Cibvavy of t:he Cheoiocjical gtmxmvy PRINCETON • NEW JERSEY BX 5107 .S3 T5 1874 Thomas, David ^hard^ A history of the dioce St. Asaph, general, A HISTORY of Tnu DIOCESE OF ST. ASAPH, GENERAL, CATHEDRAL, AND PAROCHIAL. TOtf) Illustrations. BY THE REV. D. R. THOMAS, M.A., KECTOB OP ST. MAEY'S, CEFN. AUTHOR OF "Y FFTBDD YJTG NGHF.IST"; " HEX KGLWTS BIN TADAU"; " CONFFIKMASIWN"; ETC. LONDON: JAMES PARKER & Co., 377, STRAND. St. Asaph: CHARLES HUGHES. MDCCCLXXIV. LONDON: RICHARDS, 37, GREAT QUEEN STREET, W.C. PKEFACE. In bringing this work to a close, a few words may not be inap- propriate as to its sources, purpose, and arrangement. The first intention was to produce a new edition of Browne Willis's Survey of St. Asaph, bringing Edwards's work down to the pre- sent day ; but for various reasons this idea was soon laid aside for the more complete, and I would hope more interesting and useful plan now adopted. It seemed to me desirable to exhibit, more fully than had yet been done, the connection of the leading characters with the times and places with which they were more directly concerned ; more especially their relative influence upon each other within the narrow limits of this dio- cese, and their relation to the wider field of the history of their times. Hence the first portion of the work takes the form of a general history of the diocese from the earliest period to the present time, constructed, I trust, in a fair and impartial spirit, in accordance with the evidence of local facts and records, and supplying at the same time a reliable index to the history of the Church in the Principality. To this succeeds a history of the Cathedral from its first foundation down to the restoration now in progress, embracing an account of its fabric, endowments, and constitution. And this is followed by a condensed summary of the memoirs, so laboriously and carefully compiled by Browne Willis in 1719, and amplified by Mr. Edwards in the edition of iv PREFACE. 1801 ; and to their work, without which this one would proba- bly never have been undertaken, I desire to express the deepest obligations. The last, and by far the largest, if not the most important, portion is new, not only to their plan, but, as far as I am aware, to the diocesan histories of the kingdom, as it com- prises an ecclesiastical account of every parish in the diocese in all those details which seem of most permanent value and * interest for a work of this kind. In carrying out this plan I have, in addition to the sources of information generally available, been able to make use of the Transcript of Llyfr Coch Asaph (Liber Euber Assavensis) and other important Diocesan MSS. in the Bishop's library, a favour which Bishop Short very courteously granted, and his successor Bishop Hughes has with equal kindness continued. To the memory of Bishop Short I would add a further tribute as to one who took much interest in parochial history, and frequently urged his clergy to write out an account of their own parishes. And with him I would join the name of the late Rev. Arthur West Haddan, joint editor of Councils and Ecclesiastical Docu- ments, to whom I am indebted for much kindly sympathy and encouragement at the commencement of the work, as well as for the offer, the third of its kind, to undertake the laborious office of correcting the proof for the press, a labour for which, as far as the history of the diocese is concerned, my best thanks are due to the Rev. Canon Williams of Rhydycroesau; the remainder having been of too intricate and tedious a character to admit of so much encroachment on another's time. The history of the Cathedral I should have been glad to have rendered more complete ; but under the circumstances I have endeavoured to make it as full and accurate as the materials within my reach admitted of. For the purposes of the parochial histories, a personal visit has been made in almost every instance, old registers and parish PREFACE. V books have been examined, and the churches carefully inspected, and such details written down as seemed to be of most perma- nent interest as a record of the past and a witness of the present. The charities have been summarised for the most part froni the Official Report issued in 1837, but corrected and adapted to the present time. The list of incumbents follows that of Edwards, completed to the latest date. In some cases parochial accounts already prepared by the clergy have been placed at my service ; in others much information has been derived from various sources ; e. g., for some of the Montgomeryshire parishes, from the Mont- gomenji/iirt Collations, edited by Mr. M. C. Jones. F.S.A.; for those of Merionethshire, from some MS. notes of that eminent antiquary, Edward Lhuyd, now in the Peniarth Library, which 'Sir. W. W. E. Wynne courteously permitted me to copy ; and for antiquarian notes in general to that valuable repertory the pages of the Archaologia Cambren-sis. For the transferred dean- eries of Dyffryn Clwyd and (portion of) Wrexham I have to thank the registrars of Bangor, Chester, and Lichfield for per- mission to inspect documents ; and for information relative to Kerry, the registrar of St. David's ; whilst to the registrar of St. Asaph, and especially to Mr. Robert Roberts, the deputy regis- trar, I beg to offer my acknowledgments for ready assistance at all times. These various materials, ■ undique collata membra," when weeded, condensed and methodised, have been almost al- ways submitted to the clergy ; and to their great readiness to look over the same, to correct errors and supply defects, and to the numerous correspondents who have so wittingly supplied information, I must attribute the accuracy which will. I trust, be found to characterise this work, notwithstanding its vast amount of minute and varied details. For the loan of woodblocks I have to thank the respective clergy and the Secretaries of the Archaologia Camhrcnsis ; and for drawings for the photolithographs, etc.. I am much indebted vi PREFACE. to Mr. Ferrey, A.RI.B.A, Mr. Arthur Baker, Mr. Edward Hay- cock, and Messrs. Lloyd- Williams and Underwood, to whose illustrations of the Village Churehes of Denbighshire I have great pleasure in bearing witness as a valuable and interesting accom- paniment to this work. Lastly to the subscribers, by whose assistance I have been able to carry out this design, I have much satisfaction in now offering the completed work; a work which not only stands unique, I believe, in its completeness as a diocesan book, but one which will, I trust, supply a nucleus for many fuller paro- chial histories, and be found to merit for itself a standard place in its own special line, St. Mary's, Cefn, July 28, 1874, CONTENTS. THE HISTORY OF THE DIOCESE. CHAPTEB PAGE I. The Origin of the See . . .1 II. The British Church . . . .11 III. Landmarks in its early History . , . . # 24 IV. To the Annexation of the Principality . . .35 V. After the Annexation . . . . ,51 VI. The pre -Reformation Period . . . .65 VII. The Reformation . . . . .78 VIII. The Commonwealth . . . . .95 IX. From the Restoration to the Revolution . . 1 10 X. Effects of the Revolution . . . .126 XI. Dissent and Methodism .... 137 XII. Present State of the Diocese .... 152 APPENDICES. New Churches and ecclesiastical Parishes . . . .168 Churches rebuilt down to 1869 . . . . .169 „ enlarged or restored . . . . .170 School-Churches . . . . . .171 Number of Churches in the Diocese . . . .171 Church- Schools, 1866 . . . .172 „ ditto, National Society's Report, 1866-7 . . .173 „ Diocesan Collections for Spiritual Purposes . . 174 „ Widows' and Orphans' Charity . . .175 The History of the Cathedral Church . . . 177-216 Bishops of the Diocese . . . . .219 Archdeacons ....... 236 of St. Asaph . . . .238 „ of Montgomery ..... 238 Chancellors of the Diocese ..... 239 Deans of the Cathedral ...... 241 viii CONTENTS. page Prebendaries of Faenol, " Precentors" .... 246 „ Llannefydd, u Chancellors'' . . . .248 „ Meliden, " Treasurers" .... 250 „ Llanfair, first Comportion . . . 251 „ Llanfair, second Comport ii »u . . . 254 „ Meifod, " Sacristans" .... 255 Canons Cursal : I. David ap Howel .... 257 II. Arturi Bulkeley . . . .258 „ III. Eicardi Harrison . .260 „ IV. Johannis Griffith . . .261 V. Adam Bekensall . . .262 „ VI. Radulphi de Birkenhead . .263 „ VII. Galfridi Ruthin . . . .263 Residentiary Canons ...... 265 Honorary Canons ..... 265, 268 Minor Canons, or Vicars Choral ..... 267 AN ECCLESIASTICAL ACCOUNT OF THE SEVERAL PARISHES ARRANGED IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER ACCORDING TO THEIR DEANERIES. I. The Deanery of St. Asaph II. III. IV. V. VI. VII. VIII. IX. X. XI. XII. Caedewen Denbigh . Dyffryn Clwyd Holywell . Llangollen Llanrwst . Mold Oswestry . Penllyn and Edeirnion Pool and Caereinion Wrexham 271-309 310-349 350-402 403-457 458-498 498-531 532-579 580-627 628-682 683-725 726-796 796-863 ADDENDA OF DIOCESAN SOCIETIES, RESTORATIONS, etc. Diocesan Board of Education ..... 864 Church Extension Society .... 865 Church Building Society (donors) . . . 866 Bishop Carey's Fund ...... 867 New Parishes, Restorations, and Augmentations . . . 868 Promotions to July, 1874 ... 877 Corrigenda . . . . . , 880 Index 882 List of Subscribers ...... 880 CONTEXTS. ix ILLUSTRATIONS. The Cathedral, exterior, from south-west . . Frontispiece „ „ interior, the Choir . . .to face p. 177 St. Margaret's, Bodelwyddan . . . . .276 St. Mary's, Cefn . . . .279 St. Thomas', Rhyl . . . . .304 Kerry Church . . . . . .322 Llandyssil Old Church, exterior . . . .328 „ New Church, interior .... 328 Newtown Screen restored ..... 341 Old Church Tower . . . .342 Trefnant, interior ...... 379 Llanddulas, interior . . . . . .381 St. Winifred's Well, Holywell . . . .470 Brynford and Gorsedd Churches ..... 473 Nannerch ....... 475 Mold, St. Mary's, interior ..... 600 Melverley and Halston Churches .... 642 Frankton, St. Andrew's . . . .681 Guilsfield . . . . . . .735 Pennant Melangell Screen ..... 786 Gwersyllt . . . . . .813 Wrexham . . . . . . .852 THE DIOCESE OF ST. ASAPH. CHAPTEE I. THE ORIGIN OF THE SEE. Legendary character of the accounts ; substratum of truth. — Kentigern founds a monastery ; is succeeded by Asaph. — The diocese formed ; its limits ; relative antiquity of its different classes of parishes ; style of its earliest churches. The story of the foundation of this see has been clothed by the biographers of the Saints of the Middle Ages in a motley dress of tradition and legend, of fact and fiction. This arose partly from ignorance, partly from design. "When the invocation of saints and a veneration for relics began to be introduced, chiefly through the influence of the foreign religious orders that crept into the country about the end of the eleventh century, it became their common custom to appropriate into their own calendar the founders and saints of the native British Church, and to recast their histories in accordance with their own views. In doing this they sometimes fell into curious mistakes, that alike fed, and fed upon, the credulity of the age. Words which in their original use were simple and appropriate, became, through a misappre- hension of their meaning, the groundwork of strange and mira- culous legends which betray their Latin origin. Thus " aper," the old form of " aber," which means "the confluence" of two rivers, and describes very suitably the situation of St. Asaph, near the junction of the Clwyd and Elwy, was mistaken for the similar Latin word, and made out to be a " boar " that led Kentigern to choose that site ; and so too the " tanwydd," i.e. fire- B 2 THE ORIGIN OF THE SEE. wood, which Asaph is said to have once borne to his shivering master, by being mistranslated into " vivi" and " ardentes car- bones," was held to establish the saintly character of the disciple, because it left no mark or smell of fire upon his clothes.1 Mis- takes like these, and others where figurative expressions were taken literally, have overlaid the simple facts of the history with much that is fabulous, but a little gentle criticism may help us to pierce through this outer crust to the underlying substratum of truth.2 The first founder of a religious establishment at Llanelwy, "the Church on the Elwy," by which name St. Asaph was known until about the beginning of the twelfth century, is uni- versally admitted to have been one Cyndeyrn (Latinised into Kentigernus, whence the English form Kentigern), the exiled bishop of the Northern Britons inhabiting Strath Clyde. Forced by the dissensions of his countrymen to quit his northern see about a.d. 560, he is stated to have bent his steps southwards to Menevia (Mynyw), a place just then become famous as the epis- copal seat of St. David (Dewi). Such a visit accords well with the probability of circumstances, and is readily accounted for by the great reputation of St. David, and by the oneness in race and creed of the Britons in the North and West. The next step was to head a mission into Ystrad Clwyd ; a name which, from its exact 1 Acta Sanctorum, Maii, torn, i, p. 82 ; Antverpise, 1680. De S. Asapho. 2 Thus, for instance, in the legendary life of St. Winifred, composed by Robert of Salop about the middle of the twelfth century, when her body was translated from Gwytherin to the Abbey of St. Peter and St. Paul at Shrews- bury, we find two distinct elements combined, — the history of the saint, and the myth of the well. In the one we see Gwen/Vewt (Guenvrea, Wenefreda, or Winifred) represented as the daughter of Thewith, the lord of those parts, and building a church under the auspices of her uncle Beuno, first at Holy- well, and afterwards a similar one at Gwytherin ; in which we may recognise the connexion of Holywell with Whitford as a daughter church. (" Ecclesia S. Wenifrede fil. Thewith = Chwith-freti.") In the other, Gwenffrwd (the foaming stream) appears as the daughter of Gwenio (wlaw), the pouring rain, and as owing its origin to the pursuit of a son of the neighbouring Alyn ; thus crystallising the early belief that it was but the outlet of an under- ground current from the river Alyn, which partially disappears for a portion of its course at Hcsp Alyn, near Mold ; and that it reappeared here, convert- ing the dry dingle (Sychnant) into a well-watered valley. THE ORIGIN OF THE SEE. 3 correspondence with that of the region whence he had come, would, if of earlier date, supply a special reason for his choice, and which, if subsequently given, may serve in its degree to corroborate that event. It was in the northern end of the vale that Kentigern pro- ceeded to establish his collegium or monaster}* ; and it may be regarded as a mark of the substantial accuracy of the main facts, that he is said to have done this under the protection of a king of Powys ; for whilst the rest of the Vale of Clwyd belonged, according to the earliest known divisions of the country, to the province of Gwynedd, this portion formed part of that of Powys, and sharing its subsequent disintegration, was included, in the " Domesday Survey," in the earldom of Chester, and was reckoned in the " Valor Ecclesiasticus" of Henry VIII, as falling within the lordship of Chirk. Maelgwn, king of Gwynedd, whose prin- cipal residence was the neighbouring castle of Dyganwy on the eastern bank of the Conway, took great offence at Kentigern, for having given sanctuary to one of his retainers and refusing to deliver him up, and threatened to take vengeance upon him ; instead, however, of carrying out his threat, he appears to have been won over to a better mind,1 and to have coiifirined Kenti- gern in his privileges, and afterwards, when he had become Sove- reign of the whole country, to have endowed his institution with a generous hand. The district lying between Dyganwy and Llanelwy has formed, from the earliest historical period, a main source of income to the bishop and chapter, and in an old book, existing in London in 1256, and relating to the privileges of the see and the grants made to Kentigern and his successors, although the names of the places were probably quoted as they were then known, still they very consistently lie within that dis- trict, where we should under the circumstances expect them to have been assigned.2 This Maelgwn was a great warrior, and is described in the Welsh Chronicles as sagacious, bold, and vigor- ous, and the subduer of many kings ; but he appears to have been cruel withal and somewhat superstitious. In his later 1 Such is apparently the true meaning of the story of his blindness and miraculous cure. (Unfr Coch.) ' Ll±fr Coch, p. 117 ; Browne "Willis, Appendix L 4 THE OKIGIN OF THE SEE. years, in remorse for the sins of his past life, he is said to have formed a resolution of retiring from the world, and though he did not carry it out, he became a great patron and promoter of Christianity among his subjects, as is testified not only by his conduct towards Kentigern, but also by his founding the sister see of Bangor, and the religious houses of Penmon and Caergybi ; besides which, many mother churches in different districts of the country, such as Northop, Hawarden, Llanymawddwy, &c, date back their foundation to this era. We are not, indeed, to impute to this period the introduction of Christianity ; the history of the British Church, and especially the story of the Pelagian heresy, the mission of Germanus and Lupus, the grateful remem- brance of Cadvan, Mael, and other Armorican missionaries, the dedication of Maelgwn's own church at Llanrhos in the name of Hilary, and the Legend of St. Winifred, in some of its aspects, all bespeak an earlier evangelization; but a more systematic attempt was now made to revive it, and make it more completely a national faith. Under its new auspices, the institution founded by Kentigern soon attained a high repute. Partaking of the nature of a missionary colony, something like the Universities' Mission to Central Africa, and combining in its scheme not only the offices of religion, but also the several duties of education, husbandry, and handicraft, it drew together a large number of members. The privilege of sanctuary too, which extended a mile each way in length and breadth, was an additional attraction. To all of which must be added the much dreaded advance of the pagan Anglo- Saxons, bearing, as they did, fire and sword in their train, and ever driving the Britons before them to seek for safety among the mountains of the West. Those of the members who had to con- duct Divine Worship are said, as at Bangor-is-coed,to have had the twenty-four hours so allotted among them that some were always engaged in the performance of religious service ; after the model of King David's distribution of the priests into four-and-twenty courses for the worship of the Tabernacle. Besides this they would follow the common practice of the Church at the time, and extend their missionary labours over the surrounding district, either setting up a cross to mark their stations, or else taking THE OKIGIX OF THE SEE. 5 advantage of the periodical gatherings of the people at the Wells, which they gradually appropriated to Christian uses ; until the liberality of individuals or the increasing wealth of the Church, enabled them to erect capellaa near the spots, the prototypes in character and purpose of the chapels of ease, and of the school and mission churches of our own day. The ablest and most popular of Kentigern's disciples was one Asaph or Asa, already mentioned, a native of Xorth Wales, and a man of eminent virtue and piety, who, on the recall of Ins master to resume the charge of his old flock in Strath Clyde, where peace was now restored, was appointed to succeed him. The many places in Tegengl that bear his name, such as Llan- asa (his church), Ffvnnon Asa (his well), Onen Asa (his ash), Pantasa (his hollow), all combine to point out that region as his native place; and the old legend that pointed out, until late years, a spot in the High Street at St. Asaph as the impression of the hoof of the saint's horse, when he leapt thither from Onen Asa, seems but another version of the same idea. He was appa- rently a great benefactor of the see, and judging from the reve- rence in which his memory came to be held, must be regarded as one of its greatest ornaments, if not its first prelate. Indeed, I am strongly inclined to think that it was in his time that the monastery was elevated into a cathedral foundation ; for it could not have been without some strong reason of the kind that his name, to the exclusion of that of Kentigern, was afterwards given to the cathedral city; and that the bishops, who for a long period were styled " Elvenses," came subsequently to be entitled "Asaphenses." His being a native, too, would naturally incline Maelgwn Gwynedd to grant this privilege to him rather than to a stranger ; whilst the fact of Kentigern being a bishop by virtue of his previous consecration, and therefore a bishop in Llanelwy, would sufficiently account for his being commonly regarded as the first bishop of Llanelwy. This change, whenever it took place, was a simple and natural one. The abbot of the monastery would become the bishop of the diocese ; the other members, or canons, would still perforin the same duties, as precentor, treasurer, chancellor, sacristan, etc., respectively ; to whom would then be added the archdeacon and 6 THE ORIGIN OF THE SEE. the chancellor of the diocese, as representing the new or diocesan element. The office of dean was added afterwards. The surround- ing and dependent cayellce would be served as before, only that as converts multiplied, vicarii or resident substitutes would be put in charge of them ; whilst the original jpersonce, parsons or rectors, would continue in residence in the collegium, and be denominated respectively, according to their connexion with the capellce or the cathedral, cajpellani or canons, as living by canon or rule. The limits of the diocese seem to have been originally com- mensurate with those of Powys. Maelgwn having, when king of Gwynedd, erected Bangor into an episcopal see, and assigned to its jurisdiction the province then under his sway, appears, after his elevation to the sovereignty of the whole country, to have assigned to the new see of Llanelwy the rest of his dominions in North Wales ; that is to say, the province of Powys, the extent of which was at that time much greater than after the incursions of the Lords Marchers. " Peaching as far as Pulford Bridge, near Chester, and then stretching in a straight line from the Broxton Hills southerly to Pengwern Powys or Shrewsbury, Powysland, says Pennant,1 included a large tract of both these counties (Cheshire and Shropshire) ; and from thence, again, through the eastern limits of Montgomeryshire, comprehended all that county, a part of Eadnorshire and Brecknockshire." This explains many difficulties in the after history of the see, such as Bishop Adam's claim of jurisdiction over Kerry in 1175 ; Bishop Anian's con- troversy with the Bishop of Hereford concerning the jurisdiction of Gorddwr, c. 1282 ; the early dependence of Llanfihangel-yn- Nghentyn (Alberbury) upon Meifod; and the interlacing of this diocese with that of Chester, or, as it was occasionally called, Lichfield or Coventry ; of each of which matters we shall have to speak more fully hereafter. Professor Pees, in his Essay on the Welsh Saints,2 has well pointed out " that the churches were at first few, and the parishes" (if we may apply the term to the surrounding districts which 1 Tour in Wales, 1778, p. 206. 2 Section 1," On the comparative Antiquity of the Foundation of Churchus and Chapels in Wales." THE ORIGIN OF THE SEE. 7 the clergy took under their charge, as we have already observed in the case of Llanelwy) "very extensive"; co-extensive, probably, with the existing ciVil divisions or lordships ; and that the in- equalities, which sometimes marked the formation of new parishes out of them, were the results of the feuds that so often arose out of the distribution of the patrimony according to the law of gavelkind ; — a law which ordained that the sons should inherit the father's property in equal proportions. By pursuing the sub- ject a little further, we shall find many interesting particulars naturally suggesting themselves, and throwing much light on the Church growth of the period, and the mode and character of its subsequent extension. We will take as specimens a few of the oldest mother chinches in the diocese, Meifocl, Llanrhaiadr- yn-Mochnant, Oswestry, Dinerth (Llandrillo-yn-Ehos). First we find that very wide districts were originally included under their charge ; and that long after capellce had been built in their distant parts, and constituted into distinct cures with parishes of their own, they still acknowledged, by some kind of service or due, their former connexion with the mother church. Thus, in the grant made by Bishop Hugh, in 1239, of tithes in Llan- fair Caereinion to the Nuns of Llanllugan, a reservation was made of those which were due to himself as rector of Meifod ;x and in an agreement, made in 1265, between Adam ap Meuric, rector of Meifod, and the rector of Llanfihangel (Alberbury), a consider- able portion at least of the latter parish, as well as of Guilsfielcl, are shewn to have been subject to the same mother church.2 Llanrhaiadr embraced a very wide tract of country, and in the Taxatio of 1291 has Llangedwyn, Llanarmon, Bettws (Llanwddyn), and Llangadwaladr, included as chapelries under it. Oswestry, according to Eyton,3 was the mother church of the whole district extending from the Severn to the Ceiriog. Dinerth long pre- served a proof of its early jurisdiction, inasmuch as its rector and vicar received a portion of the tithes of the surrounding parishes of Llanelian, Llansaintffraid, Llanrhos, and Llysfaen ; in each of which it was the custom, until about the end of the last century, 1 Llyfr C6ch, p. 29 ; B. Willis, App. iii. 2 Ibia., p> 27. 3 Antiquities of Shropshire, vol. x, Oswestry. 8 THE ORIGIN OF THE SEE. for the vicar to preach two or four sermons annually ; instead of which a money acknowledgment has since been substituted. These churches, consecrated with prayer and fasting, adopted the existing name of the place where they were built, — a name evi- dently derived from some local circumstance, — either with or without the prefix " Llan," as Llanrhaiadr, Corwen, Llangwm.1 The capellce, on the other hand, received the name either of the founder by whose munificence they were erected, or of the mis- sionary by whose influence the district was evangelized ; e. g., Llandrillo, Llangedwyn, Llandrinio, etc. Under this class also, though of later foundation, and bespeaking a period when canon- ization had become the rule, may be enumerated those which were dedicated in the names of favourite saints historically or locally connected with them, such as Garmon, Hilary, Asaph, Tysilio, Beuno, Winifred, Ffraid or Bridget. Of those dedicated in the name of Scripture saints, some are probably coeval with, or possibly even earlier than, the last series ; but the majority are only re-dedications of earlier foundations, as Llan-Eurgain to St. Peter, Abergele to St. Michael, Meifod, Oswestry, Welshpool, and others, to St. Mary. Churches dedicated in the name of St. Mary are most numerous in those parts which, like Tegengl, fell early under the English sway ; and wherever the Cistercians had influence, it was their common practice to introduce her name. In some instances the earlier names have been handed down side by side with these, in connexion with the " gwyl mab- sant" (vigilice) or wake, and the fair or other gathering that con- tinued to be held upon it. In others they have survived in con- nexion with the holy well where the first missionary baptised his converts, and whence succeeding ages religiously bore the water for baptism in the church. Occasionally, too, a cell or oratory has kept alive, through many vicissitudes, the remembrance of an early, if not the earliest, evangelist of the place, as those of Gwyddfarch at Meifod, and of Trillo in Ehos. The latter is speci- ally interesting from being, as far at least as this diocese is con- cerned, a unique specimen of those primitive oratories which 1 This term, which signifies primarily a yard or enclosure, is common as a suffix, e. g , "corlan," "gwinllan," " perllan," "ydlan"; but when applied to a church is always prefixed. THE ORIGIN OF THE SEE. 9 formed the type of the earliest British churches. It is situated on the shore, to the north-east of Llandrillo Church, and is in form a parallelogram, about fifteen feet long by eight wide, the east end and both sides being pierced with small loopholes or lancets. The roof is vaulted, and consists of small stones. Its entrance is at the west end, and at the east there is a perennial spring. The whole has at one time been surrounded with a wall.1 The following brief extracts from the Lectures of the most eminent of living architects2 cannot fail to be interesting in con- nexion with the present subject, and will serve as an appropriate conclusion to this chapter. In tracing out the early styles of architecture in this country, he "looks mainly to Ireland for relics of the early modes of building among the British races, for there may still be found remains two centuries earlier than any left by the Anglo-Saxons.... These remains are mainly of three classes : the cells and other domestic buildings of the monks, the oratories and churches, and the round towers. The former class are of the rudest and most ascetic description, and seem to be founded on the customary dwellings of the pagan inhabitants. The monks evidently eschewed all pretensions to personal com- fort, and took up at once with the scale of dwelling common among their flocks. They lived in stone huts built without mor- tar, and vaulted over ; more like ovens than human habitations, and so small as only to be sufficient for one person. The cells of the monks differed but little from this, excepting in being quadrangular within, though round or oval without. The earlier oratories seem frequently to have been a development of the con- struction of these cells, 'built of uncemented stones admirably fitted to each other, and their lateral walls converging from the base to their apex in curved lines.' The early Irish churches are of two very simple types, being either oblong, with a door at the west, and a window at the east end, — a mere development, with upright walls, of the oratories just described ; or a double oblong forming a nave and chancel, and united by a chancel-arch, — the distinct prototypes of the simplest forms of an English church. 1 For Cornish oratories, compare BHght on The Churches of West Cornwall, and Collins Trelawny on Perranzabuloe. - G. Gilbert Scotf, Royal Academy Lectures for 1868. C in THE ORIGIN OF THE SEE. The one doorway is always west, and one of the windows to the east, though side-windows are also introduced, — all apparently without glass... In the smaller churches the roofs were frequently formed of stone, but in the larger ones were always of wood. The apsidal termination is, I believe, wholly unknown in these churches ; and it would appear from this fact, that the square end of the majority of English chancels is a tradition from the ancient British churches ; the apse, which so frequently made its appearance, and was again so frequently removed, being a foreign importation, against which the national feeling rebelled, as op- posed to the local tradition." 1 1 CHAPTER II. THE BKITISH CHURCH. Its early foundation. — Connexion with that of Gaul. — Its constitution ; Bishops, Clergy, endowments. — Connexion of Church and State. — Dis- tinctive customs.— Mode of administering Baptism and the Lord's Supper. — Observance of Easter. — Tonsure and other personal character- istics.— Non- celibacy. — Monasteries. — Nunneries. — Liturgy. — " Cym- morthau." — Customs at wells. In order to give an account of the native Church as it existed at and from the period with which this history commences, there is happily no need to enter into the vexed questions as to when and hy whom Christianity was first introduced into Great Britain, Whether it was by St. James or Simon Zelotes, Joseph of Arima- thea or Aristobulus, St. Paul or St. Peter, or even whether it was by any or by none of these, need not now affect us. It is enough that at the end of the second century, as Tertullian testifies, " regions of Britain, inaccessible to the Eomans, were subdued to Christ";1 that from a.d. 386-400 we have abundant evidence from St. Chrysostom, St. Jerome, and Sozomen, that there was here " a settled Church, with churches, altars, Scriptures, discipline, holding the Catholic faith, and having intercourse with Eome and Palestine";2 and that a.d. 602 or 603, during the lifetime of Kentigern, the British Bishops, in their conference with Augus- tine, asserted the independence of their Church, resisting his assumed supremacy on national rather than doctrinal grounds. Indeed, their faith was one, for the Roman terminology had not 1 " Britannorum inaccessa Romanis loca, Christo vero subdita." — Tcrtull. adv. Judceos, c. 7. 1 Councils and Ecclesiastical Documents relating to Great Britain and Ireland. vol. i, p. 10. 12 THE BRITISH CHURCH. then developed into its later signification;1 bnt they were resolved not to surrender at his dictation their own rites and customs, which they held to be as truly apostolical as those with which he wished to supplant them. The direct intercourse which existed between the Churches of Britain and Eome during the early and middle portions of the Eoman occupation, seems to have almost died out before the close of that period, and to have been succeeded by a more close and intimate connexion between the Churches of Britain and Gaul. Thus, for instance, British bishops attended the Council of Aries, summoned in 314 to suppress the Donatist heresy : when Hilary, at the request of a Gallican synod, wrote his History of Synods, in 358, for their information as to the faith of the Eastern Churches, he dedicated it to the bishops of Britain, whom among others he congratulated on their steadfastness : on the occasion of the great Pelagian controversy, Germanus (Gar- mon), bishop of Auxerre, and Lupus (Bleicldyn), bishop of Troyes, were deputed by the Gallican Church to come over to the aid of the orthodox Britons : whilst the frequent occurrence of the names Germanus, Hilary, and Martin, in connexion with the dedication' of churches, bears witness to their great influence and the honour in which their Church continued to be held. And here, perhaps, we may add, as a sort of appended link, that band of Armorican Britons who, like Cadvan,Tydecho,Mael, and Sulien, being hard pressed at home by the advancing hosts of Clovis, c. 1 E. g. Gregory the Great refused to be called " Universal Bishop," and denounced the notion it conveyed as antichristian. The title of "Pope" was at this time, and according to some writers continued to be as late as the tenth century, common to all bishops. The title of "Saint" was in early times given to mark a man's orthodoxy, or the acceptance of his writings by the Church, in contradistinction to those of heretics, and had quite a diffe- rent significance from what it acquired after the adoption of the system of canonisation in the tenth century. The term "Mass" which originally meant the dismission of a Church assembly, came by degrees to be used for an assembly and for Church service. Then, from signifying Church service in general, it came to denote the Communion Service in particular; and when applied to this, it assumed a very different meaning after the adoption of the doctrine of transubstantiation, c. 1000 a.d., from that which pertained to it in earlier times. — Hook's Archbishops, i, 25. THE BRITISH CHURCH. 13 A.D. 510, sought refuge here, and became the founders of not a few of the churches in this diocese. It has been said, indeed, that the British Church was not episcopal but presbyterian in form ; but this is opposed to the whole tenor of historical evidence, and is to be attributed partly to the unwillingness of a later age to acknowledge it as a branch of the one Catholic and Apostolic Church, and partly to a desire to find in it the type of a system of Church government that is not known to have had any actual existence before the sixteenth century. The mistake seems to have arisen from the fact of a difference having prevailed in the mode of ordaining bishops in the Roman and British Churches, the refusal of the former to acknowledge the validity of the British orders, and the conduct of Wilfrid in the matter. But surely, to take no higher ground, a point of such primary importance as the orders of the Christian ministry would never, if faulty, have been passed over unnoticed by such a man as Augustine ; nor would he have failed to require conformity in this respect less than in those far simpler ones, such as the particular mode of administering baptism, and the exact time of keeping Easter. There were, in fact, several bishops in Wales during this period ; some of sees that have long since become extinct, such as Llanbadarn, Llanafan Fawr, and Margam ; some also without sees, but presiding over monastic or educa- tional institutions ;x and, judging from the analogy of the Supe- riors of Iona and the Presbyter Abbots of Fulda in the Scotch Church, there may have been (though in the absence of direct evidence this has been doubted) bishops occupying a subordinate position in the greater monasteries, discharging episcopal func- tions, such as confirmation and ordination, but without episcopal jurisdiction. The bishops were at first freely elected by their own clergy and laity, and were consecrated by one of their own order ; but that there wTas any metropolitanship or archiepiscopate, by which one see enjoyed authority over the rest, seems more than doubtful. Indeed, the claim of St. David's to that dignity, advanced in the twelfth century with so much force by Bishop Bernard and by Councils and Ecclcs. Documents, vol. i, p. 112. 