B R E 



tcknock- July, 10th September, and 17th November. Dis- 

 *""' tance from London by Monmouth 168 miles. N. 

 ~- J Lat. 51 54', W. Long. S 12'. (k) 



BRECKNOCKSHIRE, a county of South 

 Wales, bounded by Radnor on the north, the coun- 

 ties of Card-gan and Caermarthen on the west, Here- 

 fordshire and Monmouthshire on the cast, and by 

 Monmouthshire and Glamorganshire on the south. 

 It is said to derive its name from Brecan, famous in 

 legendary story, who succeeded to it about the com- 

 meucrmt nt of the fifth century. This county is 

 about 35 mil -s in length, 30 in breadth, and 100 in 

 circumference ; containing 512,000 acres of land, 

 2^2,000 of which are in a state of cultivation ; and 

 185 (i(K) are waste, and unlit for culture. It is di- 

 vided into the six hundreds of Binlth, Crickhowel, 

 Devynn.ick, Merthyr, Penkelly, and Talgarth : Its 

 markvt towns, are Brecknock, Biulth, Crickhowel, 

 Hay ; it has 62 parishes, containing 6315 houses, 

 and 31 633 inhabitants ; of whom, 14,346' were re- 

 turned, in 1802, as being employed in agriculture, 

 and 4204 in various trades and manufactures. 



Sublimity and beauty are strikingly combined in 

 the general scenery of this country. Its mountains, 

 rising in rugged majesty, are separated from eaoh 

 othi r by cultivated vales ; or by glades, whose wind- 

 ing rivers are overhung on either side with the rich 

 and varied verdure of extensive and lofty woods. 

 " Between Slanspyddad and Penpont," says an intel- 

 ligent tourist, " the scenery is truly enchanting. 

 The Uske, frequently visible from the road, flows on 

 the right amidst oaks of the most vivid green, which 

 feather down the hills from the bottom to the very 

 summit. All the rudeness of nature, and the aspe- 

 rities of surface, are concealed ; while, for the space 

 of about a mile, every combination of wood, water, 

 and figure of ground, as viewed from the road, unites 

 to constitute the highest perfection of landscape. In 

 majesty and sublimity, the banks of the Wye infi- 

 nitely surpass this ; but in point of beauty, we had 

 seen nothing comparable to this scene." Beyond 

 Penpont, however, the scenery loses much of its in* 

 terest. The country becomes more uniform and dull 

 in its aspect ; the soil degenerates ; and the hills have 

 nothing attractive in their form or appearance, ex- 

 cept that they admit of cultivation, which, though it 

 increases their value, diminishes their picturesque ef- 

 fect. The principal mountain in this county is the 

 Vann, or Brecknock Beacon, which is reckoned the 

 loftiest in South Wales. The most important of its 

 rivers, next to the Wye, which forms a natural boun- 

 dary between this county and Radnor, is the Uske, 

 rising from the Black Mountain, and flowing through 

 a. fine valley towards the town of Brecknock. 



The system of agriculture pursued in Brecknock- 

 shire, is nearly the same as that observed in the con- 

 tiguous county of Hereford ; and the whole district 

 abounds in all the necessary articles ot subsistence. 

 Its chief commodities are corn, cattle, fu>h, and otter's 

 fur, besides woollen cloth, and stockings. Near the 

 borders of Glamorganshire, which abound with coal 

 and iron ore, several forges and iron founderies have 

 lately been established. 



This county appears to have been governed by na- 

 tive princes till the reign of William Rutus, when 



B R E 



Bernard de Newmark invaded it with a large body 

 of English and Normans, and reduced it to subjec- 

 tion. To secure his new conquest, he built castles 

 in various parts of it, and assigned the government 

 of them to his principal officers. With the same view, 

 he married Nest, grand-daughter of one of the na- 

 tive princes, whose revengeful spirit involved her lord 

 in endless trouble, and who was so abandoned as to 

 cause her son to be disinherited, by swearing falsely 

 to Henry I., that he ws the fruit of an unlawful 

 amour. The lordship progressively passed to Milo, 

 Earl of Hereford, and his sons ; to Humphrey de 

 Bohune ; to Philip Bruse; to Thomas Plantagenet, 

 sixth son of Edward III. ; and afterwards to the 

 dukedom of Buckingham, till an attainder vested it 

 in the crown. At the Restoration, James Butler, 

 afterwards duke of Ormond, was createdearl of Breck- 

 nock. 



Besides the antiquities already mentioned in our 

 account of the town of Brecknock, there is a cause- 

 way running nearly at right angles with the Isker, 

 aijd leading probably to the great Roman camp in 

 the neighbourhood. Another Roman road has been 

 discovered near the bridge of Capel Rhyd y Briw, 

 and another along the top of unfrequented mountains. 

 In a field near Brecknock there has also been disco- 

 vered a Roman hypocaust. 



This county is represented by one member in par- 

 liament. See Pennant's Tour in, Wales; Malkin's 

 Scenery, Antiquities, and Biography of South Wales ; 

 Evan's Cambrian Itinerary ; Letters Describing a 

 Tour in South Wales, by a Pedestrian Traveller ; 

 The Itinerary of Archbishop Baldwin, through Wales, 

 A. D. 1 108, by Giraldus de Barri, illustrated with 

 Views, Annotations, &c. by Sir Colt Hoare, Bart. 

 2 vols. 4to. London, 1806 ; and An Original Tour 

 in Wales, in the fourth volume of Philips' Modern 

 Voyages and Travels, (k) 



BREDA, the capital of Dutch Brabant, was an- 

 ciently a city of considerable eminence, and was go- 

 verned by sovereigns of its own. About the year 

 1 100, it was wrested by the Duke of Brabant from 

 the county of Stryen, to which it originally belong- 

 ed ; in 1212, it was held by Godfrey of Bergue as a 

 fief of Brabant ; in 1284, John I., Duke of Brabant, 

 conferred the sovereignty of Breda upon Rason de 

 Gavre ; in 1326 it was sold to John III., Duke ot' 

 Brabant ; in 1351 it was transferred to John de Po- 

 lano, Lord of Lieck ; in 1404, it passed with his 

 grand-daughter Johanna to her husband Engelbert of 

 Nassau, and remained in the family of Nassau, till 

 William III. of England dying without issue, cau- 

 sed it to be left in abeyance. 



Breda suffered severely during the sanguinary 

 struggles in the 16th century, between the Spaniards 

 and the United Provinces, and passed in rapid succes- 

 sion from one master to another. In 1567, it was redu- 

 ced by the Duke of Alva, in consequence of the resist- 

 ance made by William of Nassau, prince of Orange, 

 to the claims of the crown of Spain ; but, in 1577, 

 was again delivered to the states-general. In 1581, 

 it was taken by the Spaniards under CUude de Ber- 

 laimont, an officer of the Duke of Parma; but, in 

 1590, it was regained by Prince Maurice, who sent 

 a party of 60 Dutch soldiers into the place, concepJ-. 



