Radnor- 



RAD 3 



which descends through a height of 1 50 feet,* but which 

 * s g ran d only in the time of floods. 



The valleys of the county, especially those of Wye- 

 side and Radnor, afford a considerable extent of mea- 

 dow and arable land, and have a good soil and a corre- 

 sponding climate. The western mountains consist 

 chiefly of primary slate, and in the valleys between them 

 and the forest, there is a retentive substratum of clay. 

 A decomposing slate rock, with a portion of lime, oc- 

 curs in the forest and the other inferior hills, and a 

 fertile loamy soil, upon an absorbing gravel, covers the 

 valleys to the coast. 



Radnorshire has been gradually improving in its 

 agricultural condition. About l-5th of the county is 

 under the plough, and l-10th meadow, and upon which 

 irrigation is produced to some extent. Lime is yielded in 

 great plenty by a quarry near Old Radnor. The greater 

 number of farms are laid out with one half in arable, and 

 the other half in grass lands. The Hereford breed of 

 cattle prevails in the more fertile parts of the county. 



The principal rivers in Radnorshire are the Wye, 

 which enters that county at Savan-y-coed, and runs 

 southward till it separates it from Brecknockshire. 

 The Teme flows through the east of the county, past 

 Ludlow, into the Severn ; and the Lug and the Aro 

 flow through the middle of the county into Hereford- 

 shire. The Elan, the Ithan, the Eddow, and the 

 Mackwy, flow into the Wye. There are a few small 

 lakes in the county, but they are of little importance. 



The chief manufactures in Radnorshire are those of 

 flannels and coarse woollen cloths ; but in general the 

 wool of the county is sold to the manufacturers of the 

 North, by whont) the inhabitants are furnished with 

 cloth in return. Cattle, sheep, horses, and butter, and 

 samples of grain, are carried to the English markets. 

 A lead mine, formerly wrought, has been abandoned. 

 No iron mineral springs exist ; but the chief ones which 

 are saline, sulphureous, and chalybeate, is at Llanrin- 

 dod, which is resorted to by invalids. 



The principal object of antiquity in the county is 

 Offa's Dyke, which commencing near Hay at the river 

 Wye, skirts Radnor and Herefordshire, and enters 

 Montgomeryshire at Pwll-y-Pyod. The only religious 

 house was the abbey of Cwm Hir, founded for .the Cis- 

 tertian monks in 1 143. It was spoiled by Owen Glen- 

 dower ; but a considerable portion of it still stands in 

 ruins. The remains of a Roman station are still seen 

 at Cwm, near Llanrindod. The Roman road passed 

 plose to the base of the hill on which Old Radnor 

 stands. A few fragments of the walls of Radnor Castle 

 still remain ; but the entrenchments are entire. The 

 green court yard is nearly in its original form. In dif- 

 ferent parts of the county, particularly on the top of 

 Gwastedin hill, there are numerous cairns. 



Radnorshire contains six hundreds, and 52 parishes, 

 47 of which are in the diocese of St. David's, and five 

 in that of Hereford. The principal towns are Pres- 

 teigne, a flourishing place with a population of 1387 ; 

 Knighton, a handsome and well-built town on the ri- 

 yer Teme, with 221 houses and 785 inhabitants ; Rhay- 

 ,da, a neat thriving town with a population of about 

 ;500 ; and New Radnor, the subject of the following 

 article. Presteigne is now the county town. 



This county sends two members to Parliament. The 

 population in 1821 was 22,503, of whom 11,300 were 

 males, and 11,203 females. The sum charged to the 

 property tax, in 1811, under the heads of rent of land 

 #nd Jithes, was 



30 R A E 



See Camden's Britannia ; the Beauties of England 

 and Wales, vol. xviii. p. 874 : Skrine's Tours in Wales; 

 Pennant's Tour in Wales ; Barber's Tour through South 

 Wales; Malkins' Scenery, Antiquities, and Biography of 

 South Wales, vol. i. p. 407 ; and Clark's General View 

 of the Agriculture of the County of Radnor, 4-to. 



RADNOR NEW, or MAES-YFED, a borough and 

 market town of South Wales, in the county of Radnor, 

 is situated near the river Somergill, at the mouth of a 

 pass between two hills. Though a town at one time of 

 considerable importance, it consists now only of a few 

 poor looking houses grouped into an irregular street. 

 The public buildings are the town-hall, the prison, and 

 the church. The church has a hall, or south aisle, and 

 chancel, with a tower at the west end. The town wa* 

 formerly defended by a strong wall and a deep moat, 

 some remains of which are still visible. Its castle was 

 a majestic pile, situated upon a neighbouring eminence, 

 but only a small part of it remains. The corporation 

 consists of a bailiff, 25 capital burgesses, two aldermen, 

 a recorder, and other officers. Radnor joins with the 

 other contiguous boroughs in sending a member to 

 parliament. The number of voters is above 300. Po- 

 pulation about 80 houses and 4OO inhabitants. 



See Carlisle's Topographical Dictionary of Wales, and 

 the works quoted in the preceding article. 



RAEBURN, SIR HENRY, the most celebrated por- 

 trait painter that Scotland ever produced, was born 

 on the 4th March, ] 756, and was the son of Mr. Wil- 

 liam Raeburn, a respectable manufacturer at Stock- 

 bridge, one of the suburbs of Edinburgh. Although 

 he had the misfortune to lose both his parents when a 

 child, yet his elder brother William, who succeeded to 

 his father's business, took the charge of his education, 

 which naturally devolved upon him. 



Sir Henry's propensity to drawing was observed only 

 in his striking superiority to the other boys in delineat- 

 ing figures on the slate, at the class of arithmetic ; but 

 this does not seem to have influenced him in the choice 

 of a profession, or to have excited any expectations on 

 the part of his friends. 



At the age of fifteen, he was bound apprentice to an 

 eminent goldsmith in Edinburgh, and it was in this si- 

 tuation that his taste and passion for painting were 

 first developed. He first amused himself with painting 

 miniatures, without having either seen a picture, or re- 

 ceived any instructions in the art. These miniatures 

 were executed in such a superior manner, as to excite 

 the attention of his friends ; and, with the view of en- 

 couraging the young artist, his master took him to see 

 the pictures of David Martin, with which he was de- 

 lighted and astonished. 



Mr. Raeburn now continued to paint miniatures, 

 which came into general demand ; but as this new em-. 

 ployment interfered with his duties as an apprentice, 

 an arrangement was made, by which his master recei- 

 ved a proportion of his earnings, and dispensed with 

 his attendance. 



Having now acquired some experience in this art, 

 Mr. Raeburn began to paint in oil, and on a large scale ; 

 and he was assisted in this task by the kindness of 

 Martin, who lent him several pictures to copy, but who 

 gave him no other kind of aid. In this manner he 

 was gradually led to give up miniature painting, and . 

 as soon as his apprenticeship had expired, became pro- 

 fessionally a portrait painter. 



In 1778, Mr. Raeburn married a daughter of Peter 

 Edgar, Esq. of Bridgelands, with whom he received 



Radnor 

 New, 



* Other accounts state its height at only 70 feet. 