14 THE BRITISH CHUKCH. Giraldus Cambrensis, is stated, on very high authority, to have been put forward in the hope of gaining freedom from Canter- bury, and from English nominees to Welsh bishoprics.1 As the parishes were at first of great extent, and sparsely inhabited, the clergy lived together, in a simple and homely manner, in a collegium or monasterium2 near the principal church ; and as the rule of celibacy was never admitted in the British Church, their wives lived with them. Their support was derived, in the first instance, from the free-will offerings of the people ; and these took a more systematic form as converts became more numerous, and the obligations of religion, as well as its benefits, better understood. Particular kinds of produce, varying in dif- ferent localities, were after a time voluntarily taxed or tithed, either for the parish in general or for some particular portion of it. The lords of the soil, again, and especially the founders of new or district churches, would settle some special portion as an endowment, to secure in. perpetuity the services of religion for those places in which they felt so deep an interest. Besides which it became a not unusual practice to make a gift or rent- charge, by way of perpetual provision, for some member of the donor's family ; in fact, of securing a sort of advowson (advoca- tionein) for their heirs. Hence we have Giraldus complaining that in his clay "their churches have almost as many parsons and parties as there are principal men in the parish: the sons, after the decease of their fathers, succeed to the eccle- siastical benefices, not by election, but by hereditary right,3 pos- sessing and polluting the sanctuary of God ; and if a prelate should by chance presume to appoint or institute any other per- son, the people would certainly revenge the injury upon the institutor and the instituted." These different kinds of endow - ments appear in the Taxatio of 1291 as portiones. Many of them being very small were afterwards united, and in the late Act for the Commutation of Tithes they were finally lost sight of; but 1 Councils and Eccles. Documents, i, p. 149. '2 A collection, at first, of the rude and simple cells or huts described at p. 0. 1 A similar custom prevailed in Avmorica (l)ritany), and until the present year something very like it in ltussia. THE BRITISH CHURCH. 15 in the old terriers we find abundant traces of their original nature and purpose. Thus we meet with " moduses" of endless variety, and such significant expressions as "blith y ddafad," for the par- son's lactuals ; " ceirch march y person," oats for the parson's horse ; " ysgub y gloch," the clerk's, or literally the bellringer's sheaf, etc.1 It is only by bearing in mind this private endowment of the early Church, and the various conditions under which the parishes were formed, that we are able to account for the many anomalies which are quite inexplicable on the theory that it was endowed by the State. To protect endowments privately made, or even to add to them, is a very different thing from having been the original donor, as is acknowledged in the case of all modern endowments. This distinction is further exemplified in the spiritual and temporal jurisdiction of the bishops. As the extent of the sees generally coincided with existing civil divi- sions, so for the enjoyment of the temporalities attached to them, whether in the form of lands or of civil immunities and privi- leges, it was necessary to obtain the king's sanction or confirma- tion. " In Hywel Dda's Laws the great principle of the union between Church and State is declared in the duty of the sword to protect the pastoral staff."3 It appears, moreover, that the bishop and abbot, as well as the king, had their own independent tribunals, called ' Prerogative Courts,' where they were enabled to guard against encroachments upon the rights and honours with which their respective establishments were invested.3 Never- theless the special supremacy of the king is distinctly acknow- ledged. To the king belongs the land of all the kingdom."4 All holders of Church property were accordingly required, on the accession of a new king, to prove before him their privileges and immunities in order to have them confirmed.5 If they did not 1 Pennant Melangell Register. 2 "Gladius pedum pastorale protegere debet." — Wotton's Leges Wallicce, ii, 28. 3 " Tres sunt curise prerogative, curia regis, curia episcopi, et curia abba- tis. Unusquisque enim horum triura curiam auctoritate propria tenere po- test."— Ibid, iv, 141. 4 Ibid, iv, 126. s jfctf. ^ 8i 16 THE BRITISH CHURCH. fulfil the conditions of their tenure the sovereign had power to dispossess them. Those conditions consisted, for the most part, either of rents, services, duties, mulcts, or attendances, of various degrees.1 There were some dignitaries, however, who were totally exempt from all save that ordinary homage which they owed in common with every other subject. Thus the Church of Menevia (St. David's) is declared in Hywel's code to be entirely free.2 But though the king could deprive bishops and abbots of their temporalities, in case they fell short in their due allegiance, he might not alienate those rights from the institutions to which they had been originally granted, without incurring the awful censures of the Church ;3 and whilst the Church was protected in her rights by the civil ruler, his authority was conferred upon him, through the representatives of Christ, in his consecration. The affairs of the nation were hallowed by the Church, and trans- acted under her guidance and sanction. Hywel Dda would not revise the laws without the aid of a proportion of the clergy, " lest the laity should enact anything that was contrary to the Holy Scripture";4 and in complete accord with this we have, on the part of the clergy, their traditional reply to the proposals of Augustine : " Noluerunt Monachi Bangorenses" (as Whelock puts it in his edition of Bede, p. 114) "absque suorum consensu ac licentia, imo ut rex Aluredus prasclare insinuavit, absque suae gentis et senatorum imprimis suffragio, ab antiquis Ecclesias Bri- tannicae ritibus discedere." What those ancient rites and customs were must be our next inquiry. When Augustine came to this country, he found the same rites used here, as he had observed in Gaul, and remarked upon them as differing in many respects from those of his own Church. Thus, in writing to Gregory for instructions, he asks, 1 One of the most universal tokens of subjection appears to have been the obediw, which was a sum of money, or portion of goods, paid to the lord upon the death of a tenant. " Bona mortui episcopi omnia regi addicentur, excep- tis vestimentis et jocalibus, coeterisque ad ecclesiam pertinentibus." — Ibid, ii, 13, and iv, 141. 2 " Menevia libera est ab omni servitio." — Lib. ii, ch. 9. 8 Liber Landavensis, passim ; also Llyfr Cdch. 4 Ecclesiastical Antiquities of the Cymry, pp. 179, 180. THE BRITISH CHURCH. 17 " Why is one manner of celebrating the Holy Communion used in the holy Eoman Church, and another in that of the Gauls ? " and in his conference with the British bishops, he alludes to many other diversities, and specifies two. " You act in many particulars contrary to our customs, or rather to the customs of the Universal Church, and yet if you will comply with me in these three points, viz., to keep Easter at the due time ; to per- form the administration of baptism, by which we are born again to God, according to the custom of the Holy Eoman and Apos- tolic Church ; and jointly with us to preach the Word of God to the nation of the Angles, we will readily tolerate all your other customs though contrary to our own." What the exact differ- ences were in the mode of administering baptism,1 and the Lord's Supper,2 we are not told ; but the Easter dispute arose, curiously enough, from a too close following of an earlier Eoman cycle. The Britons were not, as some persons have supposed, Quartodecimans.3 We have the authority of the Emperor Con- stantine himself for saying that they, as well as other nations, observed Easter as the Council of Nice directed.4 From this Council, to which they gave express assent, down to the middle of the fifth century, they followed the Western Church, and the Western Church followed Eome, in its gradual, practical diverg- ence from that of Alexandria and the East, arising mainly from the use of different cycles. The Britons, in fact, adhered to the 1 " Single as opposed to trine immersion seems to be the most probable solution ; that it was the omission of Chrism (true of the later Irish Church) or of Confirmation, is negatived by the mention of both in St. Patrick's Epist. ad Coroticum." — Haddan and Stubbs' Councils and Ecclesiastical Documents, vol. i, p. 153. 2 " A multiplicity of Collects is the only point specified (viz. by Agrestius against Eustasius at the Council of Macon, a.d. 624 or 627); and this refers directly to the Scottish or Columban liturgy, which, however, was probably the British, or one closely akin to it. That it was the use of azyms (accord- ing to Dollinger), the Church of Eome using at the time leavened bread, appears to be a mere conjecture founded on the undoubted prevalence of that custom in the West, including England, at a later time." — Councils and Eccles. Doc, i, 154, and note. 3 The Quartodecimans, in the second century, kept Easter according to the Jewish Passover, whether falling on Sunday or not. 4 Euseb. de Vita Constant., lib. iii, c. 19. D 18 THE BRITISH CHURCH. eighty-four years cycle, attributed to Sulpicius Severn s ; but which had been supplanted successively at Borne itself by the five hundred and thirty-two years cycle of Victor Aquitan, a.d. 457, and by that of nineteen years of Dionysius Exiguus,A.D.525. These changes had been adopted in order to bring the Eoman reckoning into harmony with the correcter Alexandrian, and were now rejected by the Britons, who clung to that which had been Roman, but which Eome herself had learned to give up."1 Elvod, styled Archbishop of Bangor, a title assumed, according to some authorities, by virtue of the titular sovereignty of Aberffraw, within his diocese over the other provinces of Wales, but accord- ing to others, given to him by the Pope for his endeavours to settle the Easter question, tried in the latter part of the eighth century to introduce the Eoman cycle, but the other bishops did not con- cur therein, and " on his death in 809 there was a great tumult among the ecclesiastics on account of the same question ; for the bishops of Llandaff and Menevia would not succumb to the Arch- bishop of Gwynedd, being themselves archbishops of older privi- lege."2 How soon after this the Eoman computation was adopted does not appear, but it was probably during the century. Of the other customs above alluded to, some, no doubt, referred to the dress and personal bearing of the clergy, and were such as we find speci- fied by Archbishop Peckham in his Letter of Injunctions* to Bishop Anian in 1284, in which he requires the latter to bring his clergy to conformity with their brethren in other churches : " Ordinantes ut de cetero clerici vestrae diocesis in habitu et ornatu, in gestu et affatu ceteris per orbem clericis se conforment ; ut unius cum aliis appareant honestatis ; ut nec coma prolixior, nec strictior corona, nec locution is impetus nec lingua? literalis inopia, nec radiatae chlamydis aut vestis insole ntia, nec capitis aut pedum ant tibi- arum nuditas, ipsos signaculo vel nota derisibili faciat ab aliis discrepare." From which we see that even in those simple and primitive days, clerical attire, the cutting of the hair and the shape and colour of the coat, were as much an object of contro- versy as in our own times. The " tonsure," we know, was a 1 Councils and Eccles. Doc, i, 152, 153. 2 Brut y Tywysogion, sub ann. 755 ot 809. 3 Browne Willis, ii, p. 39. Append. XV. THE BRITISH CHURCH. 19 notable party-emblem. " The Eastern clergy were accustomed to shave the entire front of the head, leaving the hair on the hinder part untouched ; and this, or a very similar custom, the British clergy followed ;x whereas the Italians shaved their heads according to what they called the tonsure of St. Peter, which consisted of a circle of hair round the shorn head, supposed to represent the crown of thorns, and called therefore the coronal tonsure. So completely was this considered a party badge, that when Wilfrid left the Celtic party for the Italian, the first thing he did was to submit his head to the scissors of a Roman barber.3 To such an extent could party feeling be carried in that age, as in our own, that the Italians accused their opponents of wearing the mark of Simon Magus." 3 A later mark of diffe- rence, and one that led, in the course of time, to much bitter- ness of feeling and expression, was the celibacy of the clergy. Its obligation was never acknowledged by the British clergy, who, like those of the Greek, Armenian, and other branches, were allowed to marry.4 Even in England it was not en- joined till the reign of Edgar, c. 975 A.D., when Dunstan intro- duced his modification of the Rule of St. Benedict. From this time, however, it became the fashion to call those who wished to retain their wives and parochial cures " Seculars," and those who quitted both to live after the constitution of the neAv order, "Regulars." Still it was long before the rule was generally accepted even there; for so late as 1108 a.d. we find Pope Pas- chal granting to Archbishop Anselm a dispensing power to admit the sons of clergymen to orders, on the remarkable ground that " almost the greater and the better part of the English clergy" belonged to this class.5 In the course of the controversy on the subject, the Regulars took to calling the wives of their opponents their " concubines ;" a circumstance it is most neces- sary to bear in mind as the key to such calumnies as that alleged 1 Cf. Gildce Epistola and "Coina prolixior, strictior corona." Supra. 2 Eddi, c. 6. 3 Hook's Archbishops, p. 15. 4 When an attempt was made ab extra to enforce it upon the clergy of Llandaff in 961, we are told that it resulted in a great disturbance ; so that it was considered best to allow the matrimony of the priests. — Brut y Tywyso- gion, 5 lioberlson's Church History, ii, p. 670. 20 THE B1UTISH CHURCH. in the Injunctions of Archbishop Peckham, " incontinentia vithun clerum vestruin ab antiquo maculasse enormiter ultra modurn," as a ground for enforcing the celibate rule. A similar caution is necessary for a right estimate of the charge of " incest " else- where brought against the laics ; as it was one that turned upon a list of prohibited degrees, accepted indeed by those who made the charge, but never acknowledged by those against whom it was brought. They marry, writes Giraldus Cambrensis, "in quarto gradu et quinto passim, in tertio quoque plerumque, quod non est honor Dei ante oculos." We have already stated that it was the common practice of the clergy to live together near the mother church of their parish. In addition, however, to the collegium or monasterium of the regularly ordained clergy, there were also religious houses in which laymen who had received the tonsure,1 lived together under special privileges2 for the purposes of education and wor- ship, as well as for the cultivation of the useful and ornamental arts ; such were Cor-Eurgain, Bangor-is-coed, Ty-Gwyn ar Daf, and many others described in Williams's Ecclesiastical Antiqui- ties? There appear also to have been similar institutions for women ; such, for instance, as the one founded by Winifred at Gwytherin ; and as the seventh century was the period during which female saints were said to be most numerous, we may con- clude that this was the time when nunneries4 were most in repute. The British Liturgy, or mode of conducting Divine Worship, was one peculiar to Britain, and has already been stated to have differed from that in use in the Eoman Church, but to have been similar to that of Gaul, on the two important points of Baptism and the Lord's Supper ; and as the latter Church has 1 The " tonsure, down to the sixth century, took place at the time of enter- ing into holy orders ; but from that time was conferred without any admis sion to orders, and instead of being "signuni ordinis" was called "signuni clestinationis ad ordinem." 2 Wotton's Leges Wallicae. Saepe. 3 Chapter xiii. 4 The nunneries were not limited to single women, any more than the monasteries to single men. In 721 a Roman council anathematised married nuns. The regular conventual life for women does not date earlier than the institution of St. Dominic, in the thirteenth century. — Walcot's Sacred Archce- ology. THE BRITISH CHURCH. 21 been asserted to have derived its Liturgy primarily from the Exarchate of Ephesus, or of the Churches of Asia and Phrygia,1 it may explain the prominence given to the Gospel of St. John in the British form of oath. A further illustration of the same connection is suggested by the title of the famous copy of the Gospels,2 that once belonged to the Cathedral of Llanelwy and was held in the greatest veneration throughout this and the neighbouring dioceses down to the Reformation, when it was lost ; that title, under its many aspects, bearing a Greek rather than a Latin stamp.3 The wise counsel given by Gregory to Augus- tine, " to select from each church those things that were pious, religious, and correct, and to instil these when combined into a system, into the minds of the English for their use,"4 accounts for the native element in the common substratum that underlies the uses of York, Bangor, Sarum and Hereford, and also supplies a clue to such peculiarities as the observance of the Festival of Trinity Sunday and the computation of the Sundays to Advent from it, and not, as in all offices of the Eoman type, from Pen- tecost.5 The Communion Service was distinguished for a multiplicity of Collects ; and that of Ordination, for the custom of anointing the hands of deacons, and anointing the hands and heads of bishops and priests. The Lessons of Scripture also used in the service were taken from a version distinct from any of the known ante- Hieronymian versions, and peculiar to the British Church. The bishops were consecrated by a single bishop, and they had a pecu- liar mode of consecrating churches and monasteries.6 1 Palmer's Origincs Liturgical, i, sect. 9. 2 Llyfr Coch. Persaepe. 3 Evengulthen,— Euaggulthen, — Evenegyllthen, — Ereuegilthes. 4 Bede's Ecclesiastical History, i, p. 27. 5 Annotated Prayer Book, i, p. 114. "It seems probable that this dis- tinctive ritual mark is a relic of the independent origin of the Church of England, similar to those peculiarities which were noticed by St. Augustine, and which were attributed by the ancient British bishops to some connexion with St. John. In this case it is at least significant that it was St. John through whom the doctrine of the Holy Trinity was most clearly revealed ; and also that the early Church of England appears never to have been infested by the heresies on this subject which troubled other portions of the Christian world." 6 Councils and Eccles. Documents of Great Britain and Ireland, vol. i. App. D. 22 THE BRITISH CHURCH. One memorable trait has been noted by G-iraldus as eminently distinguishing the Britons, and deserves to be mentioned, — their great care for their poor : " Nemo in hac gente mendicus, omnium enim hospitia omnibus sunt communia"; and again, " De quolibet pane apposito primum fractionis angulum pauperibus donant";1 a characteristic which has its representative in the " Cymmor- thau," or gatherings to help one another in harvest time, at funerals and weddings, and on many other occasions. It is, however, in connexion with " Wells" that the earliest customs of all have been handed down ; for we have here traces of many heathenish and pre-Christian rites that have survived, it may be said, to our day the endless vicissitudes of civil and ecclesiastical change. The earliest Celtic inhabitants of the island brought over with them the patriarchal habits of a country and a climate in which " wells of water" were esteemed among the most valuable of possessions ; and retained the customs of their fatherland under the altered aspects of their new home, just as our own friends still keep our Christmas in Australia and Xew Zealand. It was around these that the elders met to discuss the fortunes of their race, or to gossip about the news of the day. It was here the young men engaged with friendly rivalry in their national Olympics, " Ypedwar Camp ar hugain." It was here that old and young assembled periodically to " drink sugar and water," or join in some other emblematic act in token of a com- mon bond. It was here, too, that the Christian missionary often met the assembled multitudes, and preached to them the A Void of Life. Here their first converts were baptised; and hence, after a church had been built, the water for holy Baptism long continued to be taken; and when the parishioners wished to " walk their bounds" on the Rogation days, it was at these that for many generations they first met for a special service ;2 thus, in theory at least, hallowing by religion their union of the pre- sent with the past. Around these, too, it must be added, have lingered longest the traces of a heathen mythology. The Roman custom of sacrificing a cock to iEsculapius, for restoration to 1 Cambria Dcscriptio, c. x, pp. 257, 274. 2 As at Knockin, at least down to 1710, and liodt'ari to 17133. THE BKITISH CHURCH. 23 health, — itself it may be a dim shadow of the great doctrine of Atonement, — may be easily traced in the rites performed, even during the last century, at Ffynnon Diar or Deifr, in Bodfari, and at Ffynnon Tecla in Ial. The ill fame of Ffynnon Elian, again, continues even to this day, though in a less degree, to possess a terrorising influence, such as I can only compare to the awe with which I have found a notorious conjurer in the Black Country regarded by some in England. The assigning to certain wells a special healing property, whatever its real origin, owes its general acceptance and power, there can be little doubt, to the miracu- lous cure at the Pool of Bethesda ;x the five porches of which were reproduced in the beautiful structure that encloses St. Wini- fred's Well at Holywell, the ruined remains of St. Mary's Well at Wigfair, and the remaining outlines of Ffynnon Asa near Cwm.2 1 St. John, v, 2. 2 Having treated the subject of this chapter with special reference to the needs of the present work, I would recommend to those who wish to study the history of the British Church more fully, the very learned and valuable work on Councils and Ecclesiastical Documents relating to Great Britain and Ireland, edited after Spelman and Wilkins, by A. W. Haddan, B.D., and W. Stubbs, M.A. Oxford, 1869. 24 CHAPTEE III. LANDMARKS IN ITS EARLY HISTORY. The Conference at Augustine's Oak.— Massacre of Bangor. — Death of Oswald. — Invasion of Offa. — Laws of Howel Dda. — Domesday notices. — The Lord- Marchers and their ecclesiastical policy. — Appropriations. — Ele- ments in the suppression of the British Church. Having described the origin of the see, and the system and order of its Church government, we now proceed to a consideration of some of those notable events which may be regarded as the land- marks of its early history. The first and most important of these, both from the light it has thrown upon the character of the native Church, and from its bearings on its after history, is the Conference of the British bishops with Augustine in 602 a.d. This Conference has already been treated of in its relation to the rites and customs of the British Church ; but it requires a fuller notice here in its relation to the Anglo-Saxons. At the first meeting "Augustine called upon them to unite with him in the conversion of the heathen. This was a duty admitted by all ; and then assuming, without proof that he was right, and that they were wrong, he demanded, as the condition of such fellowship, the surrender of certain prin- ciples, and the renunciation of certain practices, which were the peculiarities of the British Church ; and which, as marks of their independence, were peculiarly dear to them." This condition having been rejected, Augustine, at a second Conference, offered them the following ultimatum as the minimum requirement on which he would accept them as his suffragans, viz., that they should observe Easter according to the Eoman computation, adopt the Eoman form of Baptism, and unite with him in evangelizing the Saxons. "This last term of agreement," continues Dean Hook, LANDMARKS TTC ITS EARLY HISTOEY. 25 " was evidently adopted to insinuate a charge against them, if they rejected the proposals, of preferring ceremonies compara- tively unimportant to an evident Christian duty.1 Among the seven British bishops who were present at the Conference may probably have been the Bishop of Llanelwy, St. Asaph, or his successor, Tyssilio, the son of Brochwel Ysgythrog, a valiant champion of the independence of the British Church. The ad- vice of the anchorite whom they consulted on their way, and the intemperate conduct of Augustine on their arrival, and during the interview ; their final rejection of the terms, and the angry retort of Augustine, that " since they would not have peace with brothers, they should have war with enemies; and since they were unwilling to preach to the nation of the Angles the way of life, they should suffer death at their hands, as the ministers of divine vengeance ; — these matters have been minutely related by Bede,2 and are well known ; but so related as to obscure, in a great degree, the real points at issue, and to leave on the mind an impression alike unfavourable to the bishops, and unjust to their Church. Saxon chroniclers have taken occasion from it to censure the British Church over harshly for not having attempted the conversion of the heathen Saxons, and modern writers have too often followed in their track without making due allowance, on the one hand, for the special conditions attached to Augus- tine's offer; and on the other, for the relative attitude of the Britons and the Saxons. The former were still smarting under a bitter sense of the wrongs and cruelties inflicted by their con- querors, and so ill disposed to join in the offices of Christian love towards them ; and they, on their side, still clinging to their heathen notions of a Walhalla of carnage and sensuality, were but little inclined to lessons of purity and peace and self-denial from the despised Britons ; but after a time the gentle influence of a settled home, and possibly, we may add, of the British wives they married, disposed them to accept the Gospel Message, and accounts for the apparently sudden conversion of entire provinces to the Christian faith. The angry threat with which Augustine closed the Conference, Lives of the Archbishops, chapt. ii. - Book ii, cb. 2. E 26 LANDMARKS IN ITS EARLY HISTORY. and which was probably but a hasty ebullition of temper, came soon to be regarded as a prophecy ; and its fulfilment recognised in the massacre of the monks of Bangor, and the destruction of their monastery, by Ethel frid of jSTorthumbria, a few years later, a.d. 613.1 In the events by which this sad episode was followed, portions of this diocese bore a melancholy part. The massacre of Bangor was speedily avenged by the combined forces of Cad- van, King of Gwynedd, Brochwel Ysgythrog, Prince of Pengwern (the then capital of Powys), and others, who signally defeated Ethelfrid on the banks of the Dee. A few years after this, a.d. 620, Edwin of Northumbria advanced against Cadwallawn, the son and successor of Cadvan, and defeating him in the bloody battle of Caer-Digoll (recorded in the Triads as one of " the three discolourings of the Severn") forced him to flee for safety into Ireland. Some twelve years later, having returned thence, and married the sister of Penda, King of Mercia, Cadwallawn pro- ceeded to take vengeance on his enemy, defeated and slew Edwin, and ravaged his country ; but was himself vanquished and slain by Oswald, the following year, at Denisbourne. In an expedition undertaken by Oswald not long after this (c. 642), probably to avenge the injuries inflicted by Cadwallawn, we find him engaged with Penda, the brother-in-law, and ally of the latter, in a deadly struggle at Maserfeld. In this struggle Oswald's army was routed, and himself slain ; and according to the commonly received legend, his mangled remains were exposed in derision on a cross, thence called " Croes Oswallt," or Oswald's cross.2 1 " Sicque completum est prsesagium sancti pontificis Augustini, quamvis ipso jam multo ante tempore ad coelestia regna sublato, ut etiam temporalis interitus ultione sentirent perfidi, quod oblata sibi perpetuae salutis consilia spreverant." — Beda, H. E., ii. 2 It may however, I think, be fairly questioned whether this last piece of savagery be not an afterthought, invented, as was so often the case (see M. Alfred Maury's Essay, Sur les Lcgendes pieuses du Moyen Age, Paris, 1843), to account for the British form of the name ; a form differing slightly, be it observed, from its Saxon representative, " Oswald's treow," i. e., Oswald's tree; and dating, most likely, from the time when the present town of Oswes- try began to supersede the earlier Meresberie or Maesbury. (Eyton's Anti- quities of Shropshire, vol. x.) The village of Woolston (Oswald's-stane, or Oswald's tun) and Oswald's Well attest his close connexion with the place. LANDMARKS IN ITS EARLY HISTORY. The invasion of Offa, a later king of Mercia (c. 790 A.D.), his advance into the very parish of the cathedral city, and his fatal victory on Ehuddlan Marsh hard by, next demand a passing notice ; not so much for any authentic details we possess of the event, as for the havoc and devastation that must have attended it. The same remark will also apply to the construction of the dyke that still bears his name, " Clawdd Offa"; and which, hem- ming in the Britons within stricter limits, served as a formidable barrier to freebooting expeditions from either side. The extent of the Saxon encroachment is still further testified by the nomen- clature of places all along the border-land, such as Haordine (Hawarden), Salexndine (Selattyn), Wrexham, Buck/ey, iLYbistock, etc. The deep impression made, and the bitter sense of injury provoked by the Saxons, may be recognised in the simple fact that down to this day their name, " Saeson," has stood as the one representative in vYelsh of the successive Saxon, English, Danish, and Xorman invaders. And when we bear in mind that one of the epithets often applied to them about this period, was that of "unbelievers" ("Y Saeson digrcd")^xe may be quite certain that ecclesiastical persons and places were among the first and surest to feel their vengeance. The influence of the Northmen was much more transitory, perhaps hardly felt at all. The old Yikings, who gave names to some of the prominent points of the sea-coast, such as Priest- holme, Or//* VHead, and probably Gwaun-y-£co/', appear to have had a settlement at Gwespyr, or else to have held it as an out- post to their colony in Wirral ; and to have named the estuary of the Dee, which they crossed in going from the one place to the other, the " Hvit-fiord" (\Yhitford) or Sandy Creek. The passing of the Laws of Hywel Dda in the early part of the But then we have a Ffynnon Oswallt, again, in the parish of "Whitford ; and close to it Bryn y Groes, which, as likely as not, may have been named after the same saint. Crosses, moreover, were set up to mark the mission-stations as well as the graves of Christian saints; so that we have Croes "Wylan, Croes Ati, Croes Engan, and many others, representing sometimes the one idea, and sometimes the other. The English form, Oswald's Tree, finds its counterpart in that of Onen Asa, Maen Beuno, and similar ways of perpetu- ating the memory of popular saints and heroes. 28 LANDMARKS IN ITS EARLY HISTORY. tenth century, between 914 and 928 a.d., requires a passing notice here ; not so much, indeed, for any special connexion with this see, as for their general importance in connexion with the Church. They are very explicit on all ecclesiastical matters, and not only bear witness to the complete organisation of the Church at that time ; but also, inasmuch as many of their regulations are apparently but a re-enactment or digest of an earlier code of Welsh canons, dating from about the seventh, century,1 they carry back that system and organisation to a much earlier period than some writers have been willing to believe. Chebur, Bishop of St. Asaph, is mentioned in the preface as one of those who, after the Law had been made, and completely written, accompanied Howel " to Eome, to Pope Anastasius, to read the Law, and to see if there were anything contrary to the law of God in it." This journey has been altogether doubted by some as savouring too much of the propensity, so common from about this time, to make everything and every person of any eminence or virtue, to derive those qualities from some connexion with the Eoman see f but as there is, in addition to its own assertion and the external testi- mony of Brut y Tywysogion in its favour, some internal evidence in the Code itself, which " mentions twice or thrice (sometimes for the purpose of asserting a contrary law) the law of Eome, both canon and civil,"8 we may take it for granted that the journey was a fact. Indeed, it is most natural that a good and enlightened prince like Hywel, who had shewn so much care in the original compilation of the Code, "that nothing should be introduced that might be contrary to the Holy Scripture," should, on its completion, go to the ecclesiastical metropolis of the West " to ascertain," as the Brut records, " that it was also in accordance 1 Councils and Ecclesiastical Documents, i, App. A, p. 127 and p. 211. 2 " Fabulam sapit (quod et in Kentigerno supra observavimus) iter Eoma- num." — Wharton Be Episc. Assav., p. 303. 3 Councils and Eccl. Doc, p. 211, note A. 4 Perhaps, too, the custom of swearing on relics (creiriau) may be taken as another evidence. The explanation of the term in a later portion of the Code represents the custom followed in this country : " There are three relics to swear by, the staff of a priest, the Name of God, and hand in hand with the one sworn to." LANDMARKS IN ITS EARLY HISTORY. 29 with the laws of countries and cities in the receipt of faith and baptism."1 The Domesday Survey of William the Conqueror, compiled in the year 1086, introduces a new element on the scene, that of the Lords-Marchers, and is highly interesting from the notices it contains of churches and clergy ; only that where such notices are omitted, we must bear in mind that the omission is no proof of their non-existence.2 Of the ten Churches enumerated in this diocese, no less than eight were in the hundred of Atiscros, which formed a part of the grant made to Hugh Lupus, Earl of Chester, and corresponds to the modern county of Flint ; not including that portion which lies beyond the Dee, and which was at that time in the hundred of Exestan and the diocese of Cestria (Ches- ter or Lichfield). As the survey was essentially a civil measure, intended to supply a register of lands and their tenures, parochial divisions, as such, did not fall within its scope ; indeed, there is sometimes no little difficulty in identifying the actual locality of the church among the several places grouped together in con- nexion with it. Even the cathedral is not mentioned; but, consistently with the object of the measure, there is a notice of the episcopal lands, which are specially exempted from the grant made to Robert of Ehuddlan, the Yice-comes, or Lieutenant, of Earl Hugh. " Rotpert de Roelent ten' de Rege Nort Wales, ad firma pro xl lib. preter ilia terra qua rex ei dederat in feudo, et preter terras episcopat'." The subjoined table will shew at a glance the Domesday groups, their modern representatives, and the ecclesiastical notices re- corded in the Survey, so far as relates to this diocese : " In Atiscros Hund. : 1. Haordine (Haivarden). — Ibi ecclesia ad quam pertinet, 2. Widford {Wliitford).— Ecclesia. 3. Dissard (Disserth) ; Boteuuaril (Bodvari) ; Ruargor. — Ibi in dominio ecclesia cum presbitero. 1 In Councils and Ecc. Doc., i, p. 210. " Bod y cyfreithiau. hynny yn gyd- gerddedigion a chyfraith Duw ac a chyfreithiau gwledydd a dinasoedd tiroedd , cred a bedydd." 2 Eyton's Antiquities of Shropshire. 30 LANDMARKS IN ITS EARLY HISTORY. 4. Inglecroft ; Brunfor (Brynford) ; Alcliene (Hcdkin). — Ibi in dominio ecclesia cum presbitero. 5. Danfrond ; Calston (Kelston in Llanasa) ; Wesbrie (fihvespyr). — Una ecclesia. 6. Presteton (Prestatyn) ; Ruestock (Meliden). — Ibi est ecclesia. 7. Roelent (Rlmddlan). — Ecclesia in two medieties. 8. Cancarnacan (Camychan) ; AVenescol (Gwaunysgor). — Una ecclesia. 9. Quisnan (Givysaney). — Ipsa (terra) ibi curn presbitero. In Mersete Hund. : Meresberie (Maesbury). — Ibi ecclesia. In Terra de Gal (Ial). — ii presbiteri. In Chenlei (Cynllaeth) and Derniou {Edeirnion). — No notice of eccles. or presb. In Exestan Hund. : Gretford (Gresford). — Ecclesia et presbiter ibi." Odeslei (Hoseley in Gresford) belonged at this time to St. Wer- burgli's ; and Eitune (Eyton in Bangor) to the see of Lichfield (S'tns Cedde), upon which it had been bestowed by Edward the Confessor' on its forfeiture by Prince Gruffydd, upon whom it had been previously conferred : " Rex E. ded regi Grifino tota terra que iacebat trans aqua que de (Dee) vocatur. Sed postqu ipse Grifln forisfecit ei abstulit ab eo hanc tra & reddid epo de Cestre, et omib' suis hoib' qui antea ipsa tenebant." Under the manor of Bedesfeld (Betisfield), on the other hand, we find the bishop complaining that Robert, one of the sons of Earl Hugh, had unjustly taken possession of two hides of land which had belonged to the see in the time of King Canute.1 These notices lead not inaptly to the consideration of the atti- tude assumed by the Lords-Marchers towards the native Church, and the influence they brought to bear upon its interests. The worldly wise policy of William in constituting along the borders or marches a body of practically irresponsible chieftains with a commission to acquire whatever they could get, and to keep whatever they could hold, led, as might have been expected, to 1 Domes day, under " Cestresciro." I have introduced these notices of Eyton and Betisfield, though not forming part of the then diocese of St. Asaph, on account of their transfer into it in 1861. LANDMARKS IN ITS EARLY HISTORY. 