C A E 



antl well fiippllcJ ; provifions in general are dieap, and fifh 

 exceedingly rtafonable. A conliderable irnn foundery and 

 tin-plate manufadory turnirti employment to a number of 

 hand's. The fmclting lioui'cs for Lad ore, dug in the north- 

 ern part of the county, belonging to lord Cawdor, are now 

 flint up. Here are a fmall port and quay for coading veflels, 

 principally to Brillol and London. The tide rifea at the 

 bridije from eight to twelve feet ; but, owing to the flial- 

 lowi in t'lc bed of the river below, veiVols of much burthen 

 find a difficulty in coming up to the quay. Since the de- 

 cline of the trade at Kidwelly, that of Caermarthen has in- 

 creafed ; and with fpint and property much more might be 

 done. Here is a rope-walk ; and a few vctFcls are built for 

 fale. Adjoining Lammas- llreit are the walls of a priory of 

 Fratres Grifci : this was a cell in thecullody of the abbey of 

 St. Augulliue at Briltol. In Priory-ilreet the (hell of aii- 

 otlier religi.ius houfe is llill (landing, which was appropri- 

 ated to Black Friars, or canons of St. Augulhne, and 

 founded btfore the year 1 148. The entrance into the court 

 is bv a bold gateway, over which are the arms of the 

 founder. The principal apartments are llill dillingniiliable, 

 ard the tracery of fomc of the wind.iws almoll entire. Gy- 

 raldus mentions it as being, in his time, furroundcd with 

 brick walls ; fome remains of which, towards the river, are 

 llill extant. This town is famous for having given birth to 

 Merlin Ambrofe, the reputed magician, of whom many fa- 

 bulous (lories have been related. Sclden cenfidcrs Merlin 

 or Merdhin (whence Caerfyrddin) as having derived his 

 name from the town ; but the general opinion is, that Caer- 

 Mtrdin, or Merlin's town, was fo called from Merlin's being 

 found there. Not far from the town is a hill, called Mer- 

 lin's Hill, near the brow of which is a rock, known by the 

 name of Mtrliu's Chair, in which, it is faid, that famous 

 prophet ufed to fit, when he uttered his prophecies. Ca- 

 ermarthen lays claim to Roman origin. It was the Mari- 

 duniim of Antoninus, and long the feat of the South- 

 Wallian princes, where they held their great national coun- 

 cils, or occalional parliaments. Nor is it lefs confpicuous 

 on the fubfcquent page of hidory. It was elleemed of fo 

 much importance as to become an enviable objeft with every 

 hollile party, and repeatedly facked, pillaged, and burnt, 

 by both friends and enemies. By whom it was fortified, 

 and its caftle built, there are no authentic documents to 

 (how ; nor do we hear much of it, tdl the asra of difficulty 

 and conflift to the Welfh, occafioned by the unjullifiable 

 invafion and unprecedented cruelty of the Anglo-Normans. 

 On the acceffion of Henry I. to the throne, Wales became 

 a new theatre for the difplay of iniquity ; and the oppreffive 

 meafures and alienations of property, which before were 

 chiefly confined to the borders, were extended to the in- 

 terior: ill confequence of which the royal relidence was re- 

 moved to Dinevor, and Caermarthen was rendered a llrong 

 fortified poll. In 11 16 we find it in the hands of the Eng- 

 lifh, held for the king by Owen ap Caradoc. But Gryf- 

 fydd ap Rys, who well knew the importance of this place, 

 fent fpies to furvey the works and afcertain their ftrength : 

