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MOXTFAUOOX. 



MONTGOMERYSHraE. 



SM 



prarent it from ■tUiaing any cnntinuoiii proiiparitjr. The priaoipal 

 •rtiolM vf export are the produoo of the niini<Taas kerdt of the 

 oovntrjr, oa Lidca, aalted and jork^-d bref, butter, tallow, hair, aiid 

 boTM, to a Ter7 ooneidenible amount— between 5 and 6 milUoni of 

 doUank The import* consitt chieflr of Oritiah manufacturea, hard- 

 ware, flour, wine, colonial produor, adt, fte. 

 MONTFAUCOy. [Loret. Haoti.] 

 MONTFERRAND. [CLKBKOjrr.] 

 MONTKORT. fIu.«iT-ViLAi.s« ; Seisb kt-Obe] 

 MONTOOMERY, the capiul of Moutgomeiyshire, NoHh Wales, 

 a muniripal and parliamentary borou)(b, and coi^ointly with Pool, o^ 

 Welihpool, the s<«t of a Poor-Law Union, in the parish of Hout- 



riery, i« litoated on the eastern border of the eoun^, in 52° Si' 

 lat, 8* 8' W. long., distant 168 miles N.W. by N. from London. 

 The population of tbe borough in 1851 was 1248. In conjunction 

 with 6ra other boroughs Montgomery returns one member to the 

 Imperial Parliament The liviug is a rectory in the archdeaconry of 

 Salop and diocrae of Hereford. Montgomery and Pool Poor-Law 

 Union contains 18 pariahes and townxhips, with an area of 63,822 

 acres, and a population iu 1851 of 16,561. 



The town stauda partly oa the slope and partly on the summit of 

 a biU. The four principal streets meet in the inarket-placo iu the 

 centre of the town. The house* are wrll built, and the town bus a 

 nspeotabla appearance. The churuh is an sncient cruciform building, 

 in the early Engliah style, with a tower of recent erection. There 

 are in the town a chapel for Calvinistic Methodi-it*, a Free school for 

 20 boys, and another school with » small endowment. The town-hall 

 is a brick building, with a market-house underneath ; the county jail 

 is on the road to Shrewsbury. A market for com and proviainns is 

 held on Thursday. There are four yearly fair*. The borough has 

 returned a member to Parliament from the reign of Henry VIII. 



Baldwin or Baldwyn, who had been appointed lieutenant of the 

 Marches by William the Conqueror, built a castle or fortress here, 

 and laid the foundations of the town in 1092. Both wi^re almost 

 immediately captured by the Welsh, from whom they were taken in 

 1098 by Roger de Montgomery, earl of Arundel an<l Shrewsbury. In 

 the eiril war of Chaises I., tbe aistle was given up by the governor, 

 Ijord Herbert of Cherbnry, to the Parliaioeutnrians. It was after- 

 wards diomantled by tbe order of the House of Commons. The 

 castle stood on a steep eminence on the north of the town. The 

 Mmains consist of part of a tower at the south-west angle, and some 

 portions of the wall*. A few fragments of the town wall remain. 

 At tbe foot of the castle-hill are traces of a small fort ; and on a 

 neighbouring hill are the remains of an extensive British camp. 

 MONTOOMERY. [Alabsjia.] 



MONTOOMERYSHIKE, a county of North Wales, lying between 

 62* 20' and 62* 81' N. lat. 2* 69' and 8" 55' W. long., is bounded N. 

 by Denbighshire, E. and S.E. by Shropshire, S. by Radnomhire, S.W. 

 by Cardiganshire, and W. and N.W. by Meriouethshire. The area of 

 tbs ooanty is 756 square miles, or 483,323 statute acres. The popu- 

 lation in 1841 was 69,607 ; and 67,385 in 1861. More than half of 

 ths population speak only Welsh. 