31 the most iniquitous robbery and oppression ; and we are not sur- prised that the same spirit which marked their temporal trans- actions affected also their ecclesiastical policy. The strongly national sympathies of the native Church would naturally be an offence to them, and the difference of language an additional obstacle ; for both these reasons, therefore, they would be anxious to weaken its hold upon their new vassals. Then, besides all this, there were the obligations under which they lay to their own Church, which had sent them forth on their venture with its favour and blessing. Their success enabled them to reward with a cheap generosity its fidelity to their cause, and to gratify at once their sense of religion and their schemes of policy, by transferring into its hands a portion of what they took by violence from the proper owners.1 This will apply, indeed, to the whole character of the Xorman conquest, and to the treatment of the Saxon Church as well as the British ; but it fell on the latter with a heavier weight and with more fatal consequences. It is to the Normans we owe the grossly abused custom which, under the several forms of " appropriation," u impropriation," and " sine- curism," has been a very bane of the Church from their time downwards. " The greater prelates, being Xormans, did trample upon the inferior clergy, who were generally English," writes Dr. Bum,* " increased the pensions which the clergy were to pay them, or else withdrew their stipends ; and yet loaded them with new services, and every way oppressed them without mercy. And to complete the servile dependence an artifice was contrived to obtain indulgence from the Pope, that whatever churches they held in advowson, they should commit them to be served by 1 Thus a.d. 1093 we find Hugh Lupus, Earl of Chester, granting to the monks of St. Werburgh's, at Chester, the tithes of Haurdina, of Colesull, of Bissopestred, and of the fisheries of Eueland ; to which were added, by his nobles, e. g. by Adaliza (his danghter-in-law ?), the church of Holiwell and its mill ; by "YYilliam de Punterleya, Batavari, the church and manor, and the wood of Leston for beacons and domestic fuel : by William Meschinus, the church of Dessart ; and by William Malburch, a third part of "W epres and the tithe of Yradoc (Hiraddug ?). In like manner Sheriff Warin gave the church of St. Oswald (Oswestry), with the tithes of the vill, to the monks of St. Peter's at Shrewsbury. a Ecclesiastical Law, i, p. 64. 32 LANDMARKS IN ITS EARLY HISTORY. clerks, who, as to the cure of souls, should be responsible to the bishop ; but as to the profits, should be accountable to the abbot or prior and his brethren." The great and abiding evils which this practice has entailed, will be best illustrated by shewing the fate of the great tithes thus appropriated within this single diocese (the last to fall under the Norman influence), at three several intervals of about three hundred years, namely, at the time of the taxation of Pope Nicho- las, a.d. 1291 ; at the dissolution of the monasteries, in the six- teenth century ; and at the Commutation of Tithes as given in the Parliamentary Eeport of 1836. Thus— Ta-rofin j-vf 1 901 J. iLAtlLlU Ul X4fJl* Granted to Commut. to Lay Imp Holywell Basingwerk Abbey Henri ap Harri - .£959 19 3 Wrexham Valle Crucis Edw. Wotton 2374 4 2 Llangollen Ditto - Ditto - 1051 6 9 Rhuabon Ditto - Ditto - 1086 o 0 Chirk - Ditto - Ditto - 0 Llansaintffraid Ditto - Ditto - Llandysilio - Ditto - Ditto - 389 0 0 Bryn Eglwys Ditto - Ditto - 288 10 0 Bettws, Caedewen Strata Marcella Rowland Hayward 230 5 0 Berriew Ditto - and Thos. Dixon 793 0 0 Llanfair-Caer-Einion Llanllugan Sir Arthur D'Arcy 550 0 0 Llanllwchaiarn Ditto - Ditto - 220 0 0 Eglwys Rhos Aberconway Eliseus Wynne - 489 19 0 Eglwys Fach Ditto - Ditto - 717 0 0'3 Oswestry Shrewsbury Abbey 2057 12 0 St. Martin's Ditto - 8G2 0 0 Kinnerley Halston William Home - 650 4 0 Tregynon Ditto - 90 0 0 Dolingenwal Ditto - 70 0 0 Mold - Bisham 1645 8 11 Welshpool Ch. Ch. Oxford - 476 0 O3 Meifod - Ditto - 597 17 8 Guilsfield Ditto - 1130 0 0 Gresford St. Stephen's, 2193 15 04 Westminster 157 10 o5 To these appropriations, granted originally to religious houses for religious purposes, but conferred at the dissolution, for the most part, upon courtiers, and ever since perverted to private 1 Previously transferred to the vicar by Sir W. Myddelton. 2 Llanrwst School and Almshouse. 3 Ch.Ch. Oxford. 4 Dean and Chapter of Winchester. « Lay imp. LANDMARKS IN ITS EARLY HISTORY. 33 uses ; when we add others, made at different times, in augment- ation of the episcopal and capitular revenues ; and the sinecures, which until the Act of 1678 in some instances, and that of 1836 in others, were allowed to drain the parochial endowments, — we see of how long standing, and of what wide extent, has been the grievance of the parochial clergy, who had to bear the double onus of duties for which others received the chief pay ; and of complaints to which, not unnaturally, aggrieved parishioners gave vent ; and who, moreover, for one long period (from 1750 to 1830) were not supposed to have any just claim to the higher dignities or to the richer prizes of their profession. The Order which obtained the largest number of these appro- priations was the Cistercian, a branch of the Benedictines, founded at Citeaux in Burgundy, and first introduced into Wales in a.d. 1143. Being celibates, inspired with foreign sympathies as op- posed to the nationalism of the native Church, and possessed with a strong esprit de corps, they were well adapted to promote the designs of the Norman marchers ; and so we soon find them, under their protection, establishing or else appropriating houses at Basingwerk, Strata Marcella, Yalle Crucis, and elsewhere; monopolising by degrees the chief ecclesiastical appointments, and gradually supplanting the parochial clergy in the more im- portant cures; and so steadily assimilating the British Church to that of Canterbury, and drawing it into its obedience long before it actually lost its independence. The Crusades, too, bore a share in the process, as well from the spirit they gave rise to as from the needs they created, and the influence they continued to exercise after the establishment of the order of Knights Hos- pitallers at Halston, with its dependent institution at Doly- gynwal, i. e., Yspytty Ifan. In the forefront of all, however, must be placed "the fearful abuse of spiritual powers and the exceeding worldliness of the Church, exhibited in all the rela- tions of England to Wales, and especially in the monstrous wick- edness with which excommunications and interdicts were scat- tered about at random," to back up the political designs of the crown.1 Of particular instances we shall have to speak hereafter ; Council* and Ecclcs. Doc, pref., p. xix. r 34 LANDMARKS IN ITS EARLY HISTORY. but the general character and inequality of the struggle may be summed up not inaptly {mutatis mutandis, and taking in the wider field of Church and State) in the language in which Giral- dus describes his contest for the freedom of St. David's from the supremacy of Canterbury : " On the one side you will see royal favour, affluence of riches, numerous and affluent suffragan bishops, a great abundance of learned men, and well skilled in the laws ; on the other a deficiency of all these things, and a total privation of justice. On which account the recovery of its ancient rights will not easily be effected but by means of those great changes and vicissitudes which kingdoms experience from various and unexpected events."1 1 Hoare's Giraldus, ii, 6. CHAPTER IV. HISTORY TO THE ANNEXATION. Process of bringing the Welsh Church into subjection to Canterbury. — Gil- bert.— Geoffrey of Monmouth. — Godfrey. — Adam and his controversy about Kerry. — Archbishop Baldwin's visitation.— Owen Cyfeiliog — Ap- propriations of Eeiner and his successors. — Anian II. — Controversy as to the privileges of the see. — Grants of lands at St. Martin's and at Llandegla. — Controversies as to the patronage and limits of the see. — Disfavour with Edward I. — Eeconciliation. — Annexation of Wales. — Visitation of Archbishop Peckham. The twelfth century ushers in a series of persistent and finally successful efforts on the part of the English king to subject the Welsh Church to the jurisdiction of Canterbury, by forcing his nominees into its bishoprics, and requiring their consecration by the English metropolitan. To this treatment the "Welsh princes and people offered a long, but owing to their divided and weak- ened condition, an ineffectual resistance, — a resistance sometimes confined to a protest against the proceedings being considered as done of right, sometimes embodied in the election of another bishop according to their own customs, and sometimes breaking out into violence and bloodshed. Thus in a.d. 1109, Hervseus, a Breton, a favourite of William Eufus, and by him forced into the see of Bangor a.d. 1092, was compelled to quit Iris diocese, which he had governed with haughtiness and severity, and to seek safety in England.1 In a.d. 1115, Bernard, a Norman, and con- fessor to Henry I's queen, was thrust upon St. David's ; but the clergy refusing to acknowledge him, elected in his stead one Daniel ap Sulien, Archdeacon of Powys, eminent for his exertions to effect a reconciliation between North and South Wales.3 Upon Councils and Ecclcs. Doc, i, p. 303. - Ibid , p. 308, note a. 36 HISTORY TO THE ANNEXATION. whose death, in a.d. 1124 or 1127, they appear willingly or un- willingly to have accepted Bernard, the first Norman prelate in Wales ; who, however, instead of carrying out obediently the designs of the king, became henceforward a sturdy champion of the rights of his see against the assumptions of Canterbury.1 In a.d. 1125 a proposal was made by the king (Henry I) and others, in the first year of Pope Honorius, to transfer St. Asaph and Bangor, with Chester, from the province of Canterbury to that of York, in order to end the strife between the two arch- bishops.2 The description there given of St. Asaph, lying midway between Chester and Bangor, as " pro vastitate et barbarie epis- copo vocantem," will account for its omission in the list of Welsh sees given by Henry of Huntingdon, who wrote about ten years later, and who remarks of the three bishops whom he does name (e. g., St. David's, Bangor, and Glamorgan), that they were " nul- larum urbium episcopi propter desolationem Wallias."3 The " altum silentium," as Wharton calls it, which had so long brooded over this diocese, was at length broken when Gilbert, Bishop- elect, received consecration from the Archbishop of Canterbury, being the first bishop of this see consecrated out of Wales. From this time we have, at least, the names of the successive bishops, and in some instances details of their life and episcopate. The most eminent of the earlier ones was his immediate succes- sor, the celebrated Geoffrey of Monmouth (Galffrai ab Arthur), A.D. 1152-1154; who, however, for some reason or other, never came to his see, but died at Llandaff, apparently during divine service (" at Mass"), and was buried there in the cathedral, in which he held the dignity of archdeacon of Monmouth. Godfrey, who succeeded A.D. 1158, appears to have been more of a courtier than an ecclesiastic, and in greater favour with the English king than with the clergy and laity of his diocese. The successes of Owen Gwynedd, who, after defeating the forces of Henry II at 1 Jones and Freeman's St. David's, and Wynne's edition of Caradoc's His- tory of Wales, sub ann. 1124 a.d. 2 Councils and Eccles. Doc, p. 316, and note. " The strife" was probably as to precedence, as to which of the two was primate, and had a right to conse- crate the other. 3 Brut y Tywysogion, in anno 1154. HISTORY TO THE ANNEXATION. 37 Ewloe and at Coleshill, remained for some time master of the country, seem to have made the see too hot for its Norman occu- pant, who about a.d. 1165, "paupertate et infestatione Wallen- sium compulsus, sedem suam deseruit,"1 and fled into England. There he received from the king the abbacy of Abingdon, to hold in eommcndam with his bishopric ; but he soon rendered himself obnoxious to the Archbishop (Becket) by presuming to exercise Iris episcopal functions in another's diocese, and against his will ; and especially by absolving certain persons whom the Archbishop had laid under excommunication. The latter thereupon calls upon him to return to his see, or resign it, and not to trespass upon another's pasture. Finally, being complained of by the Canons of St. Asaph in a Council held at Westminster, a.d. 1175, for non-residence, he was compelled to elect between his bishopric and his abbacy ; and choosing the latter, either for its greater security or for its greater wealth ("utpote qurestuosius"), he resigned the see, and was succeeded therein by Adam, a Canon of Paris, but a Welshman by birth.2 The famous controversy relating to the jurisdiction of Kerry, in which he became involved with his old fellow-student, Giral- dus Cambrensis, is highly important for the light it throws upon the ecclesiastical history and customs of the day. The occasion was the dedication, or rather the re-dedication, of the parish church dirring a vacancy in the see of St. David's, A.D. 1175. Kerry being in the lordship or march of Montgomery, Adam was invited by two of the local chieftains, Einion Glyd and Cad- wallawn, and some of the clergy, to come and dedicate the church ; but on proceeding to do so was confronted by Giraldus, who, as Archdeacon of Brecon, and representative of the see of St. David, solemnly inhibited him "ex parte Dei, Dominique Papa? et Archiepiscopi necnon et Eegis Anglige, in cujus maim et custodia tunc erat Ecclesia S. Davidis, paulo ante orbata pas- tore, ne falcem mitteret in messeni alienam." To this the Bishop rejoined by quoting the letters of the Archbishop confirming to 1 "Wharton De Episcopis Assavens., p. 310. 2 Ibid., p. 310; and Councils and Eccles. Doc, i, 362-1, 378 Godfrey was also deprived of his abbey. u Sic deoeptus amisit utruinque." (llovedcn.) 38 HISTORY TO THE ANNEXATION. him the see of Llanelwy, " with all its appurtenances"; and by- producing, in further support of his claim, an ancient book which declared that not Kerry only, but all the churches between the Wye and the Severn, " ad ecclesiam Laneluensem jure parochiali pertinere." This was in complete accord with the ancient arrangement which assigned to this diocese the province of Powys, of which Kerry formed a part ; but it was not allowed to stand against the practice of three hundred years, during which it was alleged by Giraldus that Kerry had belonged to St. David's. Judging from the retinue that attended the Bishop from Powys- land and Caedewen, and the armed body which on the shortest notice answered the summons of the Archdeacon, it would appear that the dispute had been one of some standing, and had now come to its expected crisis. The whole account is curious. On the morning of the dedication two of the clergy (for the church was a collegiate foundation), after first hiding the keys, set out to meet the Bishop. Meanwhile Giraldus, the archdeacon, sud- denly appears at the gates, and having with some difficulty obtained admission, has the bells rung in token of possession.1 Learning definitely, through his rural dean, that the Bishop was coming in his official capacity, he warns him not to enter into another's field ; and to the Bishop's threat of excommunication he replies that it did not signify to him as he was not his bishop, and hints that he, too, could and would try that experiment. And when at length the Bishop, wearing his mitre, and holding his pastoral staff, solemnly advanced to put his threat into exe- cution, Giraldus had the church door thrown open, and issued forth with a train of priests and clergy robed in surplices and stoles, with the other sacerdotal vestments, and preceded by lighted candles and a processional cross. The two parties stood face to face ; and when the Bishop began in a loud voice to ex- communicate the Archdeacon, the latter, in still louder tones, began to excommunicate him : and to add solemnity to the sen- tence, he ordered all the bells to be tolled in the slow and pecu- liar manner (" simul omnes trino intervallo") usual on such like occasions. The issue was that the Bishop turned on his heel, 1 " TaiKjuaui in invcstituru! si^num et possessionis." HISTORY TO THE ANNEXATION. 39 and galloped off, pursued by the sticks and stones and yells of the multitude, as was always the case whenever those ominous sounds were heard. Be it added, however, to the honour of both the disputants, that the Archdeacon's steadfast maintenance of the rights of his see secured to him ever afterwards the respect and esteem of his old fellow pupil, the defeated Bishop. Some twelve years later this same Giraldus accompanied Arch- bishop Baldwin in his Visitation tour of the Welsh dioceses, of which he has given us an account in his Itinerarium Cambrice. This tour was undertaken with the twofold object of preaching the Crusades, and of bringing the Welsh clergy into conformity with those of England. When they reached the poor little city of Llanelwy (" paupercula sedes Lanelvensis"), the Archbishop celebrated Mass " in pontificalibus," as it had never before been seen there, as Higden remarks in his Polychronicon. Soon after passing Oswestry, they took the opportunity of launching that spiritual thunderbolt which, powerful as it may have been for good where rightly directed, we find so often and so grossly abused. " We excommunicated Owen de Cyfeiliog," writes Giral- dus, " because he alone amongst the Welsh princes did not come to meet the Archbishop with his people." So it was not for any act of wickedness unworthy of a Christian man, nor for any deed of injustice or cruelty as a neighbour, nor even for any rebellion against the state, that this extreme measure was adopted towards him ; for he was acknowledged by Giraldus himself to have been a man preeminently distinguished for "justice, wisdom, and moderation"; but because he would not pay court to a prelate whose proceedings were very distasteful to him as one jealous for the ecclesiastical independence of his country. It was the same feeling of aversion to the policy by which his country was being swallowed up politically, that prompted the symbolic act which is recorded of him at a banquet given by Henry II at Shrews- bury. The king having sent him one of his own loaves as a mark of special honour, Owen broke it into small pieces, like bread given away in charity ; and then having, like an almoner, put them at a distance from him, he took them up and ate them one by one ; following therein, as he declared, the example of his Lord.1 Giraldus and Powysland Club ; Princes of Upper Powys, 10. 40 HISTORY TO THE ANNEXATION. That Owen was justified in his opposition to Baldwin is pain- fully evident from the petition of the Welsh princes presented a few years later, a.d. 1203, by Giraldus to the Pope (Innocent III). Eeferring more directly to St. David's and Llandaff, they com- plained in language soon applicable to the other sees, that ever since the Welsh Church had been forcibly subjected to the crown and Church of England, English bishops had been thrust upon them totally ignorant of the character and language of their people, and quite unable either to preach or hear their confes- sions save through an interpreter: men who, looking more to their own temporal profit than to the people's spiritual welfare, despoiled and weakened the Church by the gift, sale, and aliena- tion of its property, which they transferred to England, where the king gave them abbeys and lands, from whence they excom- municated the Welsh at his bidding. And more especially was this the case during the time of war, for whenever the English attacked Wales, they laid the country forthwith under an inter- dict ; and whenever the Welsh rose in defence of their land and liberty, they were put individually and nationally under the bann of the Church ; so that every Welshman that fell in battle, fell of necessity under a malediction.1 Eeiner, who was Bishop of St. Asaph at the time of Archbishop Baldwin's visitation, lived for the most part near Oswestry, at which place he founded a hospital dedicated to St. John, and bestowed it on the Knights Hospitallers of Halston, but with a reservation of its spiritual oversight to the canons of Haugh- mond.2 He was also the first of a succession of bishops who, being themselves members of religious orders, are chiefly notable for the appropriations they made. Besides confirming Fitz Alan's grant of the advowson of Oswestry and its chapel, St. Martin's, to Shrewsbury Abbey, Eeiner conceded to it also the tithes which had previously belonged to the portionarii or prebendaries of the church. He also appropriated to Valle Crucis half the tithes of Wrexham, to which his successor, Abraham, added the remainder. Hugh, the next bishop, conferred on the same house the tithes 1 Councils and Ecdes. Doc, i, 431. 2 Eylon's Shropshire, vol. x. HISTORY TO THE ANNEXATION. 41 of Llangollen, with its capellce of Khuabon, Y Waun (Chirk), Llan- saintfiraid (Glyn Ceiriog), and Llandegla ; and granted those of Llanfair Caereinion to the nuns of Llanllugan. Howel assigned Llanasa to the sustentation of the fabric of the cathedral. Anian I appropriated to the same nuns the tithes of Llanllwchaiarn, and bestowed those of Berriew on the monks of Pool (Strata Mar- cella). Another Anian (II) added to Valle Crucis two-thirds of the tithes of Bryneglwys, and gave Ehuddlan and Llansilin towards the augmentation of the stipend of his canons. But this Anian (II) is best known for his bold assertion of the rights of the Church, and for his resolute maintenance of the privileges of his see. Belonging to the order of Dominicans (" y brawd du o Nannau"), he had been confessor to Edward in the Holy Land ; and bringing to bear upon his episcopal office the zeal of a Crusader, he earned the title assigned to him by an early writer,1 of being " longe fortissimus privilegiorum sedis suae vin- dex et assertor." Consecrated a.d. 1268, he obtained the follow- ing year, from Llewelyn ap GrufTydd, prince of Wales, a confirm- ation of the privileges of the see ;2 but as he assumed therein a right to much that the prince denied, there followed a long and painful controversy, ending in appeals to the Archbishop and the Pope. The prince, indeed, at the outset expressed his readiness to abide by the verdict of twelve honest men ; but the proposi- tion does not appear to have been accepted ; for at an Inquisition held in the cathedral in a.d. 1276, sundry articles of complaint against him were drawn up to be presented to the Archbishop.3 The complaints specified such points as " the denial to the Bishop of the right to make a will, and the cession of his goods to the crown, which seems to have been intended as a counterpoise to the privileges enjoyed by him of taking the goods of all persons dying intestate within his diocese ; the injury done to episcopal manors during the vacancy of the see, by the prince's officers in charge ; refusal to allow the canons to elect into the vacancy without the prince's license as to the time ; the holding of courts by the prince's bailiffs, on Sundays and festivals, in the church- 1 In Annates Linguce Wallicoe. 2 Llyfr Coch, 666, p. 29 ; 67a, p. 30. 3 Llyfr Coch., 98, 99a, p. 39, and Councils and Eccles. Doc, i, 511-516. G 42 HISTORY TO THE ANNEXATION. yard, and even in the church ; and their refusal to allow to the bishop and chapter their proper share of the fines ; that vassals of the Church, if they transferred their allegiance to the English, were deprived of their property, and no respect paid to the plea that it was a feoff of the Church ; that the prince had demanded certain ' procurations' from religious houses, and that his officers had maltreated those who opposed the exaction ; that he had denied the parochial clergy a share in the commons, pastures, woods, etc. ; and that in the case of Llanrwst, he had defrauded the church of property, for which he allowed only an inadequate payment." There is an acknowledgment, indeed, that he had abated somewhat of these practices ; but as he did it '"of grace and not of right,' the question was carried before the Archbishop. The Cistercians, indeed, with the exception of the abbot of Basingwerk, who took an active part in promoting the case, sided with Llewelyn, and sent to the Pope (Gregory X) a circular let- ter1 signed by the abbots of Alba Domus, Strata Florida, Cwmhir, Strata Marcella, Aberconway, Cymmer, and Valle Crucis, in which they not only denied the truth of the charges advanced against him by the Bishop, but positively affirmed " that he had, on the contrary, always proved a steady friend and patron not only of their own, but of every religious order, and a steadfast guardian of the Church in Wales." The issue, however, could not be doubtful. Excommunication was a powerful weapon, and freely handled; and under the pressure, or anticipation thereof, Llewelyn conceded the points in dispute. Bishop Anian, in A.D. 1271, obtained from John Fitz Alan, lord of the manor of Oswestry, certain lands in " Martin's Church" on condition that he should pay annually, by way of acknow- ledgment for them, a pair of gilt spurs. They appear to have belonged previously to the Abbot and Convent of Shrewsbury, but to have been taken from them by Fitz Alan, who was a violent opponent of theirs, and given to the Bishop for his conduct in instituting one Walter de Engmere, a presentee of Fitz Alan's, to the mother church of Oswestry, the advowson of which had been ' IJyfr Cock, 40/), 27 p. HISTORY TO THE ANNEXATION. 43 hitherto enjoyed by the Abbey, but was now claimed by the said Fitz Alan. By a compromise effected a.d. 1272, the Abbey recovered its rights in Oswestry, but gave up to the Bishop the lands at St. Martin's ; to which, a few years later, Richard Fitz Alan, the son of John, added forty-four acres, the site of the manor and the house thereto belonging.1 In 1278 Anian further obtained from GrufTydd Yychan, son of Gruffydd ap Madoc, lord of Ial, a grant of the manor of Llandegla for his see in perpe- tuity.2 The temporalities of his see were not, however, the only, nor by any means the main, object of Bishop Anian's care. About the year 1273 there commenced between Mm and the abbot of Yalle Crucis an important controversy relative to the patronage of those churches the great tithes of which had been granted by his predecessors to that foundation.3 The abbot held that, having become canonically possessed, from early times, of the church of Llangollen, with its cap el lev of Wrexham, Piuabon,Y Waim (Chirk), LlansaintfTraid, and Llandegla, one vicar in the mother church was sufficient for the whole. The Bishop, on the other hand, insisted upon appointing a vicar in each of the capellce also. From this the abbot appealed to the Pope, whose delegate, the abbot of Talyllechau, or Talley, in Carmarthenshire, gave sentence against the Bishop, condemning him to pay £5, and the vicars £60, by way of restitution to the abbot ; and on Anian's appeal to the Archbishop of Canterbury, he excommunicated him. The abbot of Talyllechau is hereupon admonished by the Archbishop to revoke the sentence of excommunication, and the Archdeacon of Anglesea is appointed his substitute in the case. Finally Anian concedes the sequestrated benefices to the abbot and con- vent at a visitation holden by him at Album Monasterium (Os- westry). About this same time, or immediately afterwards, Anian became involved in another controversy, with the Bishop of Hereford (Thomas Cantilupe), as to the boundaries of their respective sees. The ground of dispute was the territory called Gorddwr, lying Llyfr Cdch, 2ob, 426. 2 Hid., p. 35, and "Willis, Appendix vin. " Ibid., p. 20, 30a, 69a, 71", 7U>, 72a. HISTORY TO THE ANNEXATION. on the eastern bank of the Severn, and embracing portions at least of Buttington and Alberbmy (Llanfihangel yng Ghentyn, i. e., St. Michael's in the low lands), the jurisdiction of which Aidan claimed for his own see. According to the theory that the diocese of St. Asaph embraced the whole of ancient Powys, this part would necessarily fall within its limits ; and it appears from an inquisition held in 1265, before Gruffydd ap Wenynwyn, that many of its vills or townships paid a moiety of their eccle- siastical dues to the mother church of Meifod.1 The Bishop of Hereford appealed against Anian to the Pope, who appointed the Bishop of London arbitrator in the case. Before it was settled, however, Cantilupe died, and was succeeded by Richard Swin- field, in whose time a jury of Welsh and English decided the question in favour of the Bishop of Hereford ; but under a pro- test from Anian against their decision being converted into a precedent that might be prejudicial to his see in any future trial of the cause. The true and ancient boundary of the dioceses was now determined to be the Jilum, or mid-stream, of the Severn, from the ford called Ehydwynmia,2 where the river divided the lands of Sir Reginald de Montgomery from those of Peter Corbet, to the ford of Shrawarden. The day after this award was made, Swinfield came to Chirbmy; and on the 25th, St. Catherine's Day, he entered on horseback the ford of Ehydwymma, to the middle of the river, and thus took possession of all places and vills within the bank assigned to him, with all the episcopal offices pertaining thereto. The clergy of the different parishes thereupon tendered their obedience ; and on the 27th Nov. 1288, the principal chaplain of Hawyse, Lady of La Pole, attended in the choir of the conventual church of Alberbury, and for himself and the other chaplains celebrating at Botynton swore canonical obedience to the Bishop of Hereford.3 Another of his disputes was with Isabella de Mortimer, widow of John Fitz Alan, and related to the patronage of Llanymyn- ach.4 hi the feodary of 1272, John Fitz Alan, lately deceased, > Llyfr Coch, 486, p. 27. 2 Marked on the Ordnance Map as Rhyd Whimman, near Montgomery. 3 Swinfield's "Household Roll," pp. 76-79, quoted in Ey ton's Antiquities of Shropshire, vols, vii and xii. 4 Lhjfr Coch, 58a, b. HISTORY TO THE ANNEXATION. 45 was the reputed patron of the church; its value, ten marks yearly ; and the advowson of it assigned to his widow, the above- named Isabella. Anian, however (having regard probably, as was his wont, to the earlier foundation, which had been super- seded by the later custom of the Marchers), deeming the advow- son to belong to his see, contested the same with Isabella de Mortimer; and though a suit in the Curia Eegis was decided against him, he appealed to the Pope, and refused to institute Isabella's presentee. King Edward I, in a writ of 1281-2, met the Bishop's refusal by an order on the sheriff of Slnopshire to distrain upon his goods.1 Anian was, it would appear, obliged now to give way; for in the To.mtio of 1291 it was returned as both a rectory and a vicarage ; and in 1305 the Bishop having obtained the former from the rector, let it to the vicar to farm. In 1282, moreover, the same year that the above writ was issued in the case of Llammiynach, the King, as guardian of John Fitz Alan's heir, presented one William, son of Nicholas Zouch, to the vacant church of Blodwas, Llanvblodwel. Bichard Fitz Alan, the son and hen of the above John, made, as we have already seen, a very liberal grant of land in St. Martin's to the Bishop a few years afterwards. But there were other troubles, not of his own seeking, fast gathering round the energetic Bishop. The enormities committed by the English soldiers called from Anian a threat of excommu- nication, and from the Archbishop (Kilwardby) a letter of urgent remonstrance addressed to the Earl of Warwick, their com- mander. They are charged with desecrating churches and church- yards, damaging church property, burning one of the Bishop's houses, and slaying some of his servants, as well as other acts of sacrilege, — some of the very crimes alleged by Llewelyn in his digmfied reply to Archbishop Peckliam, AJD. 1282, as having forced him and his people to take up arms in self-defence, and therefore requiring to be considered and redressed before the threat " militiam ampliorem convocare, vel contra nos rnoveri sa- cerdotium," was put into execution."3 Indeed, Anian is hereupon 1 Eytou's Shropshire, x, 353. 3 Councils, i, 542. - Uvjr C6ch, 32. 46 HISTORY TO THE ANNEXATION. calumniated to the King as favouring the Welsh cause ; and, being forced to flee from his post, is reduced to the greatest straits. In a plaintive letter addressed about this time to the Provincial of his Order, he records his melancholy plight : " Nos- tram naviculam more fluctuantis pelagi undis tegentibus tempes- tatum, et ventis persecutionum invalescentibus agitatam,"1 etc., and earnestly implores the brethren's prayers in his behalf. Matters grew still worse when a little while afterwards the Eng- lish soldiers, in a sally from Ehuddlan, sacked St. Asaph and burnt the cathedral, a.d. 1282. Anian tried hard to induce the Archbishop to support him in putting them under excommuni- cation ; but Peckham found reasons for avoiding the awkward dilemma, and warned Anian not to be too hasty in the matter. The men pleaded that it was an accident, and had occurred in lawful warfare, during an act of retaliation for injuries previously received; and had it been intentional, it was urged that they would not have been admitted to the Sacraments by the Friars Preachers, as they had been after it. Moreover, it would have been much more consistent in Anian, the Archbishop adds, to have remained firmly at his post, to teach his simple people their duty, and guide them through their troubles.2 During his absence Robert Burnell, Bishop of Bath and Wells, was put in charge of the diocese. The following year, however, the Archbishop shews more consideration ; and purposing to hold an official visitation, he applies to the King for permission for Anian to attend him at St. Asaph, and soon afterwards interposes his good offices to work a reconciliation between them. It was some time, however, before this was effected. Edward had long been anxious for the removal of the episcopal see from St. Asaph to Ehuddlan, and with this view had written a letter to the Pope offering a site and a liberal sum of money.3 The Bishop and canons were also favour- able to the design, both from the greater security of the latter place, witli its newly rebuilt castle, its larger popidation, and other advantages ;4 but the design came to nothing, owing either to the death of the Pope, as Godwin supposes, or to the jealousy 1 LVyfr C6eh, 33. 2 Browne Willis, Append, xn. Ibid., 4 Ibid., xx. HISTORY TO THE ANNEXATION. 47 of the Archbishop, who, however ready to subject the Welsh Church to that of Canterbury, was little inclined to subject Can- terbury to the dictation of the crown ; and feared, justly enough, that in case of a conflict between the Church and the State, the independence of the former would be weakened if the new cathe- dral were built under the shadow of the royal castle ; for we find the Archbishop, A.D. 1284, issuing his letters of recommendation to the bishops of the Welsh and border dioceses,1 commending to their favour and hospitality certain clergy of St. Asaph who were about to travel through the country with the famous copy of the Gospels belonging to their cathedral, for the purpose of procuring subscriptions for its rebuilding. Edward, too, had carried out another transfer during this interval. He had removed the Abbey of Aberconway to Maenan, and his reconciliation with Anian was now sealed by an act of mutual courtesy brought about through the mediation of Peckham. Anian granted for its better endowment the advowson of " Eglwys-y-Vach"; and Edward, in requital, conceded to the Bishop that of Ehuddlan.2 The crisis had, meanwhile, come upon the Welsh Church and State. Edward had summoned together all his power to crush the Welsh once for all, and Llewelyn had been laid under excom- munication throughout the provinces of Canterbury and York. Erom this miserable state there was little chance of deliverance except on the condition of total submission. Even an appeal to Rome, which in earlier times had often proved a protection to the weak against the strong, would have been of little avail now against the power of England and the interests of Canterbury, for " Eegnum Anglie," writes Archbishop Peckham to Llewelyn, "est sub speciali protectione sedis apostolice, et Eomana curia plus inter regna cetera diligere consuevit." And again : " Eadem curia nullo modo volet permittere statum regni Anglie vacillare, quod sibi specialibus obsequiis est devotum." And that Llewelyn had no expectation of justice or redress, either for himself or his people, is evident from the firm and dignified reply he sent to the Archbishop thanking him for his well intended offers of mediation, but reminding him of the unredressed injuries which Browne Willis, Appendix xxn. 3 Ibid., xtx. 48 HISTOEY TO THE ANNEXATION. his countrymen had first inflicted upon the Welsh : " Et licet regnum Anglie sit curie Eomane specialiter subjectum et clilec- tum, tamen cum dominus Papa necnon et curia Eomana audie- rint, quanta nobis per Anglicos mala sunt illata, — videlicet, quod pax prius formata non fuit nobis servata nec pacta ; deinde,eccle- siarum devastations, combustiones, et ecclesiasticarum persona- rum interfectiones, sacerdotum videlicet et inclusorum et inclu- sarum et aliarum religiosarum personarum passim, mulierum et infantium suggerentium ubera et in utero positarum ; combusti- ones etiam hospitalium, et aliarum domorum religiosarum ; homicidiorum in cimiteriis, ecclesiis et super altaria et aliorum sacrilegiorum, et flagitiorum auditu etiam horribilium auditui paganorum, sicut expressius eaclem in aliis rotulis conscripta vo- bis transmittimus inspicienda....Anglici hactenus nulli sexui vel etati vel langori pepercerunt ; nulli ecclesie vel loco sacro detu- lerunt qualia vel consimilia Walenses, non fecerunt."1 Llewelyn's betrayal and death were followed quickly by the complete conquest of the country ; and those of the clergy who had adhered steadfastly to him, and were taken prisoners, were put to death by Edward " inter prsedones et malefactores alios." The famous " Statute of Ehuddlan," annexing Wales to England, and introducing the system of English jurisprudence, was passed in a.d. 1283 ; and the following year, in order to consolidate the union ecclesiastically as well as politically, John Peckham, Arch- bishop of Canterbury, made an official Visitation of the Welsh dioceses, the first ever held by an English metropolitan. It was begun at Oswestry about the beginning of May, and, as far as this diocese was concerned, finished by the middle of June, for on the 28th of that month he issued from Bangor his celebrated letter of '* Consilia, Injunctiones et Ordinationes." This letter touches upon many points of great importance towards a right estimate of the condition and character of the Church in the diocese both before and at the time ; for besides the matters of clerical dress and behaviour already alluded to,2 it requires all beneficed clergy to observe the canonical hours, and all priests with cure of souls to perform divine service Councils, i, 544. 