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1718. The Church is viewed from the north — the northern porch is represented — 

 a cross in the churchyard — and a dial, with the following notes :^" About centre 

 of churchyard are ruines of a cross, the top of which is preserved in the chancel of 

 the Church." .... " Ruines of a dial." The site of the cross is apparentlj' 

 north of the porch, the site of the dial would be at the north-eastern angle of 

 churchyard. At the present time, 1888, no trace is to be found of either cross or 

 dial : the latter, however, existed in the memory of one of the workmen at the 

 time of our visit employed in making preparations for the foundation stone of the 

 restoration of the northern jxjrch, which was to be laid on the following day. 

 The earliest monumental record found bj' Mr. Hill, was of Ann, wife of .John 

 Smith, senr., of Wellbrook, ob. 25, Nov., 1636 ; and amongst about twenty others, 

 the names of the Prossers, of Snowdle, or of SnowdhUl, are most prominent. At 

 present the earliest record deciphered in the churchyard — on a horizontal stone 

 not far from the Norman arch in the south wall — is dated 1665. The tablet in 

 the vestry under the tower, in memory of Eliza Leyghton, who married Rowland 

 Vaughan, is dated 1640. . The history of the restoration of this Church in 

 1869 — 1870, was recently read to the Club, and may be found on page 169 of the 

 Transactions for the year 1882 ; nevertheless, our thanks are due to the Vicar, 

 Mr. Lambert, for jwinting out several overlooked interesting features in con- 

 nection with that event, and with the history of the noble edifice itself. He had 

 caused the altar slab to be uncovered, thus exposing to view the five incised 

 crosses at the four comers and in the centre ; the keen eyes of Mr. Piper also 

 espied one of the dedication crosses on the left-hand side of the south doorway. 



On the morrow, St. Peter's Day, June 29th, the foundation stone of the 

 new porch was to be laid by Mrs. Percy Davies, of Porthmawr, Crickhowell, in 

 commemoration of the 50th year of Her Majesty Queen Victoria's reign. The 

 porch is to be erected at a cost of £180, outside the doorway on the northern 

 side of the nave, opening into the churchyard in front of a grand old yew tree, 

 which although it is difficult to measure on account of irregularities in the growth, 

 may honestly be stated to have a girth of 30 feet around its hollowed stem. 



The "Forge " was next visited. This building, like two similar structures 

 on the Kentchurch property near Pontrilas, bearing the .same name, must have 

 been used for smelting furnaces, judging from the debris of imperfectly smelted 

 iron ore which is exposed on the banks of the adjoining river Dore, and from the 

 embankment enclosing the two acre piece behind the " Forge " being found, upon 

 digging into it, to be partly composed of similar dt^bris. The occurrence of these 

 Forges indicates that the ore was brought — probably on backs of beasts of burden 

 —from the distant iron districts to these timber-abounding spots. Although the 

 distance appears, at first sight, astoundingly great, it sinks into insignificance 

 when compared with what has been going on in the present day. The iron ore 

 smelted in the furnaces of the Rhondda Valley and Dowlais works is transported 

 600 to 700 miles, by sea from Bilbao in Spain to Cardiff, and thence by rail to the 

 works, nor was it until this present year, 1888, that some of the proprietors, 

 having learned to their cost that it is not profitable to work for ore in the very 

 deep workings of their own neighbourhood, instituted the removal of their works 



