47 



instead of "Llan" is clear proof that the church itself was buUt in Roman or 



Mediajiral times. There does not seem to be any record of the building of the 



charch. Indeed, up to the year 1708, there appears to have been considerable 



doubt as to what parish it belonged to, some considering it in the hamlet 



of Blanbwch, in parish of Glasbnry, and others that it was in Llanigon parish. In 



that year there was a long dispute in the Ecclesiastical Court, One Lewis 



Thomas, clerk, Vicar of Llanigon, refused to do duty there, to bv>ry or to baptize, 



alleging that there was no salary attached to the cure. He had, however, 



already officiated there for ten or twelve years, and he was ordered to continue 



to do so. Since that time it has been considered as a chapel of ease to Llanigon, 



and a grant from Queen Ann's bounty has been given to it. Jones-from whose 



history of Breconshire these particulars were obtained-says that some portion 



of the land near it stUl pays tithes to the parish of Glasbary. A recent pamphlet 



by the Rev. Xash Stephenson, states that Capel-y-ffin, or Glynfach, is now a 



perpetual curacy of the annual value of £55-in the gift of the Bishop of St. 



David's. It is worthy of a visit he says "to see the condition to which a buUding 



of the Church of England may be reduced when neglected and uncared for by 



Its legal guardians and friends." Its yew trees are certainly very interesting- 



and well worth a visit-and when we were there, a fine specimen of the field 



thistle (Carduus amensis) could not escape observation, for it grew in great 



luxuriance, full a yard high, on the step of the chuichyard stUe ! 



Dr. Bull went on to say that the district of Capel-y-ffin for many other 

 reasons was most interesting. Not only was there the fine range of rocks caUed 

 the "Taren yr E.gob," which had been alluded to, along the side of the 

 mountain; but within a mile of the church was the beautiful waterfall of the 

 Hondduj and at a short distance from the fall, the very large and interestin<r 

 mass of Travertine, which was called " Twlch-y-foel-las," or the cave of the 

 grey stone. It is about twenty-four feet wide, thirty feet high, and two hundred 

 and ten feet ,n circumference, and has within it a hollow capable of holding 

 several people. It .eems to have fallen down from the rocks above. At this 

 time, on the rocks above, there is another enormous mas. formed by the springs 

 which issue there, and which seems only to require a hard winter or two to 

 become detached itself. Then there is also the rare Aspkmum viride, growing 

 on these Travertine covered rocks, an^ even on the great stone itself. The oak 

 and the beach fern grow there plentifully, and the rare cotton grass, Eriophorurn, 

 vagmatum, m abundance ; and, of course, the scenery was very beautiful. There 

 was so much that was interesting throughout the whole range of the Black 

 Mountains-somanyof the names of the places were so suggestive, and whose 

 meanings seemed passing away-(ezamples of which wero given)-that he could 

 Dot help saying the "History and Legends of the Black Mountains" was » 

 subject worthy of a good author, and he hoped some one would write upon it. 



At the conclusion of the paper and remarks (which were listened to with 

 great interest), the President rose, and said he was placed in a difficult position. 

 He felt deeply indebted to his fdcnd Dr. Bull for the pains he had taken in 



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