II* 



B&KDA. 



110 



al abe liiaul m quarrUa. The Brecknock ai 

 Cual r trough, the village. Mny cairn* 

 ttqaUM* r in the ncht<irbond. There i 



write to UM town of Crkkkowetl: population of th. pariah 5415 

 - > neat anci.nl church of the decorated style, 

 In th* pariah are extenalTe iron work*. 

 The Brecknock and Abergavenny 

 and other early 

 are tome rather 



The aceaerr i* very rtriking. UmtUf u a parochial 

 obapeiry of which lJ~yt*~* U the mother church. It lie* on the 

 MIA of Uangattook: the population in 1851 was 944. showing an 

 tun Hi i mcelMl of M78. attributed to the flouriahing state of the 

 Ur-Urh or (1y.Urh iron work*. Lt<mjU,m>pJ**m-<lt, on the Rhian- 

 god. 10 rnOn K. by a from Brecknock, population of the pariah 1 066 

 tt*T*d to have been a Roman ctation. The remain* of 

 a |uar* Roman camp of Urge OM, called Coed-y-gacr, are still 

 tolenbiy perfect. Roman coin* have been found here. The church 

 m-dtt i* recant, with UM exception of the tower. Lleutgortc, 

 t mile* K.S. K from Brecknock : population 401 in 1851. The ohurch 

 M Mx-wat, with a tower containing fix musical bell*, who*e sound 

 over the adjacent lake. Uyn-Safaddu, i* greatly admired. The 

 \iethodut* and Baptut* have place* of worship. There 

 i parochial charities. I Jyn-Safaddu i* often called Llangorse 

 Pool, on account of it* proximity to the village. Uangy\dr, on the 

 right bank of the Usk. 8 mile* S.K. from Brecknock : population -: 

 the pari*h 324o in 1851. Becides the pariah church it contains place* 

 of worship belonging to the Methodist*, Independents, and Baptists. 

 *om* parochial charitie*. The inhabitant* are largely 

 in iron-work*, coal-mines, and limestone quarries. The 

 : and Abergavenny Canal puses through the parish ; fairs 

 are held in April, October, and December. Llyitcen, on the right 

 bank of th* W ye, 8 mile* X.N.E. from Brecknock : population of 

 th* parish 325 i'n 1851. The little church is picturesquely situated 

 dote by the Wye. The village iUelf U a poor place, although here 

 wa* anciently one of the residence* of the native princes of Wales. 

 LUngoed Castle, in thi* parish, was erected in the 17th century. The 

 ground* of LUngoed Castle lie along the Wye for about two miles, 

 and both by th* river and on the height* afford scene* of surpassing 

 beauty. JJyr'tl. on the upper part of the Uak, 11 miles W. from 

 Brecknock, population of the pariah 1627 in 1851, possesses an ancient 

 and rather interesting church ; there is an endowed chapel-of-oose at 

 Bbyd-y-Briw. The Calvinistio Methodist* and Independents have 

 ckapru bare. Talyank, 8 mile* N'.E. from Brecknock, a considerable 

 village, formerly a borough and market-town: population of the 

 parMh 1SS8 in 1851. The church i* a much better one than Welsh 

 cfaurcbr* usually are. There are some Dissenting chapels. TrecailU, 

 a ward of LJywell pariah, population 274 in 1851, is a good-sized 

 village, with an inn much resorted to by tourist* ; the scenery here is 

 remarkably picturesque, and there are some remains of Carreg Ccunon 

 h *tood on a *teep and lofty rock above the river Cenneu. 

 TWowcr village u a parcel of the parish of Llannhaugel cwru-du, 9 

 from Brecknock : population of the parcel of Tretower 

 29! in 1D51. The chief object of interest is the castle, which is of 

 Norman date, but i* now a mere ruin. It belongs to tho Duke of 



BMAfart. 



jHruiaui far Rccietiaitical and Lrgal PHrpotet This county is 

 wh-lly in UM archdeaconry of Brecon, dioceee of St. David'*, and 

 province of Canterbury. In iu 66 pirishe* there are 23 rectories, 

 l vicarage*, and the remainder perpetual curacies. The assize* are 

 held at Brecknock by the Judge attending the South Welsh cii< nit. 