Siujaet and Otology. — Montgomeryshire is an inland county, and 

 Iwlongs wholly to the mountainous tract of Wales. A large portion 

 of it otnsists of wide, bleak, and lofty moorlands, where human 

 habitations ar« wide apart ; the river valleys, especially towards 

 England, are low and warm, and clotheil in many places with luxuriant 

 tio»>«r. It Leloni;s entirely to the basin of the Severn, with the 

 exception of a small tract in the extreme west, on tbe confines of 

 Cardiganshire and Merionethshire, which is drained by the Uovey and 

 alopea towards the south-wnat "The edge of this part of the basin of 

 the Severn is formed by on offshoot from PUnlimmon, which joins 

 a branch of tbe B<'rwyn Mouutaiua that screens the vale of the Dovey 

 towards the southesKt, and by the crest of the Berwyn range, which 

 forms the northern boundary and separates the feeders of the Severn 

 fiom those of the Dee. From the Breiddin Bills, which form the 

 most eastern part of the county, and are partly in Shropshire, an 

 irrsgolar line of heights runs westward past Welshpool and Llanfair, 

 near which it turns to tbe south-west and joins the brauch of the 

 Barwrn Mountains before mentioned. This range forms the water- 

 AaA b-'tween the Severn and it* feeder the Vyniwy. The Breiddin 

 Hills are distinguished by three peaks, on one of which, called Craig-y- 

 Bniddio, i* an obelisk in memory of Lord Rodney. 



The soutb-saHem border is occupied by tliebeights which extend 

 from the nsighbourfaood of Shrewsbury across Clun Forest to Rhayadir 

 in Radnorshire. The Berwyn Chain risoi to the height of 2014 feet 

 •t Um head of the Taoai on the northern boundary ; but its culmi- 

 aatiag point, Cadsr Berwyn, farther eaat, reaches the altitude of 

 SB«S fed Tbe Brdddfat HUls are about 1200 feet high. Kerry Hill 

 and Llandinam Mountahi, in the chain that skirts the Shropshire and 

 Radnorshire border, are 1895 feet high. PUnlimmon is partly in this 

 oonnty, but iU summit (2463 feet) is just within the border of 

 Caidiganshire. 



The county is almoat rntirely ooeupisd by the slats rocks which 

 ovanpnad so lane a portion of Walsa. The principal exception* are 

 tlie Breiddin HiUs, which are composed of granite, irr<-en*tone, and 

 conglomerate ; and a email tract near the junction of the Severn and 

 ths Vyniwy, where tlM new red-aaodstone, or red marl of Cheshire 



and Shropshire, is found. The mineral treasures are not very abundant 

 Leaii and zino are procured from mines near Llangynnog in tbe bills 

 that bound the valley of the Tanat ; lead iu tbe Berwyn Mountains, 

 copper in Plinlimmon, ^nd copper ami sine between Llaufyllin and 

 Oswestry, on the Shropshire border. Millstones are quarriod in the 

 Breiddin Hill't: stones for other purposes in the neighbourhood of 

 Pliulimmon ; slates of rather inferior quality at Llangynung iu the 

 vale of the Tanat, at LlanwtUIrn in the vale of the Vyrowy. in ths 

 hills near Llanidloes, and at Machynlleth ; and a little coal and lime- 

 stone near the border of Shro|>shiro. In the Plinlimmon Mountains, 

 and several other parts of the county, are wide tract* of bog, from 

 which peat is dug for fuel. 



Hydrography, Communicatiotu, ic. — The Severn is the principal 

 river of the county ; it rises on the eastern side of Plinlimmon, and 

 flows eaat about 12 miles to Llanidloes, receiving at that town the 

 Clywedog and a number of small brooks. From Llanidloes the Severn 

 flows north-east in a winding channel about 38 miles, past Kewtown 

 and Welshpool, to the junction of the Vyniwy, a little below which 

 point it enters Shropshire. That part of the course of the Severn 

 which lies in Montgomeryshire or on the border may be estimated 

 at 51 miles. 



The Vyrnwy (spreading river) riies on the north-west border near 

 Bwlch-y-Pawl, and receiving a number of small streams, flows south- 

 east in a winding channel 22 miles to its junction at Hathrafel with 

 tbe Eiuion, which is called the Bonw above Llanvair. From Math- 

 nifel the Vymwy flows 9 miles till it receives the Cain, 11 or 12 miles 

 lotig, from above Llaufyllin ; and about a mile lower down the Tanat 

 Tbe vale of the Tanat is admired for its scenery. From tbe junction 

 of the Tanat the Vymwy flows about 9 miles further to its junction 

 with the Severn. Ite whole course is about 50 miles. The Vyrnwy 

 and ite feeders are among the best angling streams in Wales ; trout, 

 salmon, grayling, and other fish abouud. Most of the rivers in the 

 county are well stocked with fish. 