2 Pages IS, 20. HISTORY TO THE ANNEXATION. 49 (" missam ordinariam") reverently each clay ; neglect therein to be visited with punishment corporal or pecuniary, as might be deemed most effectual ; and in the latter case, the money to be entirely expended upon the poor of the parish. The Host is to be reserved " in accordance with the recent Statute of Lambeth," and to be carried in a pyx to the sick by the priest, preceded by bell and lighted candle. The portiones1 being so small as to ren- der it impossible for the portionists to reside, or for the vicars to sustain the parochial burthens, and being therefore deemed an obstacle to the proper performance of public worship and the offices of the Church, as well as to the teaching of the young in grammar, and the instruction of the laity in faith and morals, are to be abolished, or rather united ; and wherever the rectors do not reside continually in person, vicars are to be provided with such a competent share of the tithes as to enable them to fulfil the requirements of the parish, of hospitality, and of divine worship on a worthy scale (" condigna ministrorum assistentia"). The ancient customs of tithing dowers and of mortuaries are to be continued. Rural deans are to receive " procurations" from rectors and vicars, except under certain circumstances. The bishop's official is not to demand procurations in the same year as the bishop, nor the archdeacon's official in the same year as the arch- deacon. The cathedral being intended as an exemplar for the whole diocese, is to have daily service conducted " tarn in missa quam in horis canonicis," with suitable dignity. The dean's and canons' houses are to be built as nearly as possible to it ; and when the latter walk in the cloisters or the cathedral, they are to wear their hoods and amices (" capas et almutia"). They are enjoined to solicit from the king the continuance of the ancient liberties of their church, in behalf of which Peckham himself writes to Edward a few days after this. At the same time they are adjured in the most solemn manner to bring their people into union with England, by inducing them to lay aside all rancour, and to resign the hope of ever regaining their ancient power ; for he adds with characteristic candour, that even should the king and nobles of England fail of completing their subjugation, there 1 P. 14. 11 50 HISTORY TO THE ANNEXATION. were other kings and other nobles that would take up the task ; and if these, too, should fail, then the Church of Rome would summon a new crusade to make the result sure. Two national characteristics likely to retard this process are to be summarily repressed : one, the giving heed to dreams and auguries and old traditions of Troy, and the ancient grandeur of their race ; the other, the want of definite active employment by which to earn their daily bread, — a need they could hardly have felt before, when charity to the poor was the rule, and no beggar was found throughout the country. Lastly, bewailing the sad ignorance of the priests and clergy, he exhorts them to give more heed to the Friars Preachers and Minors, who were almost the sole reposi- tories of true doctrine in these parts, and yet received but little welcome or support on their missions through the country. These injunctions were to be published annually throughout the dio- cese, and certification thereof to be made to the archbishop. It is to this period most probably that the prohibition of the ordi- nation of Welshmen to any but the lowest order is due. " NuL- lus Wallensis aliquem filium suum ad aliquos ordines promo vebit nisi unum ; et hos ad primam tonsuram tantum."1 1 Record, North Wall, in Book of Carnarvon, p. 131, from Harl. MS. 696, in Councils, i, 583. 51 CHAPTEK V. AFTER THE ANNEXATION. Early assumption of royal prerogative. — Transfer of the advowson of the Cathedral. — Disregard of its ancient liberties. — Pope Nicholas's Taxatio. — Edward I exacts further supplies from the Clergy. — Dispute there- upon.— Excommunication of Prince Madoc. — Bishop Llewelyn ap Ynyr's Statutes. — Controversies relating to the goods of intestates, the advow- son of Northop and certain auxilia. — Bishop David ap Bleddyn's episco- pate.— Llyfr Coch. — Papal provision. — Dispute as to custody of the tem- poralities and appointment to the deanery. — Bishop Llewelyn ap Madoc. — Bishop Spridlington. — Dispute about the advowson of Llanasa. — The spiritualities of the see in a.d. 1389. The annexation, sealed by the Statute of Rhuddlan, had been partially anticipated in ecclesiastical matters at a much earlier period. From the consecration of Gilbert by the Archbishop of Canterbury, in a.d. 1143, the profession of obedience made by his successors bound them, to a certain extent, to regard the English Primate as their ecclesiastical head. Politically, too, the situation of St. Asaph on the confines of the most hotly contested portion of the border-land, its proximity to the garrison fortress of Rhuddlan, and its site on the line ; of march of the English armies, all combined to place the occupant of the see too often at the mercy of the English king. In the middle of the thirteenth century this part of the diocese was reduced to a state of great misery. The whole of Perfedd- wlad, from the Dee to the Conway, was surrendered to Henry III in A.D. 1247; and the Bishop, Howel ap Ednyfed, like his brother of Bangor, " destructis episcopatibus csede et incendio, mendicare ut de alieno viverent cogebantur"; the former at Osney Abbey, near Oxford, and the latter at St. Alban's.1 Henry now claimed, 1 Matt, Paris in Council*, p. 474, and Br. Willis, i, 13, 14. n2 AFTER THE ANNEXATION. by right of conquest, the advowsons which had previously be- longed to the princes of Wales ; presented, by virtue thereof, one Henricus de Bretun to the church of St. Michael at Kerry ; and in the election of the next bishop to this see, a.d. 1249, assumed the same prerogative that he had previously enjoyed in England, that of requiring the dean and chapter to recognise (which they did under protest) the right of the English crown to license, and to consent to the election.1 On the death of Simon de Montfort, a.d. 1265, the earldom of Chester was annexed to the crown of England ; and in after reigns the eldest son of the reigning monarch received, as Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester, " the advowson of the cathedral church of St. Asaph, and the avoid- ance, issues, and profits, of the temporalities of the bishoprics of Chester and St. Asaph, together with all advowsons, pensions, portions, corrodies, offices, etc., to the said earldom belonging."2 To the total disregard here shewn for the ancient rights and liberties of the see on one hand, and of certain customs and pri- vileges of the border chieftains on another ; and to the uncer- tainty that so often resulted as to their relative rights and those of the crown, are to be attributed the endless disputes about advowsons and temporalities that henceforth, for a long period, marked each interval of vacancy in the see. The first of them occurred on the death of Anian II in a.d. 1293, when Earl War- ren, lord of Bromesfeld, claimed the custody of certain " terre et tenementa" within his lordship, just as it had been enjoyed by his predecessors therein before the conquest of the country. But it was ruled by the King in council that the custody of all lands, etc., anywhere situate, belonging to vacant sees, belonged to the crown ; and that he had, by his recent conquest, re-acquired the lands of Bromesfeld, and annexed them to his crown : " Adeo integre et plenarie cum omnibus suis juribus et libertatibus, sicut terre et tenementa ilia corone Anglie annexa fuerunt antequam in manus principum Wallie devenerunt";3 in manifest allusion to the above grant. It was probably a like uncertainty that deterred Kobert de 1 Br. Willis, Append, v; Councils, 475. 2 u Flintshire" in Lewis's Topographical Diet. :f llyloy, Placita, 21 Edw. I, pp. 119, 120, in Councils, i, 598, 599. AFTER THE ANNEXATION. OO Staundon, justiciary of North Wales, on the same occasion, from taking possession of the temporalities of the see within the lord- ship of Denbigh and elsewhere, and which called forth from the King a strict mandate that he should proceed to do so at once.1 The ancient liberties of the Welsh Church were roughly handled at the annexation, and treated too much as it happened to suit the convenience, advantage, or caprice of the subordinates to whom the government of the country was committed. " Idcirco scribimus regie Maiestati," writes Archbishop Peckham to Ed- ward I, a.d. 1284, "quia tarn domini novelli, quain baiuli, quibus gubernacula Wallie commisistis, prudentes carnaliter, et spiritu- aliter imprudentes, sic premissam dividunt libertatem, ut quic- quid pro ipsorum videtur esse commodo contra consuetudinem Anglicanam, illud sibi arrogent toto posse ; quicquid vero ad relevationem ecclesie discrepat ab usibus Anglicanis, illud de- struunt et evertunt, non sine animarum suarum periculis et ana- thematis vinculo quo ipso facto irretiunt semetipsos." And he closes his appeal for the preservation of those liberties with a warning, — "Tantum igitur dignetur in hac parte facere pietas regalis, ne sui honoris incrementa, que Deus adaugeat, in ecclesi- astica suspiria convertantur ; pro certo scitura, quantum amari- tatus clerus posset faciliter processu temporis populum (quod avertat Altissimus) in amaritudinem concitare."2 The appeal and warning, however, appear to have been of little avail, for in the thirteenth of the Articles of the Bishops against Edward I, pre- sented in the following year, it is urged by them, " quod Ecclesie Walliae sure libertati pristinae dimittantur"; to which it is replied, " Rex inteUigit quod sunt plus libera? quam fuerint ab initio," — a reply that calls forth the regretful comment, " Utinam ita esset, ut responsum est ; sed pradati earum partium aliud asseverant."3 The information supplied by Peckham's famous letter, a.d. 1284, as to the condition, character, and duties of the clero-v, is aptly supplemented by an important record of almost the same date, describing the nature and value of all the livings and other 1 Prynne, Records, in, 571, in Councils, i, 601. v 2 Ren. Peckh , fo. 446, in Councils, i, 569. 3 Councils, i, 583. 54 AFTER THE ANNEXATION. ecclesiastical property within the diocese. It is entitled "Annu- alis Valor omnium et singnlarum Possessionum et Reventionum, tarn Spiritualium quam Temporalium, omnium et singulorum Archiepiscoporum et Episcoporum, Abbatum et Priorum ; anno 18 Edw. I" (commonly called the " Taxation of Pope Nicholas IV"), and was published from the original MS. by the Record Com- mission, in 1802, under the title, " Taxatio Ecclesiastica Anglian et \Vallia?, auctoritate P. Nicholai IV, c. a.d. 1291"; the portion relating to this diocese being given pp. 285-290. From the pre- face we learn that " Pope Innocent XXII, to whose predecessors in the see of Rome the first fruits and tenths of all ecclesiastical benefices had for a long time been paid, gave the same, a.d. 1253, to King Henry III for three years ; which occasioned a taxation in the following year, sometimes called the " Norwich Taxation," and sometimes " Pope Innocent's Valor." This is inferred, from the contents of Llyfr Coch, to have included this diocese ; but no further particulars remain. " In the year 1288 Pope Nicholas IV granted the tenths to King Edward I for six years, towards de- fraying the expense of an expedition to the Holy Land j1 and that they might be collected to their full value, a taxation by the King's precept was begun in that year, and finished as to the province of Canterbury in 1291, and as to that of York in the following year ; the whole being under the direction of John Bishop of Winton and Oliver Bishop of Lincoln. This Taxatio is a most important record, because all the taxes, as well to our kings as the popes, were regulated by it until the survey made in the twenty-sixth year of Henry VIII; and because the statutes of the colleges which were founded before the Reformation are also interpreted by this criterion ; according to which their bene- fices, under a certain value, are exempted from the restriction in the statute 21 Henry VIII concerning pluralities." As the de- tails of the chapter, parochial, and monastic incomes will be given when treating of each of them severally, where the juxta- position of this Valor to others of later date will supply mate- 1 A new feature, resulting from the Crusades, is henceforth not infre- quently met with in the diocesan records, viz. the introduction of leprosy into the country : e. g., " duodecim leprosarii" receive clothing from Bishop Llew- elyn, a.d. 1311, and there was a " terra leprosorum" at Wrexham. AFTER THE ANNEXATION". 55 rials for useful comparisons, it will suffice here to give the respective summaries. The orthography is curious from an anti- quarian point of view ; and by the confusion of / and the long f, and of 7i and v, bespeaks a scribe not well acquainted with the origin and meaning of some of the names. SPIEITUALIA. Decanatus Ecclesie de T. S'ma taxacio's. D. S'ma decime. Marchia Oswal,1 Sco. Martino, 2 Hilatwon,3 Lanemeneyth, J. . dfcoo : u : u 4 Knwkyn, *• T) -P7 • d. • R U . A 1 . ~x ■ t The extent and value of the monastic property, for the monks were easy landlords and good farmers, were such as to excite the cupidity of many a needy neighbour, whose designs were mate- rially furthered by " the Committee of Visitors" appointed to examine into the condition of the religious houses. These reported the existence of gross and shameful abuses ; truly, no doubt, as far as related to some of the smaller foundations.2 But in the preamble to the Act of 27 Henry VIII it is distinctly asserted that " in the greater monasteries, thanks be to God, religion is right well preserved and kept up." The current, however, against them was irresistible, and they were quickly seized by the King ; for we have a decree of the Court of Augmentation, 31 Henry VIII, restoring to the Bishop and his successors " the several pensions, annuals, lactuals, etc., paid to him by the monasteries of Basing- werk, Conway, Valle Crucis, Strata Marcella, and Llanllugan, before their dissolution ; and ordering the said sums, with their arrears, to be paid thenceforth by the receivers of the several manors, lands, tenements, and possessions." In one or two instances the receivers, being also commissioners, managed to 1 " Lib'a porcio in Villa de Cletharth in P'ochia de Eglos in dioc' Assa- ven'." Qu. Gloddaeth in Eghvys Rhos ? 2 Letters on " Dissolution of Monasteries" in the Camden Series. M 82 THE REFORMATION. secure for themselves the manors of which they had previously been stewards ; in others, the properties, temporal and spiritual alike, were granted to courtiers and favourites,1 from whom they have passed, like common property, by inheritance and purchase, to their present holders. In the indiscriminate condemnation of monasteries for the evils that some of them were guilty of, and for the good they failed to accomplish, it has been too much the fashion to overlook the good they actually did ; and though there may have been many abuses, still upon the whole there need be no hesitation in affirming that, with all their faults, they did incomparably more for the public good than those who, under the new and baneful name of impropriators, obtained their incomes. They at least endeavoured, more or less, to supply schools for the young, hos- pitals for the sick, almshouses for the poor, and inns for the wayfarers ; and in the larger ones there were generally some engaged in copying MSS., sacred, devotional, or historical ; and one whose special duty it was to chronicle events of national and local history. In the abbey chapel the voice of prayer and praise was seldom silent ; in the appropriated livings they some- times supported a collegiate establishment for the performance of divine service on a worthy scale ; and in their outlying pro- perty they had often their own cell or chapel for the benefit of their tenants. But under the new system of impropriators all these things were put a stop to without, as far as the impropria- tors were concerned, anything better being supplied in their stead ; whereas the places which have ever since continued to suffer from the evil, are some of the most important and popu- lous in the whole diocese, such as Wrexham, Mold, Holywell, Llangollen, Oswestry, Khuabon, Welshpool, Berriew, etc. The general acquiescence in such a change, and the compara- tive insignificance of the opposition made to it, notwithstanding the vast and varied interests at stake, must be accounted for by the fact that the measure was so far a political rather than a religious one, brought about by the whole state (partly, indeed, against the remonstrances of the Church, for some of the leading Fov names, see p. '•>'!. THE REFORMATION. 83 Reformers were opposed to the indiscriminate dissolution of the monasteries, and wished them to be reformed rather than de- stroyed) ; and that prior to the Reformation proper, by a King and Parliament of the Roman Catholic communion in all points save that of the supremacy. It was not until the reign of Edward VI that the principles of the Reformation proper began to take root and spread in the Principality. Many learned and eminent men began then to work in the new cause ; foremost among whom must be named the venerated William Salesbury, who published in 1546 the first book ever printed in the Welsh language. This book con- tained the Alphabet, Calendar, Creed, Lord's Prayer, Ten Com- mandments, and other matter, as we are told by its comprehensive title-page, "Yn y Ilyfyr hwn y traethyr Gwyddor Cyniraeg. Kalendyr, Y Credo neu bynkeu yr flydd Gatholig. Y Pader neu Weddi yr Arglwydd. Y Deng Air Deddyf. Saith rinwedd yr Eglwys. Y Kampay arveradwy a'r gweddieu gocheladwy ac Keingeu." This was followed, in 1551, by his translation of the Epistles and Gospels for the year, entitled " K}mniver Llith a ban o'r Ysgrythur Lan ac a ddarlleir yn yr Eccleis pryd Com- mun ; y sulieu a'r gwilieu trwy'r vlwyddyn." The accession of Mary, a.d. 1553, gave the movement a check ; for though the Queen promised at first not to interfere with its professors, still those who had been most prominent in the cause, knowing her strong bias, preferred to consult their safety by retirement or exile. Salesbury withdrew to Caedu, a small farm- house among the hills in the parish of Llansannan ; in which, until it was pulled down a few years ago, a curiously constructed chamber with a small loophole-window, and accessible only by a passage through the chimney, was pointed out as the tradition- ally received place of his refuge and study during this troublous period. Richard Davies, who afterwards became Bishop of St. Asaph, and a fellow-worker with Salesbury, fled to Geneva ; others betook themselves to Frankfort ; and some few, who thought to keep their posts, were deprived, not, indeed, on the ground of their Protestantism, but professedly at least for having broken the law of celibacy, by having taken advantage of the permission to marry recently granted to the clergy. Such were 84 THE INFORMATION Bishop Barlow, formerly of this see, but now of Bath and Wells ; the first, if not the only one as yet, of English bishops to take to himself a wife ; Archdeacons Pollard and Thomas Davies, the latter of whom was subsequently promoted to the bishopric; John ap Madoc, vicar of Guilsfield ; Lancelot Pydleston, rector of Corwen ; and Griffith ap Ienn, rector of Llandegla. In the injunctions issued to his clergy by Bishop Goldwell in a.d. 1536, besides the prohibition of married clergy from cele- brating (or, as it is there put, " no priest having a woman at his commandement" to celebrate), we find two other marks of retro- gression,— the schools which had begun to be held in churches, for the benefit of the poor, were forbidden ; and obedience was required to all Church laws and constitutions, " as well synodalls as provincialls or legantines". The other points enjoined related to matters of order and discipline, the fines for disobedience to which were to be applied to the church fabrics or the diocesan grammar school.1 A renewal of indulgences was also obtained by him from the Pope, in behalf of the pilgrims to St. Winifred's Well.2 The death of the Queen, however, was a great blow to the party, who felt that they had little to expect from Elizabeth, whose sympathies were known to lie with the Eeformers, and who was not likely now to forget the treatment she had received at their hands. Goldwell, nominated for translation from this see to Oxford ; Wood, elected to succeed him here ; and Maurice Clynnog, rector of Corwen, Bishop-Elect of Bangor, all missed their promotion ; and with them John Lloyd, dean ; Humphrey Edwards, archdeacon ; Maurice ap Thomas, canon ; Dr. Harrison, rector of Whitford ; and William Myddelton, rector of Llansan- nan, a layman; were either deprived of their preferments or voluntarily resigned them. The accession of Elizabeth was a happy event for the Church in Wales, and her reign proved the bright spot in its Eeforma- tion. One of her first cares was to have the Welsh sees filled by natives who could understand the language and feelings of the people as well as discharge the special duties of their office; and 1 Wilkins, Concilia, iv, 145. 2 Dr. Powell's notes to Giraldus, p. 149. THE REFORMATION". 85 the learned exile, Richard Davies, who had now been restored to his preferments, was consecrated Bishop of St. Asaph on Jan. 31, 1560. A return1 made by him the same year, to Archbishop Parker, furnishes valuable information relating to this important period. "For certain considerations conducent to the general reformation of the clergie of the province of Canterbury", the Archbishop had required his suffragans to certify ''the names and surnames of all and singular deanes, archdeacons, chaunce- lers, chaunters, and others having dignitie in the cathedral church, with all prebendaries of the same ; and also of all and singular parsones and vicars within the diocese, and how many of them, as well of the cathedral church as of other benefices in the diocese, be neither prestes nor deacons ; notinge also the names of all such as be learned, and able to preache ; and which of them, being already licensed, do preach accordingly ; and fynallie, howe many of them do keape hospitalitie". From the Bishop's return, which gives a complete list of all the clergy with their degrees, preferments, and such other points as are above specified, we gather that there were among them three under age (" adhuc pueri"), — two being prebendaries of the cathedral, and the tliird the rector of Caerwys, " grammaticam discens"; two un- ordadned ("nondum in sacris ordinibus initiati"), the rectors of Llandrillo yn Rhos, and of Whitford; and three pursuing their studies at Oxford, the rectors of Corwen, Llandrillo yn Edeirnion, and MarchwieL These rectors, however, it must be added, were all sinecures, with the exception of the last, who had special leave of absence, " studet Oxon' ad tempus ex licentia Episcopi"; and in each case there was a resident vicar, so that there appears to have been no parish left without a clergyman. The compe- tent preachers, however (" concionatores evangelici"), were very few, only five, — Hugh Evans, M.A., dean ; John Price, LL.B., rector of Whittington and vicar of Oswestry, chancellor of the diocese ; Thomas Jenkins, M.A., rector of Xewtown ; Griffith Lloyd, LL.B., rector of Llanvyllin ; and David Lloyd, B.A., rector of Llangwm-dinmael and Bettws Gwervyll (Goch). " Hi concio- nantur utcunque ad aliquam utilitatem et redificationem inter 1 Br. Willis, App. lix. 86 THE REFORMATION. indoctos et imperitos quales habet nostra diocesis ; prceterea nulli sunt." Taking this to refer more especially to Welsh preaching, I conceive the explanation thereof to be that pointed out by Dr. Morgan in his dedication to Queen Elizabeth some thirty years later, where he accounts for the continued paucity of Welsh preachers by the long disuse of the language in the Church and the absence of a complete translation of the Bible ; the proper terms having become either forgotten or so obscured u ut nec docentes quse vellent satis experte explicare, nec audi- entes quae explicabantur satis feliciter intelligere valerent." The fact, however, still remained that the preachers were "paucis- simi" and the people " indocti et imperiti ignorant and un- learned ; so much so, that in the preamble to the Act passed in 1563, for the translation of the Bible into Welsh, it is stated "that Her Majesty's loving and obedient subjects inhabiting within Her Highness's dominion and principality of Wales are entirely destitute of God's Holy Word, and do remain in the like or rather the more darkness and ignorance than they were in the time of Papistry." On the translation of Bichard Davies to St. David's, he was succeeded at St. Asaph by Thomas Davies, who at once set to work to carry out the work of reformation. In a diocesan council, held at St. Asaph Nov. 12th, a.d. 1561,1 we find the following important orders among others agreed upon by the clergy : " That every of them have the Catechisme yn the mother tonge in Welshe, red and declared yn ther severall churches every Sonday, with the answer made therunto accordingly, and yn the Englyshe tonge at on Sondays and holydays. " That every of them shall forthwith avoyd, remove and put away, or cause to be put away, all and every fayned relyques and other superstycyons had withyn ther severall churches, and abolyshe ther auters yn the same, within eight days. " That every parson, vycar or curate, and stypendary prest, being under the degre of a Master of Arte, shall have and provyde to have yn his use and occupation the New Testament yn Latin and Englyshe, with the paraphrase of Erasmus upon the same, and to learn two chapters of the same yn memorie withoute the boke, vizt. the fyrst to the Romans and the sixth of John. " The Litany to be sung or seyd on Wenesdays and Fry days. 1 Wilkins, Concilia, iv, 228. THE REFORMATION. 87 " After the pistyll and gospell yn Englyshe, the same to be red also yn Welshe." The office of " Lady-prest", which had existed "yn sondrie churches yn my dyocs'," having been abolished, the stipend was assigned to " a scolemaster" for the teaching of children, "whereby idelness of yowth may be avoyded, and the same kept to learn- ing, and browght npp in love and fear of God and knowledge of ther dewties towerd the worlde." In the Convocation records of the following year, A.D. 1562, in which the Thirty-Nine Articles were agreed upon, there appeared, in addition to the Bishop's, the following signatures as representative of this diocese : " Hugo Evans, decanus ; Eichardus Rogers,1 archid. ; Eobert Hues,2 proc. capit ; Johannes Price3 and Thomas Powell, procur. cleri"; and among the other representa- tives two of its beneficed clergy, " Mcolaus Kobinson,4 archid. Meirion, and Edmund Merick,5 arch. Bangor." In the Act of 1563 the duty of translating the Bible was assigned to the Bishops of St. Asaph, Bangor, St. David's, Llandaff, and Hereford ; one at least of whom, Eichard Davies (of St. David's) was well known as an eminent Biblical scholar and critic, and was engaged on the new English translation known as Parker's Bible, published in 1568 ; in which he revised and compared with the original Hebrew the Books of Joshua, Ruth, and I and II Samuel. For assisting in the Welsh translation and the general superin- tendence of the work, the talents, learning, and patriotism of William Salesbury, as well as his zeal for the Protestant religion, pointed him out as preeminently qualified ;6 and this duty of general editor he consented, at their request, to perform. The New Testament was completed and printed in 1567, by far the chief part of it being his work ; Bishop Davies having translated I Timothy, Hebrews, St. James, I and II St. Peter ; and Thomas 1 Suffragan Bishop of Dover, 1583 ; Dean of Canterbury, 1584. 2 Canon ; rector of Llannefydd. 3 Viear of Oswestry ; chancellor of the diocese. 4 Eector of Northop ; Bishop of Bangor, 1566. 5 Rector of Corwen. 6 He was well acquainted with nine languages besides Welsh and English, namely Hebrew, Chaldee, Syriac, Arabic, Greek, Latin, French, Italian, and Spanish ; and had written well upon philology and rhetoric. (See Williams's Eminent Welshmen.) 88 THE REFORMATION. Huet, precentor of St. David's (" cantor Menevensis"), the Reve- lation. The same year there appeared also a translation of the Prayer Book by the Bishop and W. Salesbury, the expenses of printing being shared between them. In his " Rhagymadrodd" (preface) to the New Testament, the Bishop further holds out a promise of the speedy appearance of the Old ; and according to Sir John Wynn, of Gwydir,1 " they were very onward with it, and had gone through with it, if variance had not happened between them, after they had spent nearly two years in that business, concerning the general sense and etymology of one word,2 which the Bishop would have to be one way, and William Salesbury another, to the great loss of the old British and mother tongue ; for being together they drew homilies, books, and divers other tracts in the British tongue, and had done far more if that un- lucky division had not happened ; for the Bishop lived five or six years after, and William Salesbury about twenty-four, but gave over writing (more was the pity), for he was a rare scholar, and especially a Hebrician, whereof there was not many in those days." The good work, thus unhappily interrupted, was delayed for twenty years, until Dr. William Morgan, vicar of Llanrhaiadr- yn-Mochnant, consented to undertake it, and published his, the first, edition of the whole Bible in 1588. In this Dr. Morgan made use of the previous translation of the New Testament, and had the benefit of Davies and Salesbury's labours upon the Old (for they had done a great part of it during the two years) ; but this must not diminish our admiration for his vast learning and zeal, or our gratitude for his invaluable service. The difficulty of the task, the expense of printing, and the opposition he encoun- tered, would have deterred him, he tells us in his dedication, from proceeding further than the Pentateuch, had it not been for the influence, counsel, and pecuniary assistance of Archbishop 1 Memoirs, p. 106. 2 What that unfortunate word was, or even whether it was Welsh or He- brew, we have now no means of knowing ; but we must not attribute to any unworthy personal or jealous feeling that which was, no doubt, a matter of vital truth or error to them ; for we know that there have been in every age, and (I fortiori in that, crucial terms that have divided men of the highest intellect and purest character into opposing camps ; and in no subject so frequently as in theology. THE REFORMATION. 89 AVhitgift. A dispute with his parishioners (it is said that when they found he was engaged upon the work of translation they complained to the Archbishop of his incompetency for the task) rendered it necessary for him to appear before Whitgift, who formed so high an opinion of his abilities that he appointed him his chaplain, and persuaded him to go on with the translation of the whole. Another difficulty he had to contend against was the opposi- tion of those who objected to his undertaking as an obstacle to the complete union of the two peoples, and maintained that the best way of preserving concord between them was to compel the Welsh to learn the English language. To these the translator replies in wise and weighty words, — words which, fully acknow- ledging the great desirability of having all the inhabitants of the same island speaking the same language, yet point out with sin- gular force and perspicuity the serious practical danger attending such a course in a matter of such vital importance, — words that, for their continued applicability to our bilingual state, deserve not only to be repeated here, but to be engraven in the consci- ences of every occupant of our bilingual sees and every incum- bent of our bilingual parishes : " Si qui consensus retinendi gratia nostrates ut Anglicum sermonem edi scant adigendos esse, potius quam Scripturas in nostrum sermonem vertendas esse volunt, — duni unitati student ne veritati obsint cautiores esse velim, et dum concordiam promovent ne religionem amoveant magis esse sollicitos opto. Quamvis enim ejusdem insulse incolas ejusdem sermonis et loquelse esse magnopere optandum sit ; £eque tamen perpendendum est, istud ut perficiatur, tantum temporis et nego- tii peti ut interea Dei populum miserrima illius Verbi fame interire velle ant pati, nimis sit ssevum atque crudele. Deinde non dubium est quin religionis quam sermonis ad unitatem plus valeat similitudo et consensus. Unitatem prseterea pietati, utili- tatem religioni et externam quandam inter homines concordiam eximiaB illi paci quam Dei verbum humanis animis imprimit prseferre non satis pium est. Postremo quam non sapiunt, si verbi divini in materna lingua habendi prohibitionem aliena ut ediscatur quicquam movere opinantur ! Eeligio enim nisi vul- gari lingua edoceatur ignota latitabit : Ejus vero rei quam quis N 90 THE REFORMATION. ignorat, usum dulcedinem et precium etiam nescit, nec ejus ac- quirendoe gratia quicquam laboris subibit."1 Happily the good Doctor persevered through all, and the whole Bible appeared in Welsh a.d. 1588. Well had it been for the sister Church in Ireland had similar wise counsels been allowed to prevail for her good ; and had Salesburies and Davieses and Morgans been per- mitted to translate into the native Erse, in which alone so many of her children could think and speak, the words of life and worship contained in the Bible and the Prayer Book ; but, alas ! " quam non sapierunt". Among those who in different ways assisted Dr. Morgan in his work, and to whom he expresses his special obligations, were, the Bishops of St. Asaph (William Hughes) and Bangor (Hugh Bellot),2 both of whom helped with the loan of books (no small boon in those days), and by examining and correcting his work ; Gabriel Goodman, Dean of Westminster (the founder of Ruthin school), who aided with the gift and loan of books, with personal assistance in criticism and counsel, and with generous hospitality during the year the work was passing through the press. Besides whom, Dr. David Powel,3 Archdeacon Price,4 and Mr. Richard Vaughan,5 contributed no inconsiderable amount of assistance ("opem tulerunt non contemnendam"). This translation, revised by Bishop Parry, aided by his chaplain the learned Dr. Davies, and in some places so altered and amended, he tells us in his preface, as to render it doubtful whether it should be called a revised or a new version (" vetus an nova, Morgani an mea"), is still accepted as the standard, — no slight testimony to the excel- lence of their work. And it is no small commendation to the 1 In his dedication to Q. Elizabeth. 2 Vicar of Gresford and rector of Caerwys, 1584 ; Bishop of Bangor, 1585 ; translated to Chester, 1595. He had been one of the translators of the English Bible. 3 Vicar of Rhuabon and prebendary of St. Asaph, editor and in part trans- lator of Caradawg's History of Wales, annotator upon Giraldus's Itinerary and Description of Wales, etc. — Eminent Welshmen. 4 Edmund Price, archdeacon of Merioneth, author of the well known Welsh metrical version of the Psalms. 5 President of St. John's Hospital, Literurthoe (?) ; promoted to the see of Bangor, 1505; Chester, 1597; London, 1604. THE REFORMATION. 91 authorities of those days that two such distinguished men should in succession have been promoted to the thrones of this diocese ; and a matter of no slight congratulation to the diocese itself, that so many of its members, from William Salesbury and Bishop Davies to Sir Thomas Myddelton and Mr. Rowland Heylin (who went to the chief expense of the first portable edition of the Bible and Prayer Book, a small 8vo, published a.d. 1G30), should have borne so conspicuous and honourable a part in so worthy and beneficial a work. One name, however, mentioned with respect above, has come down to us loaded with an evil reputation, that of Bishop Hughes. " He was accused of misgoverning his diocese, and of tolerating the most disgraceful abuses. "When the case was inquired into, it amis found that the Bishop held sixteen rich livings in com- mendamm} that most of the great livings were in the possession of persons who lived out of the country ; that one person, that had two of the greatest livings in the diocese, boarded in an ale- house ; and that only three preachers resided upon their livings, viz. Dr. David Powel of Bhuabon, Dr. William Morgan of Llan- rhaiadr-yn-Mochnant, and the parson of Llanvechan, an aged man about eighty years old."1 Now, without wishing for a moment to uphold any known abuse, one cannot help thinking that in this case there has been a considerable misapprehension of facts, and a harder sentence passed than the circumstances really warrant. Upon his pro- motion to the see, a.d. 1573, he obtained from Archbishop Parker a faculty to hold the archdeaconry, the rectory of Llysfaen, and other benefices to the value of £150 per ami. in commendam.2 On what particular ground this faculty was sought and granted we know not ; but it must have been such as, under the circum- stances of the case, was deemed sufficient. The sixteen livings are evidently made up of all those which 1 Rees's History of Nonconformity in Wales, pp. 4, 5, quoted from Strype's Annals of the Reformation, iv, 293, 294>; and Appendix to vol. iv, p. 63; ed. 1725. 2 " Facultas concessa Doctori Hughes, Episcopo Assavensi, ut cum episco- pal u suo archidiac. Assavens. et rectoriam de Llysfaen et alia beneficia ad valorem <£150 tenere possit." — Register of the Faculty Oflice, Lambeth. 