 County court* are held at Brecknock, Builth. Cri.-khowoll, and Hay. 

 Br*rknnck*hin return* on* member to the Imperial Parliament 



Brecknockshire i* divided by the Poor-Law Commissioners into 

 bur Unions-Brecknock, Builth, Criokhowell, and Hay : the*e Unions 

 BBctud* 107 pariaho* and townships, with a population in 1851 of 

 IJ.U7 ; bat U>* boundaries of the Union* are not exactly coequal 

 with tkoB* of UM county. There WM only one savings bank in the 

 U wa* at Brecknock, and the total amount owing to 

 on Xovember 20th 1851 was 23.87R 12t 2rf. 

 . Mt / tkt P*oflt,T\t manufacture* of this county are 

 fa*> and unimportant, except that of iron, which employs many 

 betwk KUno-l and oUMT wootUn goo<U. such u baice, and coarse 

 Itark* for truoMn, are woven in wtwal .mail factories. The knitting 

 ef ekKktoga, vbiob WM formerly practWI to a gn i,y the 



i Jotmble, are eo much duacre M to have greatly diminiahed 

 indtMtry. 



'-T < Am^miiin.^ Brecknockahire raouuned in the 

 over of tb* Weleb prinon until IUV2, whm Barnard Newmaroh 

 MM UnnU mater aT Braaknack. Kotwitbitan 

 ibrta of.dM W.Uh to drive him from UM country, he micooeded in 

 b*> mq.M*. ead at bh oWh UM lordahip of Brecknock WM 

 toWn^I by ba. M -.Uw. Milo flu WJtor. _rl of H^ord! 

 Tbw rl WM i mi n led by four at bis *na, in turn, and afterward* 

 by Philip 4* Breaa, UM- brother-in law. who .lied alwut ll'H). He 

 WM followed by bw ena WOUaa de Breaa, to whom the Wl.lm, 

 WM eoninMol t Via* John in I1W. L'|B the aoceaaion of Henry 

 III . lUvaald a* Breoa, wbo Ud nurried " 



bis father-in-law and buvlherenU, 



with whom he had engaged in a confederacy against the English 

 king. Llewellyn, incensed at this breach of faith, hud siege to 

 Brecknock, which was however spared at the earnest intercession of 

 the burgesses. Reginald and Llewellyn were afterwards reconciled. 

 Reginald died in 1228, and was buried in the I'; li at Breck- 



nock. Henry carried on the war against Llewellyn and hi* Welsh 

 follower*. Kdward I. continued the sanguinary contest till 

 when his supplies having been intercepted, and his army harassed by 

 the king's troops, Llewellyn quitted his stronghold in 

 marched towards Brecknock, and, unaware of the desertion of his 

 friends, was slain near Builth by one Adam de Francton, who plunged 

 a spear into his body. Llewellyn was buried at a place now called 

 2efn-y-bedd (meaning the back, or ridge of the grave), near Builth. 

 In 1286 the lands of De Bohun, who had succeeded to the possessions 

 of De Breos in Brecknockshire, were invaded and pillaged by the 

 retainers of his late guardian, Gilbert, earl of Gloucester, who held 

 tho lordship of Glamorgan. De Bohun quickly retaliated upon the 

 men of Glamorganshire ; and for this feud the king sentenced the 

 two barons to forfeit for their respective lives the liberties of Breck- 

 nock and Glamorgan, and to be kept in custody during hix pleasure. 