The south-western angle of the county is drained by the Wye, 

 which rises on tbe soutli-eost side of Pliulimmon near the source of 

 the Severn, and flows south-eant 13 miles into Radnorshire, receiving 

 by the way the Tarrenig, the Biilno, and the Naut-y-DurreL 



Tbe Dovey chiefly belongs to Merionethshire. It enters Mont- 

 gomeryshire about 4 miles below Dinas-y-Mowddy, ancl Quwa about 

 10 miles to the neigbbonrhood of Machynlleth, where it agaiu touches 

 Merionethshire. Its remaining coui-'te is between Merionethshire on 

 tbe north-west, and Montgomerysbii-e and Cardiganshire on tbe south- 

 east Its chief tributaries in this county are the Twymynd and the 

 Dulos, which flow northward from the range connecting Plinlimmou 

 with the Berwyn Mouutains. The Twymynd forms a magnificent 

 cataract at Frwd Vawr, not far from its soui-oe; after heavy rains the 

 fall is very gnmd, with a perpendicular descent of 130 feet The 

 Llyfnant, another feeder of the Dovey, separates Montgomeryshire 

 from Cardiganshire. The glen of the Llyfnant is one of the finest 

 examples of Welsh river scenery; the river makes a fine fall over 

 immense rocks called Pystyll-y-Llyn. The Dulaa has its source in two 

 small lakes, the Olas Llyn and Beigue Llyn. 



Of the rivers only the Severn and the Dovey are navigable in this 

 county. Tbe navigation of the Severn begins at Welshpool ; that of 

 the Dovey in the neighbourhood of Machynlleth. The only navigable 

 canal is tbe Montgomeryshire Canal, which commences iu tbe Severn 

 at Newtown, and runs along tbe valley of that river past Welshpool, 

 about 4 miles below which it turns northward to Llanymyr.euh in 

 Shropshire, in which county it joins a brauch of the Ellesmere Canal. 

 It has a short branch below Welshpool to QuilsGeld. 



The principal roads which pass through Montgomeryshire are those 

 from London by Shrewsbury to Caernarvon, Barmouth, Towyn, and 

 Aberystwith. The rood to Caernarvon crosses the nortb-easteru side 

 of the county near the Denbi);hshire border. The Barmouth road 

 passes through the centre of the county by Welshpool and Llanfair 

 to Dinas-y-Mowddy iu Merionethshire. The road across the Berwyn 

 Mountain* east of Mallwyd is one of the bleakest in Great Britain ; 

 but it commands views of Pliulimmon and Cader-Idris. The road to 

 Towyn branches from the Barmouth rood between Welshpool and 

 Llanfair. The Aberystwith road passes through Montgomery and 

 along the valley of the Severn by Newtown and Llanidloes to Llau- 

 gerrig, and thence by the valley of the Wye into Canliganshire. 



Sml and Produce. — The soil in the mounteinous uplands of the 

 county is generally thin, cold, and moory ; chiefly fitted for mountain 

 pasture, but in some spots yielding oats, rye, and potatoes. In the 

 valleys, especially towards Englsnd, the soil is i;ood, and here wheat, 

 barley, and flax are raised. Qreat numbers of small cattle, sheep, and 

 ponies are bred. There were formerly vast forests iu this county, of 

 which there are some remains on the hills near Camo. 



Diritioni, Towns, ic. — Montgomeryshire takes its names from the 

 town and csstle of Montgomery, fouuded by Baldwin, lieutenant of tbe 

 Marches to William the Conqueror and William Rufus, and recaptured, 

 probably from the Welsh, by Roger de Montgomery, earl of Shrews- 

 bury, who gav<' both to town and castle his own name. The Wil^h 

 call the town, from the name of its original founder, Tre Fnldwyn, 

 and the county Sir Tre Faldwyn. The county was formed in tbe reign 

 of Henry VIII. It is divided ii.to 9 hundreds:— Llanfyllin, north; 

 Deythur, north-east; Pool, north-east; Cawrsa, east ; Mathnifel, central 