92 THE REFORMATION. at any time he had held by virtue of it ; but which it is clear, from a comparison of the registers as given in Browne Willis, he could not have held together, and some of which he appears only to have kept for a few months.1 To the livings so held (taken from Br. Willis, i, 106), have been added below the dates at which another succeeded to them, prefixing an asterisk to such as were sinecures, and italicising those which were at different periods resigned. There appears, indeed, to have been an excessive amount of exchanging ; but the result is very different from what the accusation would imply. Of the livings with cure of souls, Llysfaen, in his native county, enjoyed by him since 1567, before his promotion to the bishopric, and Castle Caereinion were the only two held by him throughout his episcopate, except those which all his successors, as archdeacons, felt no compunction in retaining. Of the rest, we must bear in mind that whilst the rectorial or great tithes were not held to be liable to the same obligations of residence and duty as those of the vicar (hence appropriations, impropriations, and sinecures, "et id genus omne"), in the present case the sum total was further limited by the amount stated in the faculty. The same remark as to the dis- tinction between the rectorial and vicarial obligations will apply to the statement as to non-residence on "most of the great livings". Of the paucity of preachers and its cause we have already had occasion to speak, as well as of some share borne by Bishop Hughes in supplying the defect by furthering the trans- lation of the Old Testament Scriptures. There is a later occasion, too, on which the Bishop's name occurs, which would imply that he was not unmindful of the spiritu al interests of his diocese. From the case of Albany v. the Bishop of St. Asaph,2 we learn that he refused to institute a 1 Llysfaen - - 1567. Castle-Caereinion - 1574. *Cwm - • - 1574. Llanycil - - ? . Llandrinio - - 1577. Meifod - - - 1578. Gresford - - 1579. 2 Reported in 1st Leonard, Whittington Registers. ..1601 *Llandrillo-yn-Rhos 1582. ..1589 ..1601 *Llangwm - - 1584.. .1592 ..1592 Mallwyd - - 1587... 1587 ..1583 *Llanfor - - 1588... 1601 ..1594 *Llanrwst - - 1592... 1596 ..1579 *Whitford - - 1587.. .1587 ..1584 # Abergele, Bettws, and Disserth, attached to the archdeaconry. 39, and Crooke, Elizabeth, 119. From the THE REFORMATION. 93 Mr. Bagshaw to the living of Whittington, vacant through the death of Rector Kyffin in 1585, on the plea that he did not understand Welsh sufficiently well to minister therein to the parishioners. This was not, indeed, the plea alleged in the first instance ; and so the verdict was given against him. But as a plea it was allowed to be sufficient for not instituting. His successor, Bishop Morgan, however, was a man of whom the diocese and the country may be justly proud. His name has already become familiar as one of the very few resident preachers in the diocese, and as the translator of the Old Testament into Welsh. Promoted by Queen Elizabeth to the see of Llandaff, a.d. 1595,. he was translated to St. Asaph in September 1601 ; and we have an interesting insight into his independence and uprightness as bishop, in a correspondence published in Yorke's Royal Tribes of Wales, between him and Sir John Wynn of Gwydir. The latter presiuning upon some kind offices he had rendered to the Bishop, applied to him for a lease of the rectory of Llanrwst. This the Bishop refused to grant on the plea of conscience, " which" (he writes) " assureth me that your request is such, that in granting it I should prove myself an mihonest, unconscionable, and irreligious man; you a sacrilegious robber of my church, a perfidious spoiler of my diocese, and an unnatu- ral hinderer of preachers and good scholars, — the consideration of which woidd be a continual terror and torment to my con- science." From the records of a synod held at St. Asaph on the 20th October, 1601, within a month of his translation, we learn what the sendees usually were on Sundays and week-days at this period, and that it was the custom of the clergy to tax themselves for the support of the proctors in Convocation, — a custom that probably continued so long as Convocation was a reality and an authoritative power in the Church. On this occasion a grant was made, " according to immemorial usage",1 of a sum of 3d. in the pound on all ecclesiastical incomes, rated according to the Book of First Fruits, towards defraying their expenses ; and it 1 " Secundum antiquam et laudabilena consuetudinem in consiniilibus ante- hac a tempore immemorato usitatam et observatam." 1)4 THE REFORMATION, was also enacted that those who failed to attend the election, if not over fifty years of age, should be required to perform the duties of those elected, viz., to preach in their parish churches once at least every three months, and to perform divine service at matins and vespers on Sundays, at matins on Wednesdays and Fridays, and at vespers on Saturdays. The proctors now elected no doubt represented the diocese in the Convocation of 1603-4, in which the "Constitutions and Canons Ecclesiastical" were drawn up and agreed upon. CHAPTER VIIL THE COMMONWEALTH. Origin of Puritanism. — John Penry. — State of the diocese in 1633. — Arch- bishop Laud. — Bishop Owen. — Abolition of Episcopacy. — Sale of episco- pal lands. — Committees of Sequestration and for Propagation of the Gospel in Wales. — Deprivation of the episcopal clergy. — Hardships of their case. — Rise of Quakerism. — The Restoration. — Act of Uniformity. — Its effects. — Analysis of the ejected ministers. — The Five-Mile Act. The great politico-religious struggle which in England disturbed the earlier half of the seventeenth century, cannot be said to have materially affected Wales before the middle of its second quarter, though its origin may be traced back to the preceding century. The great object of the English Reformers had been to correct the errors in doctrine and the abuses in discipline which had crept into the Church during the papal ascendency of the middle ages, and to restore it, as nearly as possible, to the primitive model. It was not their purpose to found a new Church, but to " strip the old of that meretricious gear in which superstition had arrayed her, and to leave her in that plain and decorous attire with which, in the simple dignity of a matron, she had been adorned by apostolic hands." But another school sprang up, of foreign growth, and with more radical aims. Some of the Reformers who, during the Marian persecution, had fled for safety to the Continent, came in contact there with opinions and practices adverse alike to the civil and ecclesiastical systems of their own country. Geneva presented her rigid Calvinism, and Germany offered not only the kindred movement of Luther, but also the unchristian and lawless tenets of the early Anabap- tists. The influence of Luther and Calvin may best be seen in the revisions which gradually shaped the character of our Liturgy ; but whilst the more sober of their followers were con- 96 THE COMMONWEALTH. ciliated thereby, there remained a considerable number who, deeming that what had been so much abused had best be swept away, and the whole system of the Church be reconstructed de novo, coalesced with those whose views of doctrine and polity were opposed to all ideas of Catholicity, and whose natural fruits appeared in the fanaticism of the next century. The first Welshman, perhaps the only one during the sixteenth century, to imbibe these extreme notions was one John Penry, a young man of Breconshire, who, after giving good promise at the Universities, "did upon some discontent change the course of his life, and became a most notorious Anabaptist (of which party he was in his time the Coryphaeus), and in some sort a Brownist, and most bitter enemy to the Church of England of any that appeared in the long reign of Queen Elizabeth."1 As the animat- ing spirit of a club of writers who issued from a private press a number of libellous tracts, and as the suspected author of the scurrilous Martin Marprelate, a warrant was issued by the Privy Council for his apprehension as an enemy to the state ; and he was at last executed on a charge of treason-felony, for implied denial of the Queen's authority. Whilst his execution has been almost universally condemned as an unjust straining of the law, men have formed very different estimates of his character. By some he was looked upon as an author of libels and sedition ; but by his friends he has been extolled as a martyr. Of his sincerity, indeed, there can be no doubt. He was evidently deeply persuaded of the truth of his own views, and very earnest in the propagation of them ; but unfortunately his views were narrow and bigoted, and he had no consideration for those who differed from him, and occupied a different stand-point. In his denunciation of the clergy he was particularly bitter ; and were it not that experience has taught us to apply to the language of heated controversy, especially in the mouth of young reformers, a colour of its own, we should conclude that they were hopelessly depraved. They were called " ungodly" because, forsooth, they did not hold what came unfor- tunately to be called, and deemed equivalent to, Evangelical, but 1 Wood's Athenrc Oxonicns. THE COMMONWEALTH. 97 really meant strong Calvinistic, doctrines;1 "murderers of men's souls", as not teaching the truth with the desired Shibboleth j " thieves", for taking the tithes that should go to those who would so teach it ; " dumb dogs" on account of the rarity of ser- mons, the special difficulties of preaching at that time being ignored, and the frequent performance of the divine offices made by him of little account in the great want of fuller and more direct instruction. Indeed, the faults they were guilty of, were in no slight danger of being overlooked in the revulsion that followed from the wholesale abuse thus heaped upon them ; and it was owing, perhaps, as much to the extravagance of such libels as to the severity with which they were repressed in Penry's case, that we hear little more of the kind for many years. As to England, at least, we are told that " at the death of James I, the condition of the Church was, to all outward appear- ance, flourishing as its truest friends could have desired. It was looked upon as the head of the Eeformed Churches, honoured by foreign Protestants, and dreaded by the enemies of the Reforma- tion. The world did not contain men of stronger talents, sounder learning, and more exemplary lives, than were to be found among its ministers. Their worth was soon to be tried and proved in the furnace of adversity ; and their works have stood, and will continue to stand, the test of time. They had maintained their cause with consummate ability against the Papists on one hand, and the Puritans on the other, and their triumph was as com- plete as their cause was good. But it is not by reason that such struggles are terminated. A fatal crisis both for the Church and State was drawing on. The danger, from the time when the Puritans commenced their systematic opposition to the Establish- ment, had been distinctly foreseen and foretold ; but the circum- stances which brought on the catastrophe were not to be averted by human foresight."2 The antagonistic elements which combined to produce this crisis were of many different kinds, political and religious. In 1 " Having adopted the extreme opinions of Puritanism, he travelled into Wales, and was the first, as he said, who preached the Gospel publicly to the Welsh, and sowed good seed among his countrymen." — Eminent Welshmen. - Southey's Bool: of the Church, 7th ed., p. 370. 0 98 THE COMMONWEALTH. the State there was the struggle between absolutism, constitu- tionalism, and republicanism; and in religion there were the rival interests of Eomanism, Presbyterianism, and Independency, all eager for the overthrow of the Established Church, and calling upon her to exercise a vigilant eye, and to be prompt in action. A return made by Bishop Owen to the Archbishop of Canter- bury, a.d. 1633, says of this diocese, that "all is exceedingly well, save only that the number and boldness of Bomish recu- sants increased much in many places, and was much encouraged by the superstition and frequent concourse of some of that party to Holywell, otherwise called St. Winifred's Well." And again, in the following year, the Bishop writes that they were " not any- where troubled with Inconformity, but that he heartily wished that they might be as well acquitted from superstition and pro- faneness";1 that is to say, the difficulties he had to contend with arose from without, and not from within. " Inconformity", or neglect of the rubrics and order of the Church by the clergy, did not trouble him ; for the Bishop had exercised a watchful care over his diocese, and had shewn by his orders for Welsh sermons in the parish church of St. Asaph, that he was himself ready to take his share of work;2 but he was much grieved with the growth of the Bomish superstition on the one hand, and with the spread of that profaneness or irreverence, on the other, with which the more violent of the Puritans treated the Word of God, and caricatured religion in the lanouaoe and nomenclature of their every day life. The definite and active churchmanship that distinguished the primacy of Laud from that of his predecessor, Abbot, had pro- bably much to do with hastening on the course of events. " By steadily enforcing discipline he corrected many of the disorders at which his predecessor had connived; the churches were placed in decent repair, the service was regularly performed, the Lord's Supper reverently administered ; they who would not follow the rubric were silenced ; and by refusing to ordain any person, except to a cure of souls, the number of Calvinistic lec- 1 Lambeth MSS. 943, quoted in Rees' Nonconformity in Wales, p. 9. 2 Br. Willis, Appendix lxi. THE COMMONWEALTH. 99 toners was diminished, and of those who, being retained as chaplains in the families of private gentlemen, disgraced the Church by conforming to the humours and fancies of their patrons, by their incapacity, or by the irregularity of their lives."1 By these proceedings he provoked a large amount of opposition, and was charged by his opponents with a desire to reintroduce Popery, — a charge which, under the circumstances, had an appear- ance of probability, and was eagerly disseminated ; but was in reality very unjust, and had no foundation in fact. His unpopu- larity was further increased by the harsh and cruel punishment inflicted by the Star Chamber upon Bastwick, Prynne, and Bur- ton, for their atrocious libels upon him ; and the whole odium of which he had to bear. And when at last he procured the pro- mulgation of new canons, by which the clergy bound themselves to maintain the doctrine and discipline of the Church of England inviolate against the superstitions of Eome on the one hand, and the machinations of the Puritans on the other, and declared that " monarchy was of divine right", all the antagonistic elements in Church and State rose together in opposition, and began the attack by impeaching the Bishops for high treason. This was followed up by a Bill for excluding them altogether from the Upper House ; and when they protested against the illegality of the proceeding, they were impeached a second time, confined in the Tower, and forced to pay a fine ; and lastly, their estates were sequestered and sold. Bishop Owen, who had deserved so well of this see, was one of the prelates who had to suffer these hardships. He was twice impeached, was imprisoned in the Tower, had to pay a fine of £500, and after seeing the episcopal property sold,2 and the 1 Book of the Church, Southey, p. 381. 2 The following schedule of the sale of the lands of the see is taken from Br. Willis, Appendix lx : May 23rd, 1648. — The manor and lordship of Istervyn, co. Flint and Denbigh, sold to Humphrey Jones and Henry Jones for £1254 12 9| May 9, 1649. — Two messuages in St. Martin's, co. Salop, sold to Will. Fell and Jonathan Tileot for - - 195 10 0 Aug. 22, 1649. — Tart of the manour of Wrexham, co. Den- bigh, sold to James Lloyd for - - 50 0 0 100 THE COMMONWEALTH. cathedral which he had done much to improve desecrated, died at Perthkinsey, in the midst of the troubles, in A.D. 1651. The capitular clergy were the next to suffer ; deans and chapters were abolished, their property confiscated, and the venerable cathedrals grossly profaned. At St. Asaph one Miller, a postmaster, who lived in the Bishop's palace, and sold wine and liquors there, stalled his horses and oxen in the cathedral, fed his calves in the throne, and removed the font to his yard, where it was used as a horse-trough. The parish churches fared but little better in the general confusion; some of them being occupied as fortresses, and few escaping some damage or disfigurement. Some of the orders of Parliament relating to them, which were issued at this period, are important, not only as shewing the root-and-branch temper of the authorities, but also as witnessing that many articles of church furniture and ritual, commonly supposed to have been abolished at the Reformation, had still continued in common use, or else been retained as ornaments ; and these are further illustrated by many local traditions, and by occasional entries in the parochial registers and account books of the time. In 1641 an order was issued " to deface, demolish, and quite take away, all images, altars and tables turned altarwise, crucifixes, superstitious pictures, monuments, and relics of idolatry, out of all churches and chapels"; a second, that the churchwardens should forthwith remove the Communion Tables from the east end of the church, where they stood altarwise ; and take away the rails, and leave the church as before the late innovations.1 A third followed, " that all crucifixes, pictures of the Trinity, and images of the Virgin Mary, be taken away ; that tapers, basins, and candlesticks, be removed from the Communion Tables ; and that all bowing at the name of Jesus, or towards the east end, be Mar. 25, 1G50 — The manours of Llandegla, Witherwyn (Uwch-terfyn ?), and Meliden, with other lordships, man- ours, and lands, sold to John Jones and George Twistle- ton, Esq., for - - - - 3797 0 0 .£5297 2 9* 1 The Communion Table in Mallwyd, removed on this occasion into the centre of the church, remained in that position until the church was restored a few years ago. THE CO MM 0 N WE ALTII . 101 forborne". An order of 1643, for the sale of copes, surplices, etc., in all cathedrals, collegiate and parish churches, was supple- mented the next year by an ordinance of Parliament to " remove all images and pictures from all open places whatsoever, and for- bidding the use of surplices, superstitious vestments, etc. The cross was not permitted to continue upon any plate or other thing used about the worship of God ; and copes, surplices, super- stitious vestments, roods, fonts, and organs, were not only to be taken away, but utterly defaced". Whatever palliation there might be for some of these orders, there can be none for the pro- fanity which too often attended their execution, — a specimen of which we have already noticed in this cathedral, but which was trifling compared to the blasphemous impiety exhibited at such places as Yaxley and Lichfield Cathedral. The Prayer Book next came in for its share of obloquy and suppression. In a.d. 1645 its use was forbidden not only in all places of public worship, but, with strange inconsistency for men who had been so clamorous for toleration, " in any private place or family"; and every one offending herein, for the first offence was to pay £5, for the second £10, and for the third to " suffer a whole year's imprisonment without bail or mainprise". The same ordinance, however, which thus prohibited the Prayer Book, con- sistently enough enjoined the Directory, the use of which was afterwards enforced by " a fine of forty shillings for every omis- sion"; and a penalty of not less than £5 upon any one who should " deprave it by preaching, writing, or printing". The reform of the clergy was entrusted to the Assembly of Divines, the great majority of whom were Presbyterians with a few Independents. One of their first measures was to draw up the " Solemn League and Covenant", a Presbyterian oath directed especially against the episcopal clergy, and binding all persons to endeavour, among other things, the extirpation of prelacy; that is, " Church government by archbishops, bishops, their chan- cellors and commissaries, deans, deans and chapters, archdeacons, and all other ecclesiastical officers depending on that hierarchy"; and that the country clergy everywhere might be reached, Com- mittees of Sequestration were appointed for the different counties. From the "Act for the better Propagation and Preaching of 102 THE COMMONWEALTH. the Gospel in Wales",1 we learn the following particulars as to the powers of the Welsh commissioners. A committee of seventy- two persons was appointed for the thirteen counties (Monmouth included), with power (1) to receive all charges that should be exhibited against any parson, vicar, curate, and schoolmaster, or any other having, or to have, ecclesiastical benefit or promotion ; to grant warrants for their attendance, to examine witnesses on oath ; and either on the admission of the accused, or the oath of two credible witnesses, to eject the said parson, etc. ; allowing, if they saw fit, for his wife and children a sum not exceeding one fifth of the living, etc., out of which he had been ejected ; all parish charges, public taxes, and other duties, being first deducted out of the whole". (2.) To grant certificates to such as should be approved by a body of twenty-five ministers of the Gospel, nomi- nated for the purpose, " for preaching as well in settled congre- gations and parochial charges as in an itinerary course", and for the keeping of schools ; and for their support to receive and dis- pose of all rectories, vicarages, and other ecclesiastical livings, provided that the yearly maintenance of a minister does not exceed £100, and that of a schoolmaster £40. (3.) That no per- son be henceforth vested in any rectory, vicarage, or ecclesiastical promotion, unless recommended and approved of according to the tenor of this Act, which was to be in force for three years from the 25th of March, 1650. Its operation may be judged from the fact, that among the committee were men who took care not only to sequester, but to secure for themselves a share in, the episcopal lands, — such as Twistleton, the republican governor of Denbigh Castle ; and apparently Colonel Jones, the regicide ; and that the approvers consisted of Presbyterians, Independents, Antipsedobaptists, and three or four episcopally ordained clergy- men who had adopted the opinions of one or other of these sects. Heavy charges of immorality and incapacity were, indeed, alleged against the clergy ; but without pretending that there may not have been bad cases among them, or assuming that all their opponents were actuated by equally hostile motives, we must 1 Preserved in the British Museum, and printed in History of Nonconform- ity in Wales, Note D. THE COMMONWEALTH. 103 bear in mind the antagonism of the principles at issue, and the wide range covered bv these accusations. Thus White, in his First Century of Scandalous, Malignant Priests, includes such charges as " bowing at the name of Jesus", " railing in the Com- munion Table to prevent the profanation of it", " assisting his Majesty", " refusing to contribute to the rebellion", " saying that to alienate the lands of cathedral churches to maintain preaching ministers, is to pervert the will of the dead that gave them"; "preaching against the doctrine that the greatest part of the world should be damned", " asserting the doctrine of universal grace", " refusing to read the Burial Service over children dying unbaptised", " singing the xliii Psalm, ' Then shall I to the altar go'," etc, With such judges and such accusations it is no wonder that a vast number were deprived of their benefices ; indeed, it is more strange that any should have been left. " In Montgomeryshire, the county where I lived," writes Vavasor Powel, one of the Com- mittee, and therefore a fail- representative of their proceedings, " there were eleven or twelve never ejected : so in all other counties, — some more, some less." Let us then take this county as an example. Now as there were in it about forty-five livings, even if we allow as many as ten of them to pluralists, there must have been twice as many ejected as were left in ; " some, how- ever, of whom, though deprived of their income, did also some- times preach, to please some of their old parishioners, who would hear none else preach."1 The parish registers corroborate this estimate, and even imply a larger one in an indirect way ; for however regularly kept before and after the interregnum, but few have that period filled up ; whilst a few others, like Llanfair- talhaiarn, have entries kept privately during that interval, in- serted at a date subsequent to the Restoration ; and on whatever theory we attempt to account for the fact, it clearly betrays a very general interruption of the old parochial system. Among those deprived in this diocese, in addition to the Bishop, Dean, and all the cathedral clergy, we find the names of Humphrey Lloyd, afterwards Dean of St. Asaph and Bishop of 1 Bird in the Cage, by Vavasor Powell, 1662. 104 THE COMMONWEALTH. Bangor; John Lloyd, subsequently Archdeacon of Merioneth; J. Meredith, afterwards Warden of All Souls and Provost of Eton, and connected with it by sinecures ; Dr. Godfrey Goodman, Bishop of Gloucester and Bristol ; and his successor in that see, the learned William Nicholson ; Dr. Morley, Bishop of Winches- ter ; Dr. Du Moulin, son of the eminent Protestant writer of that name, and himself an author of some note ; and others. The provisions of the act for the relief of the deprived clergy appear to have been one thing on paper, another in practice, and to have depended more upon the will of the committees than upon the merits of the case. Thus Mr. Davies, the rector of Garthbeibio, was not allowed even to make any defence ; Mr. Evans, vicar of Llanasa, though for fourteen years under seques- tration, was not able to recover any fifths ; and Mr. Langford, vicar of Welshpool, forced to withdraw, with his wife and family, to Merionethshire, and thence to Anglesea, though promised the house and glebe for a year, never received it. Four, however, all in Montgomeryshire, the vicars of Llanbrynmair, Berriew, and Llanrhaiadr, and the rector of Castle Caereinion, appear to have been more fortunate, or less scrupulous, and to have recovered the livings after intervals of from three to ten years. An illustration of the change, so far as the parishioners in some instances at least were concerned, is furnished to us in "an humble petition of the inhabitants of Guilsfield to the Committee for settling ministers of the Gospel in Wales."1 It is dated a.d.1652, and is in painful contrast to the highly coloured pictures paraded about during the bicentenary agitation of 1862. The petitioners complain that since " Mr. Ellis, an able divine, had been seques- tered for supposed delinquencies, they had been without Com- munion, without baptism, visitinge of the sick, or form of a church ; the church door being commonly shut on the Lord's Day, as particularly on Easter Day last, and the Sunday following ; tli at the service of God was much decayed, and religion scan- dalised ; and that their sacred rights are not only withheld, but invectives published against such as shall minister them to us, — by ambulatory preachers, who tell us theyr sermons are sufficient A certified copy in the Bishop's library. THE COMMONWEALTH. 105 for salvation, and recompense enough for the tithes we pay, which are exacted of us with all rigour." And this comes from the immediate neighbourhood of Vavasor Powel, the presiding genius in the proceedings against the episcopal clergy ; a man of intense devotion to his cause, indefatigable in the spread of his opinions not only in the pulpit, but also by the press (though he tells us that " he would not neglect, for the printing of a thousand books, the preaching of one sermon"), and described by his admirers as " the apostolic"; but to judge from his principles, religious and political, and from his public acts (for I pass over the personal charges brought against him by his opponents, Presbyterian as well as Episcopal, as tending to shew the virulence rather than the merits of the controversy), uncompromising and self-willed. Having begun in theology as an Independent, he afterwards adopted Antipaxlobaptist views, and so incurred the odium of his former co-religionists ; and being in politics a staunch Repub- lican, he drew up a spirited protest against Oliver Cromwell on his assuming the title of Lord Protector ; for which he was rewarded with present imprisonment, and the permanent sus- picion of that party. About this time there sprang up, either directly in opposition to, or indirectly in reaction from, the extravagances of the Anti- psedo- or Ana-bajDtists, the new sect of Quakers. "Amongst the Anabaptists", writes the Presbyterian Baxter,1 " was an abund- ance of young, transported zealots, and a medley of opinionists, who all hasted directly to enthusiasm and subdivisions, and brought forth the horrid sects of Ranters, Seekers, and Quakers, in the land." Curiously but consistently enough they appear to have been most flourishing in the neighbourhood of Welshpool, where Vavasor Powel's interest may be supposed to have been greatest. The most eminent among them were Richard Davies2 of that town, and Charles and Thomas Lloyd of Dolobran, near 1 See Orme's Life of Baxter, p. 82. 2 His autobiography, published under the title, rtAn Account of the Com- mencement, Exercises, Services, and Travels, of that ancient Servant of the Lord, Kichard Davies ; with some Relation of ancient Friends, and of the spreading of Truth in North Wales", has passed through six editions. (Emi- nent Welshmen.) P 106 THE COMMONWEALTH. Meifod. The Quakers were particularly obnoxious to the Puritan ministers not only for their outspoken utterance of their con- tempt, for they did not hesitate to call them blind guides, hire- lings, deceivers, and so forth, but also for their troublesome interference in their religious services, where they would some- times stand up in the midst of the sermon, and contradict the preacher, and at others would rise up one after another to speak. Besides which they would often refuse to pay their tithes ; and for this last offence they were made not seldom to pay the penalty of imprisonment. The deprived clergy, meanwhile, had to support themselves and their families as best they could : some few were permitted to keep school, others acted as tutors in private families, and others had to turn to manual occupations. Such of them as sur- vived the interregnum Were restored to their livings, in cases where the then holders chose to resign rather than subscribe to the Act of Uniformity. This Act has been much abused, as having driven great numbers of ministers (two thousand is the generally asserted number) from their homes and livings because they would not submit to its conditions. Now whether all its provisions were, or were not, such as need, or would have been, enacted in less troublous times (some of them, indeed, were even then opposed by the Bishops, but insisted on by the laity rather as a preservative for the future than by way of retaliation for the past), it deserves to be judged according to the actual cir- cumstances under which, and the temper of the times when, it was passed, rather than by our own abstract ideal, formed under different circumstances, of what it should have been. That some common standard of doctrine and order is necessary, to which the ministers at least of a Church should conform, is manifest from the simple idea of it as a visible body, and is exemplified by the practice of almost every Christian denomination. The strictness with which such a standard may need to be enforced must depend upon the special conditions of time, place, parties, and other circumstances. What, then, were the chief provisions of this Act ? They were — (1), to exclude from the ministry of the Established Church those who had not been, or were not willing to be, episcopally ordained ; (2), to require assent and THE COMMONWEALTH. 107 consent to the Book of Common Prayer; and (3), to renounce the Solemn League and Covenant. Now as to the first of these requirements, it must be borne in mind, that many of those whom it affected had never been ordained at all; and most of them, as we Churchmen are bound to believe,1 defectively, after the Presbyterian, Independent, or Baptist systems ; that the second was but a restoration of the Prayer Book to its old position, in which it had been superseded by the Directory, which had itself been imposed under penalty of fine and imprisonment ; and that the third was insisted on by the Commons in order to secure the realm from a recurrence of those evils to which its principles as to Church and State were believed directly to tend. That something of retaliation did enter into the measure is very likely true ; and that many good and estimable men had to suffer more or less may also be con- ceded, and conceded with regret. Still the large proportion of those who conformed shews that its conditions were not gene- rally deemed unreasonable; whilst a comparison of numbers between those now ejected, and those who had previously been deprived, speaks highly for the comparative leniency of the pre- sent treatment. Moreover, not only is comparison favourable, but the composition of the ejected is still more so ; for among them are found a large number who either as Committeemen or Approvers had taken an active part in depriving the episcopal clergy, or else had borne arms against the King, and so could hardly, as honest men, wish to remain where they were, or as reasonable ones complain of their own ejection. Moreover, it had not been a matter of religious scruple whether there should be an Established Church or no, but rather a question as to who should enjoy that vantage-ground ; whilst the principles of toleration, as now accepted equally for all, were so little under- stood in those days, that the extreme Puritans, who had clamoured loudly for it for themselves, had no wish that it should be con- ceded to the Romanists, nor when in power were they willing to grant it to others ; and even the Pilgrim Fathers, those champions of the liberty of conscience, for the sake of which they left home Preface to the Ordination Services in the Book of Common Prayer. 108 THE COMMONWEALTH. and kindred, and gained for themselves, in their new home across the Atlantic, an honourable name for Christian heroism, yet forced those of their body who desired to retain the rites of their old Church to return to England, and punished with branding and mutilation the unhappy Quakers who in their way insisted upon that same liberty for themselves.1 So much of the matter in general. We will now descend to particulars. "A list, as complete as it could be made, of the ministers and itinerant preachers in the Principality, who were either silenced after the Eestoration, or ejected by the Act of Uniformity", was given in the History of Protestant Noncon- formity in Wales,2 published in 1861, and apparently in view of the bicentenary celebration of the following year. It cannot, therefore, be unfair to take this list, and analyse its composition, so far as concerns this diocese. Into the personal merits of the ejected we have no wish to enter. The favourite epithets for them are " saintly", " martyred", " apostolic'', " seraphic". We con- fine ourselves to the principles at issue ; and the result we arrive at is this. In that portion of the diocese which lies within the counties of Denbigh, Montgomery, and Salop (the parts of Flint and Merioneth supplying no instance), there were fifteen ejected from ten different places, — four of them being from Denbigh, and two from Wrexham, — and five Itinerants3 silenced, who were Independents or Baptists, and traversed over some portion or other of it without any fixed charge. Of the fifteen only ten can be regarded as ministers settled in charge of a parish; the remaining five being made up of two schoolmasters, both Inde- pendents, the one4 at Oswestry, and the other at Denbigh " not in orders";5 and three6 at Wrexham, described respectively as " a candidate for the ministry", " a strict Congregationalist and high Dissenter", and " an eminent saint and famous preacher". Of the 1 The United States of America, by Hugh Murray, F.E.S.E., vol. i, pp. 199, 226. 2 Page 140, etc. 3 Vavasor Powel, Henry Williams of Ysgafell, James Quarrel, Thomas Quarrel, and John Williams. 4 John Evans. & Kichard Jones. 0 Ambrose Lewis, John Evans, David ap Hugh. THE COMMONWEALTH. 109 ten, again, three1 had been active as Approvers ; another2 after- wards conformed ; whilst of the remaining six little more is known than the names and the places whence they were ejected, and that two of them were Independents or Congregationalists, as they were called, and a third supposed to be a Baptist. The vexatious and harassing proceedings which followed on the Five-Mile Act we woidd gladly pass over in silence, with a sincere regret that some gentler course was not adopted, by which the old wounds might have been healed up ; but we are, at the same time, bound in fairness to acknowledge the difficulties of the position. On the one hand a Romanist faction was intriguing for the re-establishment of Popery, and on the other " the rem- nants of the Republican party were seeking to take advantage of the Dutch war, and throw the kingdom into confusion and anarchy, that they might once more try the experiment of their beloved Commonwealth";3 and as, rightly or wrongly, the con- venticles were suspected of favouring these respective views, the Acts themselves must be regarded as directed at least as much against politics as religion ; and they claim as much indulgence, in the case of their victims, as was demanded for the ejection of the malignant (i. e. loyal) clergy in behalf of the Propagation Committee. " That while they had not the wisdom to be silent on political questions, the commissioners coidd hardly be blamed for ejecting them, as the interference of the ministers of religion with politics, in those unsettled times, tended greatly to endanger the peace of the community."4 1 Eowland Nevett, A.M., of Oswestry ; Ambrose Mostyn of Wrexham, and William Jones of Denbigh, chaplain to Governor Twistleton. 2 Jenkins of Gresford. 3 Southey's Booh of the Church, pp. 439, 441. 4 History of Protestant Nonconformity in Wales, p. 89. 110 CHAPTER IX. FROM THE RESTORATION TO THE REVOLUTION. Bishops Griffith, Glemham, Barrow. — Union of sinecure rectories to their vicarages.