 having received a favourable account, he fuddenly marched 

 at night, rufhed on the town, and by a coup de main took 

 pod'Aitm. The governor was killed, the garrifon fled; and 

 Gryffydd, having burnt the place, and difmantled the caftle, 

 relumed with his fpoils to his refidence at Strata Tywy. It 

 was again laid in afhes, in 1137, by Owen Gwynedd ; re- 

 built and fortified by Gilbert earl of Clare ; about the year 

 1 143 ; taken by Cadell Con of Gryffydd ap Rys ; and again 

 in podeffiun of the Enghih under WiUiani Tubcrville, who, 

 when it was befieged by Rhys in J 158, dellroyed the 

 bridge, at that time of wood, for its better fecurity and de- 



C A E 



fence. Though Rhys was unfuccefsful at th"s time, he 

 took and defpoiled it in 1195, after quelling ihe unnatural 

 rebellion of his fons. In the reign of John, I-15, it was 

 taken; and the callle was rafed in 1222 by Llewelyn, 

 who, taking advantage of the abfence of the earl of Pem- 

 broke, the governor, took this lortrefs and Cardigan, putting 

 the garrifons to the fword. Wc iind it foon afterwards in 

 the poffefrion of the EngliAi, when the hm<- carl of Pem- 

 broke, having confederated wit!' the Wcllh, blockaded it 

 ineOtftnally for three months. The remains of this import- 

 ant fortrcfs are iliU vifible on a rocky eminence : additions 

 have been lattly made, and it is now ufcd as the conn'y 

 gaul. When this territory was erected into a principality 

 by the crown of England, the chancery and exchequer 

 courts wtre held here. Caermartlien was created a borough 

 town, 3S Henry VIJI. with the privilege of returning one 

 member to parliament. It contains 945 houfes, and 5548 

 inhabitants , has two weekly markets, SVcdncfday and Sa- 

 turday ; confiderable trade, but no internal manufaClure ; 

 and is fituated 226 miles W. from London. Evans's Tour 

 througli South Wales, Svo. 1804. 



CAERMARTHENSHIRE is one of the fouthem 

 counties of Wales, bounded on the north by Caidigandiire, 

 on the eaft by Brccknockfliiie, on the well by Pcmbroke- 

 (hiie, and on the foutli by Glamorganfliire and part of the 

 fea. Its extent from eaft to well is above fortv-fivc miles, 

 and only about twenty in the longeft diameter from north to 

 foiith. The general furface of this traft of country is hilly, 

 which in the northern and eallern parts rife into mountains. 

 As in mod hilly territories, the vallits are chiefly narrow, 

 and well watered with mountain llreams, which in ftormy 

 weather ru(h down in torrents. Among the vales that of 

 the Tovy or Tavvy is the principal : this croffts the whole of 

 the county, and in fome places is above two miles in breadth, 

 and abounds with beauties. 



The principal rivers are the Tovy, the Taw, the Cothy, 

 the Dulas, and Gwilly : the former has its fource among 

 the Cardiganftiire mountains, and after its entrance into this 

 county, at the northern boundary, is reinforced by a con- 

 tinual fucceffion of thofe numerous ftreams which give beauty 

 and fertility to the landfcape. Before the Tovy reaches 

 Caermarthen it receives the Cothy and Gwilly ; the Cowen 

 brings with it the Towa and Carkenny ; and the Taw re- 

 ceives the Morlas and Cair. 



The climate and foil of this county are much celebrated, 

 though the lands are not found favourable to wheat. Bar- 

 ley ard oats are the moll profitable crops, and great quan- 

 tities of the latter are annually exported to Briftol. Black 

 cattle and horfes are bred in abundance on the hills, and are 

 the chiel article of traffic in the neighbourirg fairs. Wood, 

 though ft ill plentiful, has fuffcred great defalcation of late 

 years. The county abounds with limellone, and coal is ob- 

 tained in many parts of it. Iron-works, tin-works, and 

 lead mines, alfo abound, which, combining with the local 

 advantages, and with a fupply of butter, (tone-coal, bark, 

 and oak timber, render the export trade very confiderable. 



Caermarthenlhire is divided into fix hundreds, and includes 

 fix market-towns, and eighty-feven parifhes, which are 

 within the diocefe of St. David's and province of Canter- 

 bury. It returns two members to the imperial parliament, 

 one for the county, and one for the principal town. Some 

 vcltigcs of Roman roads, and other monuments of remote 

 antiquity, are remaining vifible in this county. Near Whit- 

 land is a circ'e of upright llones ; and between the rivers 

 Cowen and Towa is a remarkable barrow, which enclofed a 

 kiftvaen. At Whitland is an encampment fuppofed to be 

 Romaa from the Roman coins that have bccB found within its 



vallum. 



