’ ‘ - Engl an d an d W al e s 6 1 8

. r M Fig . 4 Comparative D e n s i t y o f Populat ion p e S qu a re ile i n d s h W s G a s a n d E d Ra nor ire , ale , lamorg n hire , nglan a n d W al e s i n 1 9 1 1 (Ea cb dot represen ts ten persons )

P e rma n e n t Gra s s

a cre s

s Gr as se

m“ 0 F th e r 0 O n “ow a nad 3 Re ma in in g Are a

h L a n d in clu din g M o u n t a in 8: He a t

a cre s

7 . P rop o rtion a t e A r e a o f Cult iv a t e d a n d Un c ult iv a t e d L and i n R a dnors h ire i n 1 9 1 0

F i 8 P o o a t e mb e s o f S ok i n g . . r p rtion nu r L ive to Ra dno r s h ire i n 1 9 1 0

C A M H E BRI DGE : PRI NT E D BY jO HN C L A Y , M .A . A T T UNI V E RS I T Y PRE SS .

T H " E LI BRA R‘ ma W RS I T Y OF “4 3 1411 0q