— Bishop Lloyd. — Conferences at Llanfyllin and Oswestry. — Diocesan returns. — Lawsuit concerning the advowson of Llanuwchlyn — Letters to Archbishop Sancroft illustrative of the state of the diocese. — Synod at St. Asaph a.d. 1683. — Success of his administration. — Petition of the seven Bishops, and their committal to the Tower. — Accession of William and Mary. The first bishop after the Restoration was Dr. George Griffith, who appears to have been one of those already alluded to,1 as, although deprived, still remaining in their parishes and minis- tering to their old parishioners, for he continued the whole of the time at Llanymynach. Before the wars he had been chaplain to Bishop Owen, and as proctor for the clergy in the Convocation of 1640 he had moved for a new edition of the Welsh Bible. During the ensuing troubles he engaged in controversy, both oral and written, with the leader of the Puritan party. In 1652 he wrote "A modest Answer to a bold Challenge of an itinerant Preacher, Vavasor Powell" and receiving a scurrilous reply, he published a rejoinder entitled <( Animadversions on an imperfect Relation in the 'Perfect Diurnall,' containing a Narration of a Disputation betvjeen Dr. Griffith and Vavasor Powell, near New Chapel in Mont- gomeryshire." After his promotion to the bishopric he took an active part in the last revision of the Prayer Book, and according to Wood, in his Athenai Oxonienses, had " the chief hand in com- posing the form for "The Public Baptism of such as are of riper years", the necessity of such a service having been rendered imperative by the tenets and practice of the Baptists and Quakers. i Page 103. FROM THE RESTORATION TO THE REVOLUTION. Ill Besides the Bishop's name, that of Humphrey Lloyd,1 as proctor for the clergy, is attached to the Sealed Book ;2 in the Act of Uniformity prefixed to which it is provided that the Bishops of Hereford, St. David's, St. Asaph, Bangor, and Llandaff, shall take order that it be truly and exactly translated into the British or Welsh tongue ; and that the same being by them, or any three of them at least, viewed, perused, and allowed, be imprinted to such number, at least, so that one of the said books may be had for every cathedral, collegiate, and parish church, and chapel of ease, in the said respective dioceses and places in Wales, where the Welsh is commonly spoken or used, before the 1st May, 1665 ; and that meanwhile the " Form of Common Prayer", esta- blished by Parliament before the making of this Act, shall be used as formerly in such parts where the English tongue is not commonly understood. It was ordered at the same time " that an English copy should also be provided in every such church, to remain in such convenient place that such as understood them might resort at all convenient times to read and peruse the same ; and also that such as do not understand the said language may, by comparing both tongues together, the sooner attain to the knowledge of the English tongue." In the work of this trans- lation the Bishop is believed to have had a leading hand, and his Short Sermons on the Lord's Prayer prove that he was not only imbued with the spirit of his subject, but well qualified for the task by the plainness and perspicuity of his language. The main work of his episcopate, however, was to restore order and disci- pline in the diocese, and to restore the church fabrics, — a work rendered imperative by the disorganisation of the late troubles. His successor, Glemham, the first Englishman appointed since the Eeformation, appears to have received his promotion more in consideration of his family connexions, and his losses during the civil wars, than for any fitness or love for his office. He does not appear to have ever resided in the diocese ; and after a brief tenure of the dignity he was succeeded by another countryman, 1 Kestored vicar of Rhuabon and canon of St. Asaph, 1661 ; dean, 1663; Bishop of Bangor, 1673. 3 See copy in the Cathedral library. 112 FROM THE RESTORATION TO THE REVOLUTION. Dr. Isaac Barrow, Bishop, and for some time Governor, of the Isle of Man, — a worthy prelate, who continued to exhibit in the charge of this see the same zeal and liberality that had distin- guished his former episcopate. That for which he more especi- ally deserved well of this diocese was the union of certain sine- cure rectories in his patronage, with their vicarages (where the latter were insufficient for the support of the incumbent), and constituting them thenceforth rectories with cure of souls. The following table of " the common and reputed value of all the rectories sine curd, and their respective vicarages, within the dio- cese",1 was evidently drawn up in view of the Act, and is inserted here as a useful record on the subject : Decan. de Ros : R. v. *Llanrwst . . . 80 ... 30 Llansannan . . 70f... 25 Llandrillo . . . 90 ... 55 *Denbigh . . . 50 ... 25 Llangwm . . . 40 ... 28 Dec. de Moulde et Tegeingle : Northop . . . 50 ... 90 Cilcen ... 50 ... 30 Nannerch . . . 30 ... 30 Ysceiviog . . . 60 ... 35 *Caerwys . . . 30 ... 30 Cwm . . .40 ... 40 Whitford . . 40 ... 40 Dec. de Marchia : Llanrhaiadr . . 150 ...100 Dec. de Pola : r. v. Llansantffraid . . 80 ... 70 Pennant . . . 60 ... 25 Dec. de Caedewen: Llandyssil . . 50 ... 25 Dec. de Cyfeiliog et Mawddwy : ^Machynlleth . . 60 ... 20 Llanbrynmair . . 40 ... 40 Darowen . . . 30 ... 30 Dec. de Bromfield : Llanarmon . . 90 ... 40 Estyn or Hope . . 60 ... 45 Dec. de Penllyn : Llanfor . , . 80 ... 40 Llandrillo . . . 45 ... 30 Corwen . . 80 ... 60 Of these sinecures, special regard being had to income, popu- lation, and other circumstances, those of the town parishes of Denbigh, Llanrwst, Caerwys, and Machynlleth, and of the rural parishes of Nannerch and Llandyssil, were consolidated with the vicarages. The same thing was done with one of the compor- tions of Llansannan ; and the vicarage of Llanarmon in Yale was at the same time improved by the addition of the parsonage house and all the glebe lands. By the same Act2 it was provided that Llanrhaiadr should, from the next vacancy, be appropriated to the dean and chapter for the repairs of the cathedral, in the first instance, and the augmentation of the revenue of the choir ; and that meanwhile, until that should be available; the Bishop * Market towns. 1 MS. in the Bishop's library. f In two comportions. - Br. Willis, Append, lxii. FROM THE RESTORATION TO THE REVOLUTION. 113 should resign, for that purpose, his commendam of Ysceiviog. This Act was passed in 1678, and was the more commendable and disinterested as the Bishop not only resigned some of his own emoluments, but improved the poor livings in the face of much importunity to bestow the sinecures otherwise, and that, too, on no unworthy objects: for there exist letters both from the King and the Archbishop pleading urgently for one of them for " Joh. Theobaldus Fabricius, a man of very good learning, humble and modest ; one that loves our Church well, and hath written a defence of it, and thereby created himself enemies both among our Dissenters here and his own countrymen, who have thereupon divested him of the livelihood he had there before".1 As the name does not occur anywhere among the rectors, it is probable that no vacancy occurred among those which were not affected by the above Act ; whereas the name of Lewis Herault, pastor of the French Church in London, which does occur among his promotions, implies that the Bishop would have helped Fabricius also, if he could have done it without injury to his own diocese. Among the instances of his liberality was the refusal to enrich himself at the expense of his successors by renewing the lease of the manor of Meliden, — a proceeding which called forth from the King a letter of commendation, and a promise that it should thereafter not be in the power of any bishop to make any lease thereof that should continue any longer than his own time".2 Other instances were, his improvement of the fabric of the cathedral and the palace, the erection of an almshouse for eight poor widows, and its endowment with £8 per annum, and also a legacy of £200 towards a free school, which he had intended, if spared, himself to have built. His epitaph,3 drawn up by him- self, and inscribed upon his tomb, near the west door of the cathedral, has been a subject of much comment on account of a clause which seemed to imply his belief in the efficacy of prayers for the dead ; in consequence of which the brass plate containing » Br. Willis, Append, lxiii. 2 ibid., Part II. 3 " Exuviae Isaaci Assaphensis Episcopi, in manum Domini depositee in spem letae Resurrectionis per sola Christi inerita. O vos transeuntes in Douium Domini, domum orationis, orate pro conservo vestro, ut inveniat misericordiam in Die Domini." — Br. Willis, i, 121. Q 114 FROM THE RESTORATION TO THE REVOLUTION. it was removed a few years ago, during some alterations in the cathedral. A well meant but unsuccessful attempt was made by his suc- cessor, Bishop Lloyd, to heal the divisions that separated Non- conformists from the Church, and to win them back to its fold by conciliation and argument. The associations of his early and the experiences of his middle life eminently qualified him for the attempt ; and if learning, moderation, national sympathy, an appreciation of the religious difficulties, and a jealousy for their common Protestantism, could have availed, the wound might then have been healed. Born in England, but belonging to the old Welsh family of Henblas in Anglesea, he was distinguished, even as a child, for his knowledge of Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. Having matriculated at Oriel College, Oxford, in 1639, when he was only eleven years of age, he gained a scholarship at Jesus the following year, and graduated at the early age of fourteen, as the boy-bachelor, in 1642. During the troubles of the Commonwealth he appears to have been absorbed in his favourite study of the Oriental languages, through which he was brought into intimate friendship with Elias Ashmole, the antiquary and founder of the Museum which bears his name. By Ashmole lie was induced to accept, during the interregnum, the family living of Bradfield ; which, however, he quickly resigned, and betaking himself to the more congenial work of the pen, he wrote voluminously as well in elucidation of ancient philosophy as in the explanation of the Holy Scriptures, and especially on the application of the prophetical writings ; " endeavouring", as Macaulay writes with no little sarcasm, " to extract from Daniel and the Eevelations some information about the Pope and the King of France". At the Eestoration " commenced an extraordinary shower of prefer- ments, which continued to fall on him for forty years".1 Some remarkable tracts against Popery, published by him in 1667, led to his promotion to the deanery of Bangor, the archdeaconry of Merioneth, and a chaplaincy to the King. His next book in defence of the Church of England Catholic, the design of which was to distinguish between English Church Catholics (or, as we 1 Lives of the Seven Bishops, p. 324. FROM THE RESTORATION TO THE REVOLUTION. 115 should now say, Anglicans) and Roman Catholics, brought him into still greater prominence and favour ; and in 1677 he was appointed principal chaplain to the Princess of Orange, a post of great importance and delicacy, from the probability of her suc- cession to the throne, and from " the open and undisguised hosti- lity of her husband to the Church of England, — a hostility which induced him to do violence to her conscience, by compelling her to desert her own chapel and the English liturgy, to attend the Dutch schismatic service with him".1 It is to this cause, surely, rather than to her chaplain's persuasion, as Miss Strickland's prejudice against him has induced her elsewhere2 to suggest, that the attendance of the Princess at a place of worship " where the tenets of the fanatic fatalists called Brownists were prevalent", must be attributed ; otherwise he would hardly have been " wel- comed, on his return to England, as one of the warmest champions of the Church". His innate dislike of Popery was much increased by the intrigues of that party, at this period, for its restoration as the established religion, and caused him to look with favour upon the Nonconformists as natural allies in the looming struggle between it and Protestantism : hence, on his promotion to this see in 1680, one of his first cares was to try and recover them to the communion of the Church. With this in view he invited to a friendly conference, first, the Quakers at Llanfyllin, and then the Presbyterians at Oswestry ; and would have done more had the movement been more successful. An account of the former, written by an ear-witness,3 was printed, a few years ago, in a provincial paper, which, as it describes an interesting occurrence but little known, deserves the folio whig summary : " The Bp. haveing desired Mr. Ch. Lloyd and his brother, Mr. Tho. Lloyd,4 to appear in the Publick Hall at Llanfyllin, and to bring along with him as many more as they thought fitt, to give an account of the reason of theire separation from ye Church ; accordingly they both, and severall others of theire friends and party, appeared on Thursday, 1 Lives of the Seven Bishops, p. 245. 2 P. 326. 3 Mr. Robert Davies, the eminent antiquary, of Llannerch, from whose MSS. it was furnished to Aris's Birmingham Gazette of Sept. 13, 1858, by Miss Lloyd of Ty-yn-y-Rhyl, to whom I am indebted for the information. 4 Of Dolobran, near Meifod. See above, p. 105. 116 FROM THE RESTORATION TO THE REVOLUTION. September the 22nd. And ye Bishop haveing desired to know ye rea- sons why they separated from ye Church, not onely from ye Church of England, but also from ye universal Church of Christ, Mr. Charles Lloyd stood up, and made a long speech of his former sufferings, and readiness to suffer again, and some other things. Then Mr. Tho. Lloyd desired the audience to take notice they were not called there for any wicked lewdnesse, but to give an account of theire faith towards God ; and then told the Bishop that the reason of theire separation from us was because they did not approve of severall things in our worship and ceremonyes ; named our Baptisme, Marriage, etc. The Bishop told him he was willing in due time to speak to these things. But first he desired them to give an account why they separated not only from us but from all Christians that are or have been in the world, and indeed from ye institution of Christ, by laying aside ye use of Sacraments. Upon this began a discourse about Baptisme, which con- tinued a long time : after which followed another about the Lord's Supper, which was broke off by the night, and the conference was adjourned to ye next day. "Friday, Sept. 23, 1681.— The Bishop being come into ye Hall, Mr. Charles Lloyd and his company presently appeared, and being seated, the Bishop told them he found great inconvenience in ye dis- course ye day before, by ye severall digressions and sallyes y* were made from the maine discourse, by which ye thread of it was often broke, and it could not be easily reassumed ; so y* ye same things were often said over again, and nothing concluded. To remedy this he told them he desired all that was said that day might be put in write- ing, and gave them pen, ink and paper. After some hesitation they accepted of it, and ordered a young man of theire party to sit downe and write for them. Then the discourse began. Mr. Lloyd offered to speak against Peedo-Baptisme, and the manner of baptising in our Church. To this the Bishop answered, and desired them and the whole auditory to take notice of it, that he did not declyne to speak to those things, but was ready to defend them agst the Anabaptists and the other sects concerned in them. But for them that denyed Baptism in generall it was necessary to discourse of Baptisme itselfe. It was to as little purpose to satisfye them aboute ye ceremonyes of Baptisme, while they denyed the substance of it, as it would have been to be diligent in pulling out a thorne out of a man's foote who had a mortall wound in his head. Upon this they offered something agst Baptisme itself, and would have proposed some theses. But after some tyme had been spent ab* these things, and the matter could not be brought to a regular conference, at last this question was proposed to them, viz., Whether is it possible to become members of Christ without water Baptisme 1 " Tho. Lloyd holds this question in ye affirmative, and being offered his choice of being opponent or respondent, he chose ye opponent's part." The discussion is then carried on in a series of syllogisms FROM THE RESTORATION TO THE REVOLUTION. 117 formed after the dry but crucial model of scholastic disputation, at the close of which — " Then Mr. Dean of Bangor1 told Mr. Thos. Lloyd, you have hitherto acted the part of the opponent, and have binn patiently heard, and yett could not, as we conceive, by any of those arguments you used, prove that it is possible to become members of Christ without water Baptisme. You have tried 3 topicks, and did not bring either of them to the conclusion you designed. And now, if you please, I will also take upon me the opponent's part, and prove to you that Bap- tisme is ordinarily necessary to salvation. Then Tho. Lloyd, haveing admitted the Dean as opponent, and made himselfe respondent", the argumentation proceeds on the same method as before, turning more directly on the interpretation of St. John iii, 5. When this was done, " the Dean desired he might read to them what the Bp. had writt of the conference, and did so. Tho. Lloyd acknowledged ye it was can- didly done. And so ended y* day's conference on that subject." Though the balance of argument was much in favour of the episcopal party, conviction was not produced in the minds of the Quakers, and the conference does not appear to have been renewed ; but on the following Tuesday, Sept. 27, another con- ference was held in the Town Hall at Oswestry with the Presby- terians, the details of which are more generally known.2 The Bishop was attended, on both occasions, by " the pious and learned Mr. Henry Dodwel";3 the Presbyterians were represented by Mr. James Owen of Oswestry (one of the most considerable Non- conformist ministers in the diocese), Mr. Philip Henry,4 and Mr. Jonathan Eoberts of Llanfair Dyffryn Clwyd : " The discourse began about two o'clock in the afternoon, and con- tinued till between eight and nine at night. Much was said pro and con, touching the identity of bishops and presbyters, the bishoping and unbishoping of Timothy and Titus, the validity of Presbyterian 1 Humphrey Humphreys, B.D., promoted to the bishopric of Bangor in 1689, and translated to Hereford in 1701 ; an able Welsh antiquary, and author of some memoirs of eminent Welshmen, in addition to those contained in Wood's Athence Oxonienses (last edition) and the first volume of the Cam- brian Register for 1795. 2 See Philip Henry's Life by Sir J. B. Williams. 3 To whom, in conjunction with Dr. Stillingfleet, Dean of St. Paul's, he dedicated his Historical Account of Church Government as it was in Great Britain and Ireland when they first received the Christian Religion. London, 1684. 4 Of Worthenbury, father of the eminent Matthew Henry. 118 FKOM THE RESTORATION TO THE REVOLUTION. ordination, etc. It was managed with a great deal of liberty, and not under the strict laws of disputation, which made it hard to give any tolerable account of the particulars of it. The arguments on both the sides may better be fetched from books written on the subject1 than from such a discourse. The Bishop managed his part of the confer- ence with a great deal of gravity, calmness, and evenness of spirit, and therein gave an excellent pattern to all that are in such stations."2 It is added that, — "Although he did not succeed in convincing his nonconforming brethren, he ever after held them in the highest estimation, often cor- responding with the amiable Philip Henry; and imparting to Mr. Owen, in 1689, the secret of the Prince of Orange's invitation to Eng- land, and his hope that the Protestant Dissenters would concur in promoting the common interest." In the administration of the diocese Bishop Lloyd displayed the same watchful care, the same zeal for its spiritual and tempo- ral interests, that prompted the above attempts to win back the Nonconformists to its fold. He appears to have set himself at once to procure full and accurate information about the parishes in his diocese ; and the earliest statistics of any importance relat- ing to them, date from the second year of his episcopate. The manuscript book labelled Z,3 begun by Bishop Tanner, but incor- rectly entitled " Bishop Maddox's Book", is based upon returns made in 1681, to which additions have periodically been made to the year 1745. These give, more or less fully, the names of the townships, with the number of families, and sometimes of souls in them ; the value and appropriation of the tithes, with memoranda of moduses and dues ; an abstract of terriers ; the dedication of the church, with notices of the services and the charities ; of all of which it is proposed to make a large use, and 1 Mr. Owen published, in 1694, the arguments in favour of his view, under the title of A Plea for Scripture Ordination, or Ten Arguments from Scripture and Antiquity, proving Ordination by Presbyters, without Bishops, to be valid; to which, in the same year, an able and learned Answer was written by the Rev. John Thomas, A.M., rector of Penegoes ; but it was not published until after the appearance of a second edition of The Plea, with an Epistle prefixed by the Rev. Daniel Williams, in 1707; the Answer being edited by the Rev. Dr. George Hickes, 1711. 2 From P. Henry's Life, by Sir J. B. Williams. 3 In the Bishop's library. FROM THE RESTORATION TO THE REVOLUTION. 119 to embody the substance, when giving the history of the several parishes. In 1683 he engaged in a troublesome and expensive lawsuit, with a view to recover to the see the advowson of Llanuwchlyn, which the Prices of Gilar claimed as having been granted, on the dissolution of Cymmer Abbey, to their ancestor, Ellis Price, chan- cellor of the diocese, and commissary-general under Lord Crom- well.1 Bishop Lloyd, on the other hand, pleaded that it never had belonged to Cymmer or any other foundation, and attributed its impropriation to an act of collusion. In the trial, held at Shrewsbury, and transferred by consent to the Exchequer, a ver- dict as to right was given for the Bishop; but possession being pleaded, another trial was held, also at Shrewsbury ; and there, too, the verdict was in his favour. But the impropriator still disputing the issue, had it tried again at Bala, at a time when the Bishop was precluded from attending in person, and had entered a protest against it ; and this time the former decisions were reversed, and the verdict given against him. Deterred, pro- bably, by the great expense attending it, or perhaps owing to his translation to another diocese, the Bishop did not reopen the question, and so the rectory continued impropriate ; but its reco- very, as we shall see, was the favourite plea of his successor for his iniquitous proceedings in appropriating to himself the profits of vacant livings. Some letters2 written by him to Archbishop Sancroft throw much light upon the history of the diocese during this time, the difficulties he had to encounter, and the way he overcame them. May 4, 1683, he writes : " There is a nephew of my predecessor, one Mr. Thomas Clopton,3 whom his uncle preferred as well as he could in this diocese, from the time of his entering into orders, which was but three or four years before his uncle's death ; that is, he gave him a prebend of about £20 per annum ; two sinecures, worth each of them about £60 per annum ; and a rectory, with cure of souls, of about £100 per annum. £< This rectory is called Castle, which lies in Montgomeryshire, not 1 Sup. 77. 2 In Lives of the Seven Bishops, by Miss Strickland, from the Tanner MSS. 3 "Schoolmaster of Oswestry, 1672; rector of Kilken, 1673; canon, 1675; rector of Llanrwst, 1677; prebendary of Myfod, 1678." — Br. Willis, i, 266. 120 FROM THE RESTORATION TO THE REVOLUTION. far out of England, and yet not a third part of the people understands any English ; and though Mr. Clopton, to qualify himself for it, made his uncle believe he had learned Welsh (and he did indeed learn so far as to read a Welsh sermon once in a parish church, that he might be able to say he had preached in Welsh ; but he read it so that none that heard him could understand anything in it no more than him- self), he came thither, and still continues unable to perform any church office in the Welsh language. The people were very much discon- tented at this, as they had cause ; and they sent me their complaint of it at my first coming into the diocese. Thereupon I desired him, as soon as I saw him, to learn their language, and to make himself useful in his cure. He promised he would do what he could ; but said he found it so difficult that he would take it for a very great favour if I would save him the trouble by finding him a living of £200 a year or better in England ; for which, with many thanks, he would resign all he had in this diocese. I promised him I would endeavour to do it ; and lately it has pleased God to give me an opportunity beyond his or my expectation. " Dr. Pell, the mathematician, had the next advowson of Malpas given him by the Lord Brereton, who was the patron of it ; and hear- ing of the death of Mr. Bridge, the last incumbent, the Doctor sent me an earnest request that I would find him a sinecure of £100 a year or better, that he might have in exchange for the living of Mal- pas, which is worth above £300. I presently acquainted Mr. Clopton with it, who gladly embraced the condition, and desired me to bring it to effect. I told him that when he parted with his sinecures to Dr. Pell, he must not think to make a sinecure of Castle. He was content to part with that also, and desired to keep nothing but his prebend, which I willingly allowed. Thereupon T got him Dr. Pell's presentation, which he has now in his hands. But since I hear, and have reason to suspect, that he intends privately to get a dispensation, and so to hold Castle with Malpas. Such would be a great dishonesty in him, and a defeating of my design, which is truly for the service of the Church. I therefore write this to prevent him, and make it my humble suit to your Grace that he may have no dispensation. If your Grace will be pleased to lay aside this letter for him, in case he should come for a dispensation, I humbly desire that this may be given him for his answer."1 Dec. 27, 1685, he writes of other difficulties : " I have here enclosed sent your Grace an account of my ordinations at the last of the four times. You will see all things else according to your Grace's injunctions, except the ordination of one Mr. Maes- more, an undergraduate, whom I ordained deacon about three years ago, and now priest. He is exceedingly improved in learning and 1 Clopton remained at Castle till 1688, when he resigned it and his prebend in exchange for the rectory of Christleton in Chester diocese. FROM THE RESTORATION TO THE REVOLUTION. 121 knowledge within this time, and a pious, sober man, but so poor that he had not wherewith to pay his ordinary fees. I preferred him from Mwyn-Glawdd1 Chapel, in Wrexham parish, where he had £7 ill paid, to Meliden, where now he will have =£10 a year. But he must do half a year's service before he w ill receiye anything. And there has not been a Sacrament there since Whitsuntide last, for want of a priest in that cure : nor would have been now at Christmas, if I had not ordained him. But I was fain to ordain him without your Grace's dispensation ; for though I would haye been at the charge of sending for it, I had not time. The poor man did not offer himself to be ordained because he could not be at the charge. But when I heard that that church wanted Sacraments, and I knew that there was not a priest to spare in the diocese, I sent for him to be examined when it was too late to send for a dispensation. I beg your Grace's pardon for this ; for though what I did was not against any law, it was against an article2 which, upon your Grace's proposal, I agreed to, though I had before objected to it as being likely to perplex the Welsh bishops and those others that are far distant from London, and haye yery poor cures to provide for. I humbly propose, for their sakes, that your Grace would be pleased to interpret the word dispensation, that it may be in writing under your hand, without the affixing of any seal, that it may be the sooner dispatched, and w ithout charge to the per- sons concerned in it.''3 Again, at a later period of his episcopate, he writes on the same subject : " I must craye leave to remind your Grace that I excepted against the restraint from ordaining them that are not graduates in the uni- versity, as being not practicable in our Welsh dioceses.4 We have a great many more cures of souls than we have graduates in this country ; and as most of the people understand nothing but Welsh, we cannot supply the cures with any other but Welshmen. But yet of those whom I have ordained, the graduates have not been always the best scholars. I have more than once seen them shamefully outdone by men that never saw the university. And I never ordained any but them that could perform the exercise required by the thirty-fourth canon of the Synod in 1603. " For the state of the Church in North Wales," he adds, " I bless God I do not know any reason we have to complain. I am well assured 1 Minera. 3 The third of the "Articles for the Regulation of Admissions to Holy Orders", agreed upon in the Convocation of Canterbury, 20th May, 1685. — Wilkins' Concilia, iv, 612. 3 Tanner, xxxi, 242 ; Strickland, 340. 4 In the signatures attached to the above articles (Wilkins' Concilia, iv, 614)," W. Asaph" is not in a column with the rest, but stands apart by itself. II 122 FROM THE RESTORATION TO THE REVOLUTION. that in these six counties there are not six persons fewer in the com- munion of our Church than there were in the beginning of his Majesty's reign. And for them that are in the Church communion, who are the generality of our people, I thank God I do not find that they grow worse. I hope they rather grow better j and that which is my greatest comfort, I do not know of one scandalous churchman in this diocese."1 This high character of the diocese, which we shall presently find more than corroborated by other testimony, is mainly due to his watchful administration, a patent evidence of which is supplied by^ "certain orders treated and agreed upon by the Eight Eeverend Father in God, William Lord Bishop of St. Asaph, and the whole clergy of his diocese, at a synod begun at St. Asaph the fourth day of July anno Domini MPCLXXXTTT."2 These orders "for the more decent and orderly administration of the holy offices," and for the due performance of other ecclesiastical duties, are ranged under nine heads, and are both valuable and interest- ing for the full and admirable directions they give. They relate to — I, the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper ; n, Baptism ; in, Burial ; iv, Excommunication and Absolution ; v, the Observa- tion of the Lord's Day ; vi, the admitting and swearing of Ward- ens ; vii, the Besidence of the clergy ; vm, Terriers ; ix, Gifts to charitable uses. The following extract from " IV, Of Excommunication and Ab- solution", shews the strictness of the discipline enjoined and the mode of its exercise. When private means have failed, and the case be such as to necessitate extreme measures, it is ordered that " When any person is decreed to be excommunicate for any criminal cause, there shall be three Sundays allowed for his denunciation, as follows : " On the first Sunday there shall be read by the minister of the parish, after the Nicene Creed, the first form prescribed, to desire the prayers of the congregation for that person, to implore the grace and mercy of God to bring him to repentance. " On the second Sunday there shall be read by the minister of the parish the second form prescribed, which shall also be read in the parish church of every parish adjoining to that in which the said per- son liveth. Then the minister shall ask if there be any present who 1 Tanner, xxx, 124; Strickland, 333. 2 Wilkins' Concilia, iv, 008, " Ex MS. penes Tlio. Epise. Assaven.," which latter has the signatures attached. FROM THE RESTORATION TO THE REVOLUTION. 123 can show any reasonable cause why the denunciation ought to be fur- ther delayed than the next Lord's Day 1 If any person answers and Baya lie hath such cause, the minister shall admonish him to shew it to the bishop within that week. " On the third Sunday, if there be no cause alleged to the contrary, there shall be read by the said minister, and also in every neighbour- ing parish, as aforesaid, and the church of the next market town, the third form which is prescribed for denunciation j and then also there shall be a sermon preached in the said parish church by the minister whom the bishop shall appoint for that purpose. " Whosoever is thus excommunicate, is to be denounced again once every quarter in his parish church, and the church of the next market town, and the neighbouring parish, and the cathedral. " When any clergyman is excommunicated, and does not submit within one month, he shall be denounced excommunicate in every church in the diocese ; and a roll of the name of such, if any be, shall be published once a year in the cathedral and every parish church and chapel within the diocese. " The minister of every parish is to keep a book by him both of excommunications and absolution, that he may know who are, and who are not, in church communion among his parishioners. If one under excommunication remove out of the parish, notice must be given by the minister to the bishop if he go into another diocese, or to the minister if into another parish in the diocese." The minister of the parish was to perform all absolutions in criminal causes, except where the bishop reserved them to him- self ; and in cases of penance, to give a certificate of its perform- ance. " That as often as it shall appear to the minister that any penitent hath any eminent change wrought in him, especially if it be such as may be of great and useful example to others in the like case, he shall immediately after the Nicene Creed stir up the people to render due thanks to Almighty God in a form prescribed for that purpose, to be read after the Nicene Creed, as aforesaid." These orders were agreed to by representatives of the clergy from every part of the diocese, and appear to have received the approval of no less a man than Philip Henry among the Non- conformists.1 The best commentary, however, upon them as well as upon his whole episcopate, is furnished by an account of the diocese at the accession of Bishop Jones, written by one well competent to judge ;2 1 Life, by Sir J. B. Williams. 2 Robert Wynne, B.D., chancellor of the diocese and vicar of Gresford. 124 FROM THE RESTORATION TO THE REVOLUTION. « Perhaps no bishop ever took possession of his see with more advantage than his Lordship, for the diocese had undergone, in all respects, the strictest regulation under the care and government of the present Bishop of Worcester1 for the space of twelve years ; the clergy were under exact discipline, the several parishes furnished with pain- ful and deserving pastors, the revenues of the bishopric increased, and the rights of the Church everywhere recovered and settled."2 Bishop Lloyd's name, as one of the Seven Bishops whom James II committed to the Tower in 1688, is a household word ; his companions were Sancroft, Archbishop of Canterbury, Lake Bishop of Chichester, White of Peterborough, Turner of Ely, Ken of Bath and Wells, and Trelawney of Bristol. Their conscien- tious and patriotic resistance to the unconstitutional attempt of the King to abrogate the penal laws by his personal authority, forms a memorable epoch in the history of our national liberties. In the famous Petition in which they prayed to be excused from reading or causing the " Act for liberty of conscience" to be read in their respective dioceses, he had a chief hand, and acted as the substitute of the aged Primate in presenting it to the King. The story of their trial and acquittal, and of the universal joy with which it was hailed, has been told too often and too elo- quently to need repeating here. His innate dread of Popery, increased by his experience of the intrigues of James and the Jesuits for its re-establishment, — a dread intensified in his later years to such a degree as to become a kind of craze or mono- mania,3 led him subsequently to welcome, and it would seem to help in bringing about, the accession of William and Mary. At the same time his respect for some of the Nonconformists, dating from his early days at Oxford, and displayed consistently through- out his life, — a respect that made him sympathise to a consider- able extent with their difficulties, and ever anxious to recover them to the Church ; but which never led him to sacrifice, for 1 Bishop Lloyd was translated to Lichfield and Coventry in 1692, and in 1699 to Worcester. 2 A short Narrative of the Proceedings against the Bishop of St. Asaph. Lon- don, 1702, p. 1. 8 Cf. Macaulay, Hist, of England, ii, 346; Parnell, in Faction Displayed; and Swift in his Journal to Stella ; Strickland's Seven Bishops. FROM THE RESTORATION TO THE REVOLUTION. 125 the sake of union, those principles of which he was so loyal and steadfast a champion, — this sympathy and respect enabled him to acquiesce in measures that the majority of his protesting col- leagues, and not a few of his clergy, refused to accept. His translation to Lichfield and Coventry in 1699 removed from this diocese one of the most learned, laborious, and successful bishops that ever occupied the see of St. Asaph. 