 They afterwards compounded with the crown, Hereford for 1000, and 

 Gloucester for 10,000 marks. Humphrey was a benefactor t 

 monks, and augmenter of the liberties and privileges of the burgesses 

 of Brecknock ; he died at Plessy in 1298. He was succeeded by his 

 eldest son, who, as an atonement for his father's conduct, mirrri. 

 to the crown the earldoms of Hereford and Essex, together with the 

 constableship of England; and shortly after married Elizabeth, 

 seventh daughter of Edward I., when the king, with certain reserva- 

 tions, restored to him his office and estates. After the disaffected 

 barons had been defeated in the early part of the 14th centur 

 younger Despencer who was now constituted governor uf I!ix*cknock 

 Castle, obtained the lordship and the property of the late Earl of 

 Hereford, who hod been killed at the battle fought at Boroughbridge, 

 in 1321. Upon tho death of the Despcucers, the confiscations con- 

 sequent on the rebellion were reversed, and the property restor 

 the family of the Herefords, in the person of John de Bohun. Thin 

 earl, after having been created knight of the bath, died in 1335. 

 The lordship of Brecknock remained in the family till the death of 

 William the lost of the male line of the noble family of De liohuns. 

 The lordship of Brecknock now reverted to Henry IV., who hod 

 married Mary, the daughter of the last De Bohun. Henry IV. granted 

 to the inhabitants of Brecknock an exemption from tolls and other 

 payments, renewed the benefactions to the monks, and gave them 

 their first royal charter. After passing through several hands I 

 nock came as an inheritance to the young duke of Buckingham. h'< 

 lived in retirement within the walls of Brecknock during the greater 

 part of the reign of Edward IV. On the death of this king h" 

 he left his seclusion, and became a conspicuous supporter of the 

 Duke of Gloucester, until he was seated on the throne. In reward 

 for these services, Richard made him governor of all his castles in 

 Wales, and lord high constable of England, "itli other lucrative and 

 honourable offices; he also promised to restore to him all the lands 

 forfeited by the liohmm, which would have inadi- him the riehext and 

 :ir>-> piAverlul nobleman in England. These promises 

 fullilli-.l ; liinkiiigliuni, OH is well known, conspired against the king, 

 took arms with hi followers, but was taken, and ultimately executed 

 at Salisbury without a trial. The Duke of Richmond afterwards 

 passed through Brecknockshire, where he greatly increased the 

 number of his followers. As noon as he was cstabli-h- -1 up. ,11 the 

 throne, he restored to Edward, the son of the last Duke of liuek- 

 ingltam, tho estates and titles of his father, and in 1504 made him 

 high constable of England the hut person that over held that office. 

 He was afterwards accused of treason, and executed iu 1521. The 

 dukedom of Buckingham was now extinct, and the lordship of Breck- 

 nock with it* dependencies merged in the crown. Upon the union of 

 England and Wales, which took place in 1534, iu th. -.y.ili , 

 the reign of Henry VIII., Brecknockshire became subject to English 

 laws and authorities, and its history from this time must be con- 

 sidered in conjunction with the general history of the kingdom. 



Brecknockshire abounds in antiquities. The |.rinci[>al castles have 

 been at Brecknock, Builth, Crickhowcll, and Hay ; at which lost 

 place, after the destruction of its first castle, "t' whi.h nothing but 

 an archway remains, a second was built in the reign "t Kli/.ubcth or 

 Junes I., which is at this time inhabited, i <st be 



mentioned remain* or trace* of castles at Tretower. i >\v<-ll, 



at BlanlU fin and Dinon, in tho parish of Talgorth, at Trecastl. 

 !' nk< )!y. at Unmllys, where a well-preserved round tower is standing, 

 and at Cocrburis, in the parish of Llanganteu. There are trace* of 

 Roman encampments and <.i Itritish stations at various places in the 

 county. Cromlechs, cairns, and tumuli, or mounds where the dead 

 have been interred, are found in many parts of the count v ; \\hi.-h 

 has al*o been intersected by several Roman roads. The '- 

 language, which was formerly spoken throughout the whole of 

 lockshire, is now greatly disused in the south nnd west 

 us of the county. It is estimated that the English language 

 1* spoken ordinarily by nearly half the population. 



ii\. a town in the Dutch province of North Brabant, is 

 situated at the confluence of the Merk and the Aa, 22 miles W. by 