126 CHAPTEE X. EFFECTS OF THE REVOLUTION. The Non- Jurors. — Ecclesiastical policy of William. — Bishop Jones, his offences and deprivation. — Bishop Beveridge. — Queen Anne's Bounty. — Bishop Fleetwood. — Abolition of mortuaries. — Dissatisfaction of the Welsh clergy. — Dr. Sacheverell. — Summary of the Reports of E-ural Deans for 1729 and 1749. The refusal of the Non-Jurors to take the oath of allegiance to William and Mary, and transfer to them the fealty they had sworn to James, was met by William in a very summary way, — a way that estranged the clergy widely from him, and proved highly injurious to the best interests of the Church. He deprived them of their sees1 and livings, which he filled with his own friends and political sympathisers. The Toleration Act, too, had been distasteful to them, because it ignored, and called upon them also to ignore, those points of doctrine and ecclesiastical order by which they were distinguished from Independents, Baptists, and Presbyterians ; and they gave vent to their dissatisfaction, not obscurely, in the Lower House of Convocation, which was much more independent and outspoken than the Upper House ; and to silence which William adopted the course of repeatedly proroguing it. Indeed, it is to this process of schooling the clergy, and making henceforth political support a condition of promotion, that we must attribute, I think, more than to any- 1 Among these was another William Lloyd, Bishop of Norwich, a native of Llangower, and some time rector of Efenechtyd in this diocese. Among the laity who suffered for adhesion to James was the Marquis of Powis, who was outlawed for high treason ; and an unexpired lease of a portion of the tithes of Meifod, Pool, Guilsfield, and Buttington, which he enjoyed, was transferred to Edward (Jones) Bishop of St. Asaph, and William (Lloyd) Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield. EFFECTS OF THE REVOLUTION. 127 tiling else, that lowering of the spiritual life of the Church into a sort of moral engine of the State, and the comparative lifeless- ness and spiritual apathy which marked so painfully the last century. In its immediate effect on our own diocese this process proved very disastrous ; for one to whom the clergy looked as best fitted, both by his own merits and by their confidence, to succeed Bishop Lloyd on his promotion to Lichfield and Coventry in 1692, was passed over because he had opposed the measures of Dr., now Archbishop Tennison in the Convocation of 1689 ; and Dr. Edward Jones, a native of Montgomeryshire, was translated hither from Cloyne in Ireland. It has been recorded on the best authority that " perhaps no bishop ever took possession of his see with more advantage than he did ; for the diocese had under- gone, in all respects, the strictest regulation under the care and government of Bishop Lloyd for the space of twelve years ; the clergy were under exact discipline, the several parishes furnished with painful and deserving pastors, the revenues of the bishopric increased, and the rights of the Church everywhere recovered and settled. Nay, Bishop Lloyd had been so communicative to his successor that he informed him of the whole state of the dio- cese, and gave him the exact character of every clergyman in it, and how every person was qualified for his Lordship's future favours, so that he had a perfect view of his diocese before ever he saw it."1 The contrast, however, between the two administrations was sad and painful in the extreme. That of Bishop Jones was marked by so much corruption, negligence, and oppression, that in 1697 an address, signed by thirty-eight of the principal bene- ficed clergy, was sent to the Archbishop representing their com- plaints under no less than thirty-four heads, and praying for an inquiry. These charges the Bishop was summoned to answer on the 20th July, 1698. By his own confession he had been guilty of gross neglect of ecclesiastical discipline, not only in not punishing a case of known drunkenness, but even in promoting 1 A short Narrative of the Proceedings against the Bishop of St. Asaph. See above, pp. 123, 124. 128 EFFECTS OF THE REVOLUTION. to a canonry one who had been accused to him of crimes and excesses ; he had permitted laynien to perform the office of curates at Abergele and Llandrillo ; he had been guilty of a simoniacal contract in the disposal of some of his preferments, and had allowed his wife to receive money, by way of earnest, for certain promotions. Besides which, he had been in the habit of appropriating to himself a year's profits of vacant livings, on the plea of carrying on the lawsuit for the recovery of the advow- son of Llanuwchlyn, — a plea, it is almost needless to add, never put into practice. The Archbishop's sentence, pronounced in June 1701, after much procrastination, was that the Bishop be suspended from his episcopal office, administration, and emolu- ments, for the space of six months, " et ultra donee satisfecerit".1 We may remark that this punishment appears very slight com- pared with the number and heinousness of his offences ; and it remains only to add, in justice to the clergy in general, that those who fell in with his iniquitous proceedings were some of the Literates whom he had himself ordained, being much more lax on that point than his predecessors had been ; and in very favourable contrast to whom stands out the conduct of those who discharged the painful and humiliating duty of demanding the inquiry, and thus relieving the diocese of so sad a scandal. A brief period of restitution intervened between the expiration of his sentence and his death, which occurred soon after the accession of Queen Anne. The next bishop was Dr. George Hooper, Dean of Canterbury, who had formerly succeeded Bishop (then Dr.) Lloyd as chaplain to the Princess of Orange at the Hague. Hooper being offered the see of Bath and Wells within six months after his consecra- tion, declined it at first out of regard for his old and dear friend, Dr. Ken, who had been deprived as a Non-Juror ; but he was afterwards induced to accept it at the urgent request of Ken himself, who looked upon him as one that would " zealously contend for ' the faith once delivered to the saints', which in those latitudinarian times was in great danger to be lost ; and who had also another wish, for the good of this diocese, that 1 A short Narrative, etc., Appendix III. EFFECTS OF THE REVOLUTION. 129 Dr. Edwards1 might succeed him here."2 Good Bishop Ken's wish, however, was not gratified ; and the vacant bishopric was again conferred upon a royal chaplain, the pious and learned Beveridge, who, like his predecessor, had refused the see of Bath and Wells, because, as he declared, he would not eat the bread of Dr. Ken. He inaugurated his episcopate by reviving the custom of public catechising, which had of late fallen into neglect ; and with a view to promoting its efficiency, he drew up and pub- lished, for the use of Ins clergy, his Plain and Easy Exposition of the Church Catechism. It was at tins time that, in consideration of the insufficient maintenance of the poor clergy, the Queen granted the first- fruits for their better support, and established the fund thence known as " Queen Anne's Bounty." These first-fruits or " an- nates"3 were the profits of one year of every vacant bishopric in England, claimed at first by the Pope upon a pretence of defend- ing the Christians from the Infidels, and paid by every bishop at his succession, before he could receive his investiture from Rome. Afterwards the Pope prevailed on all those who were spiritual patrons to oblige their clerks to pay these " annates", and so by degrees they became payable by the clergy in general. In the 26th Henry VIII a statute was passed that these pay- ments should be made to the King; and since then, except during the reign of Queen Mary, they had been paid into the exchequer. Vicarages, however, not exceeding £10 per ann., and parsonages not exceeding ten meres, according to the valuation in .the First-Fruits Office, were exempted from this payment, for the reason that when this valuation was made vicarages had a large revenue arising from voluntary oblations, which ceased upon the Dissolution. The Act constituting this new fund, and the corporation for its management, ordered " that writs of in- 1 No doubt this was Dr. Jonathan Edwards, Principal of Jesus College, Oxford, author of A Preservative against Socinianism ; showing the direct and plain Opposition between it and the Religion revealed by God in the Holy Scrip- ture. 4to, Oxon, in two Parts, 1G93. 2 Ken's letter of congratulation to Bishop Hooper in Strickland's Lives of the Seven Bishops, p. 305. 3 Hook's Church Dictionary. S 130 EFFECTS OF THE REVOLUTION. quiry should be directed to three or more persons to inquire upon oath into the value of the maintenance of poor parsons who have not £80 per ann., and the distance of their churches from London, and which of them are in market or corporate towns or not, and how the churches are supplied, and if the incumbents have more than one living ; that care may be taken to increase their maintenance". A valuation was accordingly made for this diocese, in 1707, " of ecclesiastical benefices with cure of souls, not exceeding the yearly value of £50"; from which it would appear either that the poor livings were so numerous that the Bounty could only be applied in aid of those which did not exceed that sum ; or else that £80 being fixed as the standard for the towns, it was only possible to attain the lower standard for the country parishes ; and even here it was available only at intervals, the grants being distributed by the simple but indis- criminating process of casting lots. Still, the aggregate of the grants so made amounts to a very considerable sum, and has been of very material benefit to our poorer mountainous parishes. Another measure that proved of great relief to the clergy was the Act for the Abolition of Mortuaries, procured by Bishop Fleet- wood and Dean Stanley in 1712. " Mortuary",1 in ecclesiastical law, is a gift left by a man at his death to his parish church, in recompense of personal tithes omitted to be paid in his lifetime ; or that beast or other cattle which, after the death of the owner, by the custom of the place, is due to the parson or vicar in lieu of tithes or offerings forgotten, or not well and truly paid by him that is dead. This mortuary was usually brought with the corpse when it came to be buried, and offered as a satisfaction for the supposed negligence or omission.2 By the 26th Henry VIII it was commuted into a money payment. In the Welsh dioceses and one archdeaconry of Chester it was further customary for the bishops to receive mortuaries of priests, and these were ex- empted from the above Act". From an account exhibited in 1 Hook's Church Dictionary. 2 This I conceive to be the real origin of our funeral offerings, viz. to make restitution for the past rather than to provide prayers for the repose of the departed soul, as is sometimes asserted ; though, of course, after the intro- duction of the belief in Purgatory, both reasons would be equally applicable. EFFECTS OF THE REVOLUTION. 131 Queen Elizabeth's time1 it appears that the mortuaries due to the Bishop of St. Asaph on the death of every beneficed clergy- man in his diocese included " his best gelding, horse or mare, his best gown, his best cloak, his best coat, jerkin, doublet and breeches, his hose or nether stockings, shoes and garters, his waistcoat, hat and cap, his faulchion, his best book and surplice, his purse and girdell, his knife and gloves, and his signet or ring of gold". So long as celibacy was the rule these dues were reasonable enough ; but after the clergy were allowed to marry, they some- times proved a vexatious burden to the widows and families ; and were, after all, of very inconsiderable value. Indeed, Bishop Fleetwood never above once or twice took them in kind, forgiv- ing the poor widows, and compounding with the rich, and apply- ing the money he took of them towards buying books for the new library he caused to be made over the school".2 The Act, therefore, for their abolition, and for the appropriation, in their stead, of the first sinecure rectory in the Bishop's patronage that should fall vacant, was welcomed by the clergy as a general boon ; and as the first sinecure so available happened to be Northop, the exchange proved to be of very material advantage also to the Bishop. His Charge for 1710, which was very explicit on the duties of the clergy, wardens, and people, and has been de- scribed as " an admirable epitome of the discipline of the Church", was, contrary to the usual custom, printed and sent round to the clergy some time before his visitation. From it we further learn that there were two abuses which he set himself resolutely to correct, viz. the non-residence of "some rectors who thought themselves at liberty to absent themselves because not tied by oath to canonical residence as vicars were", but which he declared to be contrary to the Act of 21 Henry VIII ; and the disuse, in some places, of a weekly sermon for one every fortnight or three weeks". Insisting that " there must be a sermon every Lord's Day throughout", he left it to the discretion of the minister 1 Br. Willis, Appendix lxiv. 2 This building was on the north wall of the chancel of the cathedral, and was taken down in 1780. 132 EFFECTS OF THE REVOLUTION. whether it should be in English or Welsh ; but added his disap- proval of the conduct of those who gave an English one to favour one or two families in the parish, when the rest were Welsh". With his Charge he also sent a request to the clergy that they would supply him at his visitation with a short account of their parish and church, its dedication, wakes, monuments, supersti- tious usages, townships, tithes, and tithe-holders. He was him- self a zealous antiquary, and did much to elucidate the history of the diocese. Many pages of the transcript oiLlyfr Odeh Asaph, in the episcopal library, are in his handwriting ; so also are numerous notes and transcripts in an interleaved copy of Whar- ton's Historia de Episcopis Assavensibus in the cathedral library, and Browne Willis, to whom we are so much indebted for his valuable Survey, records that " he was very communicative in imparting to him many collections". As a bishop, however, though much respected for his learning and zeal, he was never popular with his clergy, whose sympathies lay rather with the High Churchmanship of the earlier than with the Latitudinarianism of the last and present Stuart reigns ; and whose national feelings chafed under a sense of wrong in the most sacred of associations, in being systematically ignored for the highest preferments in their Church, and subjected to pre- lates who, however personally amiable and good and learned, yet were opposed to them in sentiment, and altogether unable to perform the only part of their episcopal office in which they were brought into direct contact with their people, in the only language understanded of them. A striking illustration of the state of the public feeling on ecclesiastical questions was supplied about this time by the inte- rest with which the famous trial of Dr. Sacheverell was watched, and by the ovation with which he was greeted on his journey from London in 1709, at the expiration of his sentence, to take possession of Selattyn, to which he had been presented by his old pupil, Mr. Eobert Lloyd, the patron. Sacheverell, who was an ardent Jacobite, had, in a sermon preached before the lord mayor, "maintained the doctrine of passive obedience, spoken slightingly of the ministry of the day, condemned, not obscurely, the events of the revolution of 1088, and declared the Church to EFFECTS OF THE REVOLUTION. 133 be in danger. For this he was impeached by the Commons, con- demned to two years suspension from his office, and his sermon burnt by the common hangman. The result of all this was a wide diffusion of sympathy with his cause, and a prodigious increase of popularity for himself ; for he came to be looked upon as a martyr for the Church and monarchy, as against the demo- cratic sentiments that then began to prevail. So high, indeed, did this feeling run, that when George I, who had been taught to regard all High Churchmen as Tories, and all Tories as Jaco- bites, had in the first year of his reign to appoint a successor to Bishop Fleetwood, translated to Ely, he saw the policy of no longer ignoring the Welsh clergy ; and so, in order to reconcile them to his family, he selected Dr. John Wynne, Principal of Jesus College and Margaret Professor of Divinity at Oxford, to fill the vacant see. The principle to which Bishop Wynne owed his own appointment continued to influence him throughout his ej)iscopate ; and his promotion of the working clergy of his dio- cese to its dignities, stands out in favourable contrast to the cus- tom of his successors. The vigilance exercised by the state to secure the loyalty of the clergy, — a subject which was for some time made a regular point of inquiry at Visitations, — received a curious illustration in the embarrassment of the authorities on a question submitted to counsel in 1716, and the conflicting opinions thereon, namely, whether a beneficed clergyman who had the misfortune to be a lunatic, could retain his living ; not because he was incapacitated by his affliction, but because he had not taken the oath of supre- macy to the king ! The reports of rural deans in 1729 supply many interesting- particulars as to the character of the Church services and the condition of the fabrics at that time. On Sundays the custom was to have matins, or morning prayer, and a sermon ; and in the afternoon, evening prayer and catechising ; though in some places the catechising was limited to Lent ; the holy days were generally observed ; the Holy Communion was administered monthly, though in some churches in Tegeingl it was less fre- quent,— in private administration it was the custom to wear a surplice ; the offertory was collected for the support of the poor 134 EFFECTS OF THE REVOLUTION. every Sunday throughout the diocese, except in the deanery of Bromfield, which followed the English custom of levying a tax for that purpose, according to the Act of 43 Elizabeth. Another Welsh peculiarity, noticed as finding its bounds in the mountain region between Ruthin and Wrexham, was that of offerings at funerals. The fabrics of the churches were just beginning to lose some- thing of that original character which they appear to have hitherto retained ; and the narrow lancets, with their " dim, reli- gious light", were making way for larger windows with round or square heads. The rood-lofts, however, were still retained, as the people would not let them be removed, even on the plea of con- verting the materials into seats for young people and servants. Some seats, it appears, had already been set up at intervals, and in an irregular manner, and were even now becoming a source of trouble and injury. "The benches and sitting places in our churches, which are thought to have been formerly common", writes one rural dean (" commons" is the very name applied to them by another), " are now, by time and usage, become apperti- nent to houses and messuages ; and the proprietors are very tenacious of old rights, things, and customs, and will not admit of any alterations in their sitting places, though for the better". The permission to erect them seems however, in the first instance, to have been granted by the vestry either out of special favour to individuals, or else in consideration for certain repairs and benefactions to the church. The floors of the nave were gene- rally carpeted with rushes, and only in some instances flagged, though the chancel was generally so. The nave itself was often used as the parish school, and the churchyard as a playground, not only on week-days, but on Sundays also, as we may infer from the strict injunctions to the wardens in the deanery of Mechain to " break off that evil custom". A still worse abuse, however, was the holding of markets and fairs in them, " buying and selling in the very porches"; as was complained of, for in- stance, at Llangernyw and Bettws Gwervyl-Goch. The origin of this abuse is, no doubt, to be found in the License occasionally granted in early times, as we have seen in the case of St. Asaph, to hold a fair on some Saint's day, generally the wake or vigil of EFFECTS OF THE REVOLUTION. 135 the founder, the tolls of which should go to eke out the scanty maintenance of the priest ; and which, at first closely connected with a religious service, gradually lost its holier associations under a weight of busy, worldly, unhallowed traffic and enjoy- ment ; and, being finally dissociated from the sanctions of reli- gion, left its own impress of barter, noise, and revelry stamped upon the festival. From some of the parishes of Montgomeryshire there came a complaint that the Church-levy could not be collected ; for not being recoverable, like poor's rate, people sometimes refused to pay, and declared that if turned out of the Church they would be welcome in the meeting houses Another gravamen from the same county had reference to clandestine marriages. "An evil custom has been growing up", writes the rural dean of Cyfeiliog, " for laymen of all trades and occupations to take upon them to join persons together in matrimony. In the diocese of Bangor, on each side of us, were several ; but the chief of them now dead. In the county of Cardigan and diocese of St. David's, within six or seven miles of Machynlleth, there dwells a layman that fre- quents the town on fairs and great markets, and marries several couples in public alehouses by day or night; besides many others that go to his house to be married, from this and the neighbouring counties, in great and public companies. He gives the persons so married certificates attested by some of the com- pany then and there present, and signed by himself, clerk". As the culprit lived beyond the limits of the diocese, he was able, perhaps, to continue the practice with impunity ; but a similar proceeding in Merionethshire was very summarily dis- posed of, both in the case of a layman and in that of an eccentric rector of Llansantffraid-Gryn-Dyfrdwy. The reports for 1749, twenty years later, contain many com- plaints about the bad state of the glebe-houses and the non- residence of some of the clergy. These houses, and there were many parishes in which none existed, were often but mud-floored cottages of a single story; and as there was then no Queen Anne's Bounty available for their improvement, and the clergy, in those cases even oftener than in others, too poor to meet the necessary outlay, they gradually fell into decay by being sublet 136 EFFECTS OF THE REVOLUTION. to cottagers; the incumbents being permitted to occupy some other house in the parish, and in some cases to hold a curacy elsewhere, or another living with a better residence. Too much in character with this unsatisfactory state of the glebe-houses was that of the fabrics of the churches, whilst the difficulty and cost of procuring briefs for their repair rendered that a much less available resource than it otherwise ought to have been.1 The services, indeed, appear to have been performed with regularity and frequency, not only on Sundays and holy days, but also on the Wednesdays and Fridays in Lent ; and daily in the towns of "Wrexham, Denbigh, and Oswestry ; catechising frequent • the Holy Communion administered monthly, and a very large num- ber returned as communicants at the Easter celebration. Still, with all this outward regularity, much of the inner life of the Church seems to have been growing slack and dull, when a new current set in that ruffled for a time its calm surface, and might have requickened it to its pristine life and power if well and wisely guided ; for Methodism in Wales, although unhappily allowed to develop into Nonconformity, yet in its origin, prin- ciples, and aim, differed widely from the existing forms of Dissent, and must be regarded, for a time at least, as an internal move- ment from within the Church rather than one external or hostile to it. To estimate its character properly, in its relation both to the Church and to the then existing phases of Nonconformity, requires a brief review of the latter, and will fall more appropri- ately under a separate chapter. 1 The following extract from the Kegister at Llanddulas will shew the exorbitant expense of this method of collecting money : 1732.— For Llanddulas Church, collected on 9,902 briefs - £649 13 8 Paid for Lord Chancellor's fiat and signing ye brief - - £38 13 0 „ printing the briefs - - - - - 14 17 0 „ the patent - - - - - -25 18 2 „ incidental charges - - - - 4 10 0 „ salary for collecting 9,725 briefs at Sd. each - 324 3 4 ditto 177 briefs in London at IGd. - - 11 6 0 „ stamping the briefs - - - - 13 10 0 Total expenses £432 17 6 Balance available for building the church £216 16 2 137 CHAPTEE XI. DISSENT AND METHODISM. Distinction between the two. — The earlier Nonconformity. — Its Statistics for 1715 and 1742. — Rise and spread of Methodism. — Griffith Jones of Llan- ddowror.— Howel Harries, Daniel Rowlands, Thomas Charles, Simon Lloyd. — Ordination of Lay-Preachers in 1811, and separation from the Church. — Attitude of the Clergy. — The religious Census of 1851 ana- lysed.— The strength and weakness of Dissent. The title of this chapter is intended to mark the distinction between the earlier Nonconformity and that movement which had its origin in the eighteenth century. The old Nonconformist bodies, the Independents, Presbyterians, Baptists, and Quakers, differed essentially from the Church in points of order and dis- cipline as well as in peculiarities of doctrine, and were separated from her by a wide gulf ecclesiastical and political. The new movement, on the other hand, owed its origin mainly to some clergymen of Calvinistic leanings, whose aim it was to requicken the inner spiritual life of the people, which seemed to them to have become dulled and weakened under a garb of outward form- ality. And this they sought to do by enforcing more distinctly the personal and subjective aspect of religion, and by supple- menting the ordinary public ministrations of the Church with more frequent and less formal pastoral intercourse.1 1 " I must do justice to the Dissenters in Wales," writes the Rev. Griffith Jones, vicar of Llanddowror, in 1741, "and shall appeal for the truth of it to all competent witnesses, and to all those themselves who separate from us, that it was not any scruple of conscience about the principles or orders of the Established Church that gave occasion to scarce one in ten of the Dis- senters in this country to separate from us at first, whatever objections they may have afterwards imbibed against conforming. No. They generally dis- sent at first, for no other reason than for want of plain, practical, pressing, T 138 DISSENT AXD METHODISM. " Until the beginning of the eighteenth centnry the Welsh Nonconformists, with the exception of the Quakers and perhaps one Anabaptist Church in Radnorshire, were all Calvinists in doctrine and Congregationalists in Church polity. About that time a part of the Church at Wrexham, sympathising with the views of their former fellow-townsman, Dr. Daniel Williams, separated from the Congregational Church, and set up a Presby- terian interest there. Dr. Williams's views, which scarcely dif- fered in anything from moderate Calvinism, were then branded by High Calvinists as Baxterianism, Neominianism, etc. ; and Mr. Thomas Edwards, a member of the Congregational Church there, published in 1699 a huge quarto volume entitled Baxteri- anism Barefaced, in which he abused Mr. Baxter, Dr. Williams, and all other authors whom he regarded as unsound, in the most intemperate style."1 This controversy, in which the Low Cal- vinists or Baxterians, whose leanings were to Presbyterianism, were ranged on the one side, and the High Calvinists or Inde- pendents, who upheld the more rigid Congregationalism, on the other, was taken up warmly at Henllan in Carmarthenshire, and may be regarded as the commencement of a series of disputes which gradually led to the division of the Nonconformist body into the Calvinistic and Arminian parties, and the latter again into the Trinitarian and Anti-Trinitarian subdivisions. To this agitation Independency and Calvinism are said to be indebted for their very existence in the Principality. The state of things at Henllan which caused this disturbance, ignoring the cardinal doctrines of the Gospel, preaching mere morality, lax discipline, and a leaning towards the Presbyterian form of Church govern- ment, seems to have more or less affected other neighbouring congregations at that time, and would most probably have per- vaded all the Nonconforming bodies throughout Wales unnoticed, had it not been for this storm, to which an important feature in their system owes its origin. " Ever after the Welsh Churches have not been without vigilant persons to watch and report the and zealous preaching in a language and dialect they are able to understand, and freedom of friendly access to advice about their spiritual state." — Welsh Piety, p. 12 (1741). 1 History of Protestant Nonconformity in Wales, p. 282 et seq. DISSENT AND METHODISM. 139 least deviation from orthodoxy. That this class of persons have done incalculable good, and in many instances prevented a world of evil, is undeniable ; but, on the other hand, it must be con- fessed that there have been found among them, from time to time, individuals whose characters, violent tempers, and want of pru- dence, often disgraced the cause which they professed to defend."1 South Wales was at this period the home and nursery of Non- conformity. In the North it had but few adherents before the second half of the century. Statistics collected in 17152 shew only ten congregations in the whole of the six counties ; and that portion relating to this diocese is both pertinent and interest- 'ing, as shewing their distribution as well as the social and poli- tical standing of their members : DENBIGHSHIRE. Place. Average attendance. Social and political Standing. Denbigh P. ... Thos. Baddy, ... 60... One member worth between =£4000 and scholar <£5000, and three worth ,£500, the rest tradesmen and farmers ; no beggars; 8 votes for the county, and 12 for the borough. Wrexham P. ...John Kenrick ...230. ..Twenty tradesmen; 29 votes for the county, and 3 for the borough. „ A. ...John Williams... 150... Fourteen tradesmen; 23 votes for the scholar county, and 6 for the borough. Newmarket P. Bronycludwr, Dolgelley,&BalaI. Newtown P. . (in and near) . Llanfyllin and. Pant Mawx I. Llanbrynmair . &TrefeglwysI. Llanllugan I. . FLINTSHIRE. .Richard Hum-... 30... One member worth between .£14,000 phreys and <£15,000; 1 vote for the county, and 3 borough. MERIONETHSHIRE. , Edward Ken- ...150... One esquire; 12 votes for the county, rick MONTGOMERYSHIRE. Peter Seddon, ) ( Two gentlemen, four freeholders ; 5 .David Richard .Willm. Jervis,. scholar .Willm. Jervis,. scholar .Ditto - - . 120 110 ...Ten gentlemen, one freeholder; 5 votes for the county, and 1 for the borough. , 90. ..One freeholder; 1 vote for the county, 1 for the borough. .100... All poor people. 1 History of Protestant Nonconformity in Wales, p. 285. 3 By Dr. John Evans, and given in the History, p. 289. 140 DISSENT AND METHODISM. Adding to these a few Eoman Catholics and Quakers, we have the statistics of Dissent for this diocese in 1715. Another return/ dated 1742, shews that here at least their numbers had not much increased during the interval. " In Denbighshire there are three congregations of Dissenters, viz. a small one in the town of Denbigh, and two in Wrexham ; and I might add one in Oswestry, which, though in Shropshire, the people are Welsh, and border on Denbighshire. In Flintshire is a small one ; in Merionethshire there is but one, not far from Bala ; in Mont- gomeryshire there are five congregations, two of which were lately gathered by that excellent minister of Christ, Mr. Lewis Eees, who preaches at five places in this county and two places in Merionethshire, between twenty and thirty miles from his own habitation." This comparative stagnation, not to say retrogression, has been in part accounted for by the fact that hitherto no Welsh speak- ing natives of North Wales had been trained for the Dissenting ministry ; and that its advocates, coming from the South, were under peculiar disadvantages owing to the difference of idiom between the two divisions of the Principality, — a difference now vastly diminished by more general intercourse and a common literature. Another reason, too, requires to be borne in mind, that, in the North, Church principles had, upon the whole, been more fully and faithfully carried out. Nor does the subsequent spread of Methodism at all militate against this view. Tracing back its origin to Griffith Jones, vicar of Llanddowror in Car- marthenshire, a man of great eloquence and piety, and full of zeal for the spiritual amelioration of his countrymen, its primary object was to awaken among the people a more vivid personal sense of religion. Being a man of uncommon power in the pulpit he was often invited by the neighbouring clergy, and sometimes by the wardens against the will of their clergy, to preach in other parishes ; and this he used to do at stated times of the year, such as Easter and Whitsuntide. In the course of these preaching tours he formed his admirable plan for establishing 1 Said to have been written by Mr. Edmund Jones of Pontypool, and first published in the Glasgow Weekly History .—Eees, p. 385. DISSENT AND METHODISM. 141 circulating schools. Several of these schools were to be in charge of an itinerating master, who should take them in turns within a given circuit; and after they had been in operation for some time in one place, they were then to be transferred to another, but to be revisited and repeated again after a certain interval. By this means he was able to spread the teaching over a wide area, and to take in poor and scattered districts. The munifi- cence of Madame Bevan enabled him to perpetuate the system ; and it is one which in times past conferred a great boon upon many of our Welsh parishes, though utterly inadequate to the educational requirements of the present clay. For the better carrying out of his plan he established in Ms own parish a school for the training of more efficient masters ; and as he belonged to that school which favoured the views of Calvin, he naturally enough preferred those candidates who held, or were likely to imbibe, congenial views, drawing his recruits from the Noncon- formists as well as from Churchmen. The Catechism, which by this means he disseminated by thousands, and the Bible Com- mentary, which he generally kept by him for sale, were those of Matthew Henry, a learned and attractive expositor, but a Presby- terian in principles. This bias shook the confidence of some of the clergy ; and they were not a little justified in their distrust of the measure by its after- development into an actual schism, of which these very schoolmasters were among the leading pro- moters ; others, again, were annoyed at Ins intrusion into their parishes ; whilst others, no doubt, opposed him from feelings of jealousy, because his energy reflected upon their own want of zeal. It was to his preaching that Howel Harries, the actual founder of Welsh Methodism, the friend and companion of Whitefield, attributed his first vivid impressions of religion ; and the conversion of Daniel Bowlands of Llangeitho, one of its earliest and most eloquent advocates, was due to the same source. Their preaching was, in its earlier stages, of a very fervid and sensational character ; and they drew such awful pictures of death, judgment, and hell, as to obscure in no slight degree the character of God as a merciful and loving Father. Still, by so holding up " the terrors of the Lord", they wrought with a strange power on the feelings of their hearers, — a power which has been 142 DISSENT AND METHODISM. proved, by the experience of more recent revivals, to spread by contagion, and produce states of uncontrollable excitement ; some- times developed in convulsions of agony, sometimes in ecstacies of joy. When, therefore, "they began to creep up from the South into the Merionethshire parts" of the diocese, they were regarded as something like fanatics, and looked upon with no little aversion ; for they not only launched out terrible denunci- ations against the prevailing vices, but they also included in the category some things that were harmless. The " Wakes" with their abuses, for instance, were especial objects of their animad- version ; but they themselves went so far in the opposite direc- tion, and took such a gloomy view of the nature of the Christian life, that they concluded all mirth to partake of sin ; and have given to the national character a tinge of gloom, not to say Pharisaism. Other reasons that suggest a modification of the dark colouring given to the character of the times when they began their mission, may be found in the tendency to exaggerate their own labours for good at the expense of others, — a tendency for which they have been much censured by the earlier Dis- senters ; and in the natural desire of their denomination to sup- ply therein a justification for their proceedings. Notwithstanding all this, and in spite of many eccentricities which find their parallel in the Eitualistic movement of our own day, — a parallel of much importance for a right estimate of the former difficulty, and a wiser action in the latter, — we cannot reflect on the service that Methodism as it is has done, or con- template the far greater good it might have wrought as an acknowledged and well guided handmaid of the Church, without feeling the most sincere regret that more of wisdom and of ten- derness were not shewn towards it ; and that the authorities of the Church did not utilise the materials so presented by appro- priating them to her service whilst the opportunity lay open to them. But unhappily, instead of bracing to her opportunity, the Church was clogged by the treatment to which she had been for some time systematically subjected. With the exception of Bishop Thomas, nominated in 1743, but promoted to Bath and Wells before his consecration, no Welshman — no one even con- versant with the language, or acquainted with the peculiarities DISSENT AND METHODISM. 143 and sympathies of the people — has been promoted to this see since the translation of Bishop Wynne to Bath and Wells in 1727 ; and from abont the year 1750 until Bishop Bagot rebuilt the Palace in 1795, none of those who were appointed resided within the diocese for more than a month or two in the summer of each year, and not always so long ; so that at the very time when of all others our Church stood most in need of sympathetic and conciliatory chief pastors, — men who could moderate and harmonise the new elements, and by the influence of their per- sonal experience and examples attract that which was good in the movement, — she had to suffer doubly, from a painful absence of these qualities, and from an ever-growing nepotism that dis- heartened the native clergy, and helped in no slight degree to estrange and embitter the laity. All the highest dignities and the most valuable sinecures were bestowTed upon their relations and personal friends, and the Church's trust has been treated very much as a family perquisite; and the result has been that in this diocese more especially the gentry have almost ceased to bring up their sons to holy orders. There have been, indeed, among our English bishops men distinguished for piety and elo- quence and learning. Such were the apostolic Beveridge, the silver-tongued Fleetwood, and the learned Tanner; men who might have made, and some of whom did make, excellent bishops in an English diocese, but who were not fitted for the charge they undertook in a Welsh one ; nor were they able so to repre- sent their episcopal office as, I will not say to disarm the oppo- sition of those who argued from its abuse to its non-importance, but they even weakened the hands of their clergy by their mani- fest contradiction of one of the Articles of the Church, on the only occasion wherein they were brought into direct contact with the people entrusted to their oversight. It is no wonder, there- fore, that under such circumstances many of the clergy were non-resident, and some of the resident worldly and indifferent ; and some, too, it must be added, openly immoral ; and these last were a very grievous scandal and injury to the Church, not only from the publicity and exaggeration given to their misdeeds by her enemies, who would represent them as specimens of all, but also from the fact that, having once disqualified themselves for 144 DISSENT AND METHODISM. higher preferment, they were still left, owing to the difficulty and expense of the legal process for their deprivation, as sores to fester in the Church's side, and crush out the spiritual life of their parish. It was something like this when Mr. Charles (of Bala), setting himself, whilst curate of Llanymawddwy, about the year 1783, to put down some bad practices that prevailed in that parish, began to renew the old custom of catechising ; but being looked upon as an innovator, he was complained of by his parishioners to their non-resident rector, and by him dismissed the curacy. Being suspected of Methodism, at that time very unpopular in those parts, he was unable to obtain any other curacy ; and find- ing himself at length precluded from all hopes of preferment, and almost all opportunity of usefulness in the Church, he yielded to the solicitations of the Methodists, and joined that body, though in heart he still clung to the Church, as he shewed by his practice in regard to Baptism and the Lord's Supper. On a similar suspicion of favouring Methodism, Mr. Simon Lloyd, after serving many curacies, was refused institution by Bishop Horsley to the cure of Llanuwchlyn, to which he had been presented by the patron in 1803 ; and he, too, joined the Methodists. The exclusion of these two men in this diocese, like that of Peter Williams, the eminent Bible commentator, in St. David's, was a serious blow and injury to the Church ; but a tower of strength to the denomination with which they became thenceforth identi- fied, for they laboured with great talent and unwearied zeal in spreading through the country a fuller knowledge of the Scrip- tures in their own tongue, and their names are now as " house- hold words."1 We cannot, therefore, but repeat our regret that more tender- ness and sympathy were not exhibited towards them ; and we 1 Mr. Charles was the originator of the British and Foreign Bible Society, and prepared two editions of the Welsh Bible for the press, in 1804 and 1814. He was also the author of Y Geiriadur Ysgrythyrol (the Scripture Dictionary) in 4 vols. 8vo; and published new editions of Bishop Jewel's Apology in Welsh, Walter Cradock's works, and a Vindication of the Welsh Methodists. Mr. Lloyd was the author of Amseryddiaeth Ysgrythyrol, a useful work on Scripture chronology, and of Esboniad byr ar y Datguddiad. DISSENT AND METHODISM. 145 do this without being misled by the word-painting which would represent all that was done by their party as single-minded, enlightened, and evangelical ; and all that lay on the other side as worldly, bigoted, and ignorant ; for, thank God ! there were many good and faithful churchmen, both of the clergy and the laity, who, loving their Church's apostolic order, and her truer evangelical, because more comprehensive, system of doctrine, continued steadfastly doing their duty within her fold ; but were less noted because they were content to forego any special plans of their own, and do the Church's work in the Church's ordinary way. We regret it still more because we feel bound to disap- prove most strongly of that fatal step which altered the whole attitude of the Methodists towards the Church, viz. the ordina- tion of their lay-preachers in 1811. But even here we need to speak with tenderness mingled with self-reproach ; for one can- not help feeling that had we had bishops1 conversant with the people, and alive to the requirements of the case and its oppor- tunity, that step need not and would not have been taken. Up to that time " the Methodists had been considered a part of the Established Church ; none but episcopally ordained clergy had administered the Lord's Supper among them, and their children were baptised by the minister of the parish in which they lived." By that step, however, urged indeed often before by the lay- preachers, but strenuously opposed by the clergy who had hitherto favoured the cause, and had hoped that such measures might be taken as would secure its services to the Church, its relation towards the Church was most materially changed ; and the Epis- copal clergy, for the most part, broke off their connexion with it rather than be partakers in the schism. Thenceforth adopting its own orders and sacraments, and acquiring vested interests of its own, it assumed by degrees an antagonism proportioned to its increasing power. Doctrinally, too, it advanced to such an extreme as to lay it open at one time to the charge of Antinomi- 1 This is not said so much with reference to the individual as to the official influence of the order ; for the bishop being the centre point of the Church's system, ^Sef &i>ev tov iiriaKSirov, not only gives a certain tone and character to the diocese, but is especially responsible for the results of his system of administration, on which its general welfare so much depends. U 146 DISSENT A.ND METHODISM. anism. " The propagation of Wesleyanism in the Principality",1 writes the historian of Protestant Nonconformity in Wales,2 " to a great extent changed the style of preaching in the three lead- ing denominations, the Independent, the Calvinistic Methodist, and the Antipasdobaptist. In order to keep at a safe distance from Arminianism snch a high Calvinistic strain of preaching was adopted as tended to lead the people direct to the whirlpool of Antinomianism." This was attended with endless controversy, in which many disputants engaged, each from his own stand- point contending earnestly for his favourite view, and tending at the same time to multiply the divisions into which they have been ever falling. The clergy, meanwhile, to whom controversy was not so essen- tial an element, stood for the most part quietly aloof, as they saw from the Church's wider platform that the points at issue had each a place in the Christian scheme, though pressed alter- nately far beyond its right proportion. The misrepresentations of themselves and their Church they resolved to live through, in the trust that all would right itself in the end. But this quiet was too often misconstrued into indifference ; and from its con- trast to the apparent life by which it was surrounded, was looked upon as a sign of weakness ; and, indeed, in so far as we have omitted to supply the people, in their own language, with an answer to those misrepresentations, and an exposure of the fal- lacies of fact and argument employed against us, we must be written culpable ; and if we would recover the ground that has been lost, we must learn to make a fuller and a wiser use of the native press. The religious statistics, taken on the Census Sunday in 1851,3 shew, indeed, a large increase in the number of Dissenters of all denominations ; but from them some very unwarranted and falla- cious deductions have been drawn to the disparagement of the 1 This, as far as the Welsh language is concerned, began at Ruthin about the year 1800. 2 P. 464. 3 I take this census because it is the last general one, not because I think it altogether trustworthy. On this latter point I would refer to Mr. Pughe's paper on the religious statistics of Wales. (Douglas, Bangor, 1867.) DISSENT AND METHODISM. 147 Church. The three points which have been made most of in this respect, as shewing the comparative strength of Church and Dissent, are the number of places of worship, of sittings, and of worshipping population, belonging to the two sides respectively.1 First as to the places of worship. The number furnished in Wales and Monmouthshire by the Church was 1,180 ; by the Nonconformists (including Independents, Baptists, Methodists Calvinistic and Wesleyan, Quakers, Brethren, Latter Day Saints, and Eoman Catholics), 2,826 ; that is, about twice and a half as many ; which is not very surprising when we consider the num- ber of the Sects, the facility with which they subdivide, and the manner in which they provide for the erection of their chapels, as much sometimes for the hopes as for the wants of their several denominations. Whence we find that, secondly, the number of sittings provided by them, exceeded by 200,000, the number of worshippers, present at the most numerously attended service even on the Census day. Thirdly, the worshipping population the same day was returned at 138,719 Churchmen, and 473,102 Nonconformists ; that is, as 1 to 3.5 ; or even to take the most favourable view for the Nonconformists, the returns for the most numerously attended services were — Churchmen, 134,940 ; Non- conformists, 490,543 ; or about 1 to 3.7. Again, if we narrow the ground on this last point, the one least favourable to the Church, to the counties included in this diocese, we have the following figures : Church. Nocconf. Total worship- ping Pop. ... 38,291 .. Total Pop. Balance. Denbigh - - 9,138 .. . 29,153 92,583 .. . 54,092 Flint - - - 4,931 .. . 13,046 .. 17,977 ... 68,156 .. 50,179 Montgomery - 8,370 .. . 22,441 ... 30,811 .. 67,335 .. 36,524 Merioneth 2,360 .. . 20,168 ... 22,528 .. 38,843 .. 16,315 Now in this list of worshippers at the most numerously attended service, we have, for the counties of Flint and Montgomery, one Churchman to rather less than three Nonconformists ; in Den- bigh, one to rather more than three ; and in Merioneth, the most Dissenting county in the whole of Wales, one to rather less than nine. But here Dissent appears to the best advantage ; for its 1 Letters on the Social and Political Condition of Wales, by H. Richard, p. 16. 148 DISSENT AND METHODISM. most attractive services are in the evening, much the most favourable time for the attendance of the people ; whereas in the parish churches, the service at that time of the year, namely the end of March, being generally held in the afternoon, the best attendance there would be the less favourable morning. More- over, as in that calculation no account could be taken of pastoral care, such as the visitation of the sick, the care of the poor, and the education of the young, — points in which Dissent is compa- ratively weak and the Church strong, I have appended to it the large residue or balance there left unaccounted for; but which, for this reason, must be regarded as giving a much more favourable proportion to the Church than to Dissent. Still these statistics do shew a large growth in Dissent under its various forms, more especially during the last fifty years, — a growth, moreover, not limited simply to numbers, but also applying to social position, education, and taste ; for not only are the new chapels generally built after a much improved style, so as to bear about them an ecclesiastical look, but some are, externally at least, built on the plan of churches, with chancel, nave, transepts, apse, tower, spire, crosses, and everything else, save perhaps the orientation ; whilst internally organs and harmoniums, the gown and even the surplice (as at Abercarn) have been adopted , and there is now, too, a move for a settled Liturgy. So that matters which were looked upon as abominations by their fathers, are being gradually introduced by their more aesthetic sons. Are they however, it may be asked, with these developments and adoptions, really drawing nearer to the Church ? Eeally I think they are ; for however much they may differ as to method, they are hereby recognising the goodness of principles which they formerly rejected ; and it must be borne in mind that many of their objections were after-thoughts adopted to support or justify their schism on personal grounds, and that these things were not by any means the original causes of it. At the same time it must be confessed that there is apparently very little sign of any- thing like a general return ; for though individual instances are very numerous among the better educated of their younger mem- bers, yet as bodies they have not only acquired corporate interests of their own, but they are alive to the wisdom of adapting their DISSENT AND METHODISM. 149 systems to the wants of the age, even though it be at the partial sacrifice of the generations gone by. Here, then, it may be asked, wherein do the strength and attractiveness of Dissent lie ? And what may be considered its weak points ? The three main elements to which they them- selves are wont to attribute their success are, the Pulpit, the " Seiat", and the Sunday School. Of these, the Pulpit combines, in a great degree, plainness, novelty, and economy of power ; for the sermons being delivered " memoriter", go home to the people's hearts with a familiarity and force seldom attained in the more staid delivery of written compositions ; and being available for many successive places, they last a long while, and admit each time of being rendered more complete. The preachers, at the same time, are relieved from the labour of always having to prepare fresh sermons. Who may be coming is a matter of some curiosity ; and be he who he may, there is generally some variety. The " Seiat Breivat" consolidates the work of the pulpit by binding together, in the closer union of a private society, the professing members or communicants, who thenceforth look upon one another as " yn perthyn i grefydd", and marked off by a wide distinction from the irreligious world outside (" extra ecclesiam"), much as was the case with, the religious brotherhoods in medi- eval times. The Sunday School, again, gives occupation and interest to a large number of their members ; and from the importance they attach to it, as well as from the advantage to be derived by way of direct instruction, it proves a very attractive power. There are, however, other elements, besides these, deserving of notice as contributing very materially to their success. Their whole system is popular, in the sense that each member has a voice in the election of the officers ; and these, again, have the entire control of the meetings as well as the choice of the preacher, who is practically under them ; and this gives them a quiet and speedy means of removing scandals. Their services, too, are much more simple than those of the Church, as they clo not require the same exertion of thought, or involve the same turning over of the leaves of the Prayer Book to search for their places. They have little to do but to sit and listen. By limiting 150 DISSENT AND METHODISM. themselves, moreover, almost entirely to the Welsh language, they escape that which is one of the great difficulties to the Church in Wales, viz. the duoglott or bilingual difficulty. There are also other elements of a more mixed and doubtful character, such as the profitable turn they give to their principle of brother- hood (" teulu y ffydd") in its social bearings ; for they are much more exclusive in their dealings than Churchmen, and make it more a point of duty to promote the interests of their own mem- bers : hence a shop kept by a Dissenter will often thrive, which, if kept by a Churchman, would fail of support ; and it generally happens that the shopkeeper is a leading officer in the chapel. Politics, too, are more mixed up with religion in their case. It may be from the necessity or from the natural tendency of the two ; for the tendency of both with them is democratic : hence their chapels are not limited, like the consecrated churches, to sacred uses, but are also used occasionally for political and social meetings. Then, again, there is the religio-commercial system on which so many chapels have been built; for whilst I am anxious to do justice to the very large sums that have been con- tributed for this object, I cannot forget that these moneys have not, for the most part been given, as has been the rule in church- building ; but have been lent, with or without interest, to be repaid in instalments ; so that the very necessity of this repay- ment has involved a certain amount of pressure to keep up the interest of the cause. There is one other matter of very prime importance ; and that is the Welsh press, which is almost entirely, to our shame be it said, in their hands ; and this engine they work well and abundantly. A few words as to their weak points may aptly close this chapter. The admixture of politics and finance, already alluded to, must be more or less sources of weakness in what assumes for itself to have been so much a spiritual and voluntary movement. But there are other defects which seem more inherent in its system. The idea of worship } as such, is quite overlaid by the more selfish notion of getting good. Their very name for religious assembly is " Oedfa", i. e., " a set time", " a meeting": hence the Sunday School occupies such an important place ; hardly, if at all, second to their regular service. The very popularity of the DISSENT AND METHODISM. 151 system, again, has a tendency to foster division ; and the term " Capel split" is but too true an index to the history of many a congregation. Lastly, their ministers are too often at the mercy of men who at best have only looked at religions questions from one favourite point of view, and are therefore more concerned for the success of the achos (that is, of their own particular aspect of the truth) than for " the whole counsel of God" to be declared according to the proportion of faith ; men who find many ways, and scruple not to use them, of bringing to submission, or else driving away, unacceptable teachers.1 1 See above, p. 139, and the Autobiography of the Rev. Brewin Grant. 152 CHAPTER XII. PRESENT STATE OF THE DIOCESE. Improvement during the present century.— Nepotism and Sinecures. — Epis- copal, Plurality, and Cathedral Bills.— Proposed union of the two North Wales sees. — The St. Asaph Petition. — The proposal annulled. — The Ecclesiastical Commissioners. — Transfer of patronage. — Territorial changes. — Redistribution of endowments. — Formation of new parishes. Building of new churches, schools, and parsonages. — Spiritual condition and prospects. — Statistics for 1869. The condition of the Church in this diocese, both in its spiritual and material aspects, was perhaps never so low as about the end of the last and the beginning of the present century. Since then, however, a greatly improved tone of public opinion from without, and a deeply increased sense of responsibility from within, have combined to produce a very notable improvement in both these aspects ; and to Bishop Cleaver (1806-1815) may be assigned the first of many steps which have tended to this happy result. Two points especially serve to distinguish his episcopate from that of his predecessors, namely his refusal to give livings with cure of souls in plurality, and his constant residence within his see. A new impulse was thus given to the residence of the paro- chial clergy, and the foundation relaid for all those other improve- ments which may be said to have flowed directly and indirectly therefrom, the establishment of week-day schools, and the more general adoption of Sunday ones; more frequent and better ordered services ; the restoration and rebuilding of old churches which had been allowed to fall into a sad state of unrepair, and the erection of new ones, and of mission- and school-chapels ; and the subdivision and partial rearrangement of populous and widely spread parishes, with more regard to their existing wants. The last thirty years have seen a wonderful development of this PRESENT STATE OF THE DIOCESE. 153 spirit of Clmrcli life and work ; but the beginning of it is due, in great measure, to Bishop Cleaver, in whose time fifteen par- sonage houses were built ; and the National Society, established in 1811, began to help on the work of school building. His refusal to grant livings with cure of souls was a great step in the right direction ; but unfortunately it did not deter either himself or others from heaping sinecures on their relatives and friends. Indeed, the lamentable extent to which this abuse was carried may best be shewn by a calculation made in 1831, and by the comments in which a learned layman in this diocese gave expres- sion to a widely spread feeling on the subject. Mr. A. J. Johnes, in his Essay on the Causes of Dissent in Wales} calculated at a high estimate indeed, but with a painfid degree of truth, that during the lifetime of Bishop Luxmoore his family enjoyed as much as £27,000 per annum from the Church ; and that after his decease his relations enjoyed, in this diocese alone, £7,226 per aim. ; that the relatives and connexions of Bishop Horseley received £2,690, those of Bishop Cleaver £2,126, and those of Bishop Bagot £1,100. All the sinecure rectories were at the same time divided between three classes of persons, — (1), indivi- duals resident in remote parts of England ; (2), clergymen resi- dent in Wales, but performing no clerical duty; (3), persons indebted to their connexion with the Bishops for a most unjust share of the Church's revenues.2 One effect of this system, the same writer points out to have been that " the gentry, in very few instances, devoted their sons to the profession ; and that the vacancy thus left was supplied by clergymen brought up in the grammar schools of South Wales, who being, for the most part, men of a more humble rank in life, w^ere prepared by previous habits to rest satisfied with the inferior preferments to which the native clergy were generally confined."3 Some measures that were passed soon after this, such as the Episcopal, Plurality, and Cathedral Bills, and that for the Com- mutation of Tithes, helped very materially to remedy some of these abuses. The last of these, by substituting a tithe rent- 1 Second edition, 1832, p. 218. - Essay on the Causes of Dissent, p. G8. 3 Ibid., p. 195. X 154 PRESENT STATE OF THE DIOCESE. charge for what had been previously paid in kind, obscured indeed, to a certain extent, the original character of the endow- ment ; but it removed a source of irritation and occasional dis- pute between the clergy and their parishioners; and this was much aggravated in those cases where the tithes were gathered by the lessees of non-residents, who were generally much more exacting and unsympathetic than the resident clergy. The other measures, respectively, by equalising the incomes, and reappor- tioning the patronage of the bishops, did away with that occasion for translation which had so often marred their efficiency, and at the same time set free, for the benefit of the rest of the clergy, dignities and benefices which had been held by them in commen- dam, — by abolishing sinecures and plurality, cut at the root of non-residence,' — and as also in the case of the cathedral chapters, which were now remodelled, made a large amount of hitherto appropriated funds available for the spiritual wants of those places from which they were derived. Provision was also made by the Act 6th and 7th William IV for uniting the two sees of St. Asaph and Bangor on the first vacancy ; and it was further proposed to appropriate the income of the one to be suppressed to the endowment of the new see of Manchester. This scheme was regarded by the clergy concerned as cruelly impolitic and unjust, and was opposed by them in frequent remonstrances and petitions. They were ridiculed, however, as sentimentalists when they laid stress on the primitive descent and peculiar antiquity of their see, and were accused of looking to the loaves and fishes when they exposed the crying injustice of the plan for transfer- ing their revenues to wealthy Manchester. But the righteous- ness of their cause and the force of their arguments were well summarised in a " Petition from the Archdeacons, Bural Deans, and parochial Clergy, in the diocese of St. Asaph",1 addressed to the Archbishop of Canterbury : " The question", they plead, " is, not whether our Church may drag on an enfeebled existence under one bishop, because the united sees may not be greater in extent than some English dioceses ; but whether an act of spoliation and injustice shall debar the Chnrch of North W ales from all hope of winning back, by apostolic zeal, a population 1 Printed in Lays from the Cimbric Lyre, Appendix, p. 205. PRESENT STATE OF THE DIOCESE. 155 whose estrangement is already ripening into enmity ; whether what is now weak shall be still further enfeebled ; whether, of what is now barely sufficient for onr exigencies, one half shall be swept away; whether labours already sufficiently onerous for the strength of two prelates shall overwhelm the energies and destroy the efficiency of one " We need scarcely remind your Grace of the peculiar difficulties attending the execution of the episcopal functions in North Wales as compared with the generality of English dioceses. Not only is our population diverse in language, and divided in religion, but the patronage which assigns to each of our flocks a pastor, and to each of our clergy a maintenance, is almost universally in the Bishop's hands. To exercise rightly so important a power would require a knowledge of character which could be gained only from personal intercourse ; and whether we consider the character of the country, or the means of its inhabitants, we cannot expect any communication sufficiently frequent for the above purpose to subsist between the bishop and the clergy of a see which would comprehend the whole of North Wales. " From the facilities given by recent Acts of Parliament, induce- ments are afforded for arrangements only to be carried out under the sanction of the diocesan, in subdividing our enormous parishes, and building new churches and schools, to connect the increasing and scattered population with the Established Church. These good works, however partially commenced, can neither be general nor adequate to the exigencies of our Church without greater efforts and more personal superintendence than it will ever be in the power of one prelate to bestow We cannot but refer also to an argument forced upon us by the extent and situation of North Wales. It is with dismay that we glance at the possibility that age or infirmity should incapacitate the diocesan of such a district from rightly distributing his enormous patronage, and exercising his episcopal functions. Where, in our half- insular position, could we look for assistance ? Chester, Hereford, St. David's, the nearest in proximity, are very far removed from us, and each is overwhelmed with its peculiar burthens. Which of these Bishops would have the leisure of a day to contribute to the pressing exigencies of our increasing population 1 A population at this day more numerous in one diocese than that of both, when two Bishops were thought necessary for our superintendence. What human encou- ragement, in their parochial labours, will remain to the clergy when the whole cycle of preferment is arranged, and the social prospects of their body are decided without the aid of personal and immediate supervision, and with no adequate reference to their learning or length of service, to their zeal or fitness for their charge ?" These just and cogent reasons for the preservation of the two sees found a noble champion in the Earl of Powis ; and the result was that, when on July 26th, 1846, he proposed, in the House of Lords, the second reading of the Bill for their preservation intact, 156 PRESENT STATE OF THE DIOCESE. being supported by the Bishops of London, Bangor, Salisbury, and Oxford, and the Earl of Eldon, it was carried by a majority of ten (there being thirty-eight for and twenty-eight against it) ; and the leader of the opposition declared that though personally averse to it, he would take no further steps in the matter. The legend inscribed upon Lord Powis's tomb in St. Mary's Church, Welshpool, " Conservator Episcopatus Assavensis", bears just wit- ness to his exertions in the cause ; whilst the foundation of the scholarship that bears his name attests the gratitude and the deep satisfaction with which the success was hailed. A Board of Ecclesiastical Commissioners was appointed by Parliament to carry out the other provisions of the Act of 6th and 7th William IV, in the 40th Clause of which it was enacted " That such alterations be made in the apportionment or exchange of ecclesiastical patronage among the several Bishops as should be consistent with the relative magnitude and importance of their dioceses when newly arranged, and as should afford an ade- quate quantity of patronage to the new sees." As the patronage of a large number of livings was transferred in consequence from this diocese to those of St. David's and Llandaff, it will be import- ant to see the principles and method of their selection. For this we are indebted to the Charge of Bishop Short to his clergy in 1862, from which we gather the following summary : When the question was before the Board, as to the transfer in the English sees, it was decided that the livings so transferred should not be confined to such as were situated in the diocese of the Bishop to whose patronage they were to belong ; and the same rule was neces- sarily adopted as far as the Principality is concerned. The task of carrying out the details was undertaken by Sir John Lefevre, and he was requested to draw up an outline of the scheme which he would propose to his brother commissioners. As the equalising of the patron- age of the dioceses would involve the transfer of nearly half the livings in this diocese, and something of the same sort in some of the English ones, the Board could not agree, and it was left to Sir John Lefevre to propose whatever he thought best ; the Bishop abstaining from taking part in the discussion, lest he should be deemed an interested party. When, however, the general principles of the transfer had been settled by the Board, Sir John directed him to select so many livings of such an aggregate value. There were to be a certain num- ber of livings, and altogether they were to amount to a certain annual income. " The principles on which I made my selection were as follow. PRESENT STATE OF THE DIOCESE. 157 I retained all the livings of small value j for they would add but little to the aggregate sum required, and a bishop is far the best patron of small livings in his own diocese. I retained also all the town livings which from their population or circumstances seem important to the good of the diocese ; for I concluded that a future Bishop of St. Asaph would be more likely to select well for their spiritual benefit than any other." The patronage of the following livings was accordingly trans- ferred, viz. that of those in — Table I from the Bishop of St. Asaph to the Bishop of Llandaff. Table II „ „ „ Bishop of St. David's. Table III „ „ „ Bishop of Bangor. Table IV from the Bishop of Bangor to the Bishop of St. Asaph. TABLE I. Name of Beuefice. Quality. County situated. Value. Bettws Cacdewen Vicarage Montgomery Bettws yn Ehos ... j) . . Denbigh - ... 333 Bodfari .... . . . Eectory .. Flint - - .. 296 (Jaerwys - ... Jt m V_, 1X0 LIU V^ctcl C1X11UJ-L - " TYTati f.cr Am ow • -It J- vJIlu^vjillcLj' .. 575 ... V lLcix cLgU • Flint - 273 "Prrl vt-tto R l-i A o XjglW JO jLVilOb - Eectory Carnarvon - 1 £7 ID/ Eglwys Each - Vicarage Denbigh 220 Erbistock - ... Eectory . Den. & Flint .. 254 Halkin - • • • »* • . Flint - - .. 312 Llanarmon Dyffryn Ceiriog . Denbigh - .. 250 Llandderfel - . Merioneth - .. 260 Llandyssil - . Montgomery . . 373 Llanferres - . . . )f . . Denbigh - .. 313 Llanfihangel-yn-Nghwnfa . Montgomery . . 334 Llangyniew ... • • • tt • >> 504 Llanrnarewig ••• >> • 133 Llanwyddelen ... • >} • • . 176 St. Martin's . . . Vicarage . . Salop - - .. 320 Moreton - ... P. C. - . • • • 669 Ysceifiog - . . . Eectory . Flint - - .. 700 Dylife .... ... P. C. - . . Montgomery . . 113 Llanbrynrnair . . . Vicarage . 330 Penegoes .... . . . Eectory 250 TABLE II. Name of Benefice. Quality. County. Value. Llanerfyl .... . . . Eectory . Montgomery .. .£435 Llandysilio - ... P. C. - . • >> • • 430 Llansannan ... Vicarage Denbigh - .. , 376 158 PRESENT STATE OF THE DIOCESE. Name of Benefice. Cemmaes - Darowen - Llanwrin - Llan y Mawddwy Mallwyd Machynlleth Name of Benefice. Efenechtyd - Llanbedr Dyffryn Clwyd - Llanelidan - Llanfair Dyffryn Clwyd Llanrhaiadr in Kimmeirch cum Prion - Llanychan - Llanynys with Cyffylliog - TABLE III. Quality. ... Eectory . . . Vicarage . . . Eectory TABLE IV. Quality. Eectory Vicarage P. C. Eectory V. & C. - County. Montgomery Merioneth - Mont. & Mer. Montgomery County, Denbigh Value. .£288 155 272 21S 255 230 Value. ,.. ,£200 ... 340 ... 252 ... 261 609 170 415 In addition to these, the patronage of the vicarage of Cilcain, in the county of Flint, was transferred to the Bishop of Glouces- ter and Bristol ; and that of the vicarage (qy. rectory) of Llan- fechain), in the county of Montgomery, to the Bishop of Llanclaff.1 The following territorial alterations were made at the same time. The deanery of Machynlleth was given to Bangor in ex- change for that of Ruthin ; and there were added to this diocese, (1.) The Peculiar of Hawarden, with its Chapelries of St. Mat- thew's, Buckley; St. Mary's, Broughton; and St. John's, Pen- mynydd. (2.) From Chester. — Bangor, Ft. cum Overton; Hanmer, V.; Holt, P.O. ; Isycoed, P. C. ; Bronington, P. C. ; Threapwood,P.C. ; and Worthenbury, E. (3.) From Hereford. — Buttington, P. C. (4.) From St. David's. — Kerry, V., with Dolfor and Sam ; and Moughtre, V. By these arrangements the diocese has been enlarged consider- 1 Since the above transfer the following livings have passed into the patron- age of the Lord Chancellor, in exchange for others situated within the dio- ceses of those Bishops to whom they had been respectively transferred, — Bettws Caedewen, Castle Caereinion, Llanfihangel-yn-Ghwnfa, Llangynyw, St. Martin's Moreton, Dylife, and Cilcain. PRESENT STATE OF THE DIOCESE. 159 ably in extent ; but there has been a loss to the bishopric of the patronage of twenty-eight livings of the annual value of some £8,500. The scheme having only come into operation in 1861, it is of course too soon to see what benefits, if any, will result from it to compensate for so serious a loss ; but if their increased patronage should have the hoped-for effect of enabling the South Wales Bishops to retain in their populous and important parishes a better class of men, and these be the ones selected for promo- tion to the new preferments, then it can hardly fail to prove beneficial to the general interests of the Church, and this diocese may be well content. Of the redistribution of the funds placed at the disposal of the Commissioners through the operation of the Episcopal and Plu- rality Bills, we can speak more positively and with much satis- faction. Those abuses of sinecurism and non-residence which had been for so long a hindrance to the Church's work, and a scandal to her administration, have been gradually removed; and of the income thus available, no less a sum than £5,589 : 8 : 9 per ann. has been assigned either in tithe rent-charge, or in money payments, towards the endowment of forty-two new parishes ; and £2,250 : 19 : 6 towards the augmentation of the income of old parishes ; making a total of £7,840 : 8 : 3. But this large rearrangement of the old parishes and their endow- ments implies a still larger preparatory work in the building of so many new churches with their almost invariable accompani- ment, new schools and parsonage-houses. Some idea of the vast amount thus effected may be gathered from the fact that within the last thirty years fifty-two new churches have been built ; forty-two of which are the centres of new parishes separately endowed with an annual average income of £262 ; seventeen old parish churches rebuilt ; and forty-three ditto restored or enlarged. Of the new churches, four have been built by the liberality of individuals, — the beautiful church at Bodelwyddan, and those at Trefnant, Pool Quay, and Llwydiarth; and of the old parish churches, five are the result of similar munificence, Pentrevoelas, Erbistock, Llanbedr, Llandegla, and Llanddulas. Of the large sum expended upon the rest, in building and restoration, some 160 PRESENT STATE OF THE DIOCESE. estimate may be formed from the fact that, small as is the pro- portion of the grants made by the Church Building Societies to the estimated cost, there have been contributed as much as £13,157 in aid of 99 places by the C. B. S. established in 1818 ; £17,277 „ 106 „ by the Diocesan C. B. S. „ 1834; grants which infer a further sum, otherwise provided in order to be so met, of a quarter of a million at the least for this one object alone. But to the churches there must be added a large 'number of schools1 and teachers' houses, towards which and their fittings, in one hundred and nine places, the grants of the National Society alone have amounted to £7,147. And yet, again, there has been the cost of parsonage-houses, as well of those built for the new parishes as of those which had in so many instances, in the old ones, fallen into such a state of dila- pidation as in no few cases to need entire rebuilding. Indeed, it is no less gratifying than it is encouraging to think of the large sums of money spent by Churchmen on Church work in this our own diocese ; and it is hardly fair, in the face of such facts as these, to say that endowments are a hindrance and a check to the spirit of almsgiving and charity. Still less is it fair when it be taken into consideration what a large sum is annually spent by Churchmen in the support of schools, hospitals, dispen- saries, clothing clubs, and other means of ameliorating the con- dition of the poor.2 Of the new churches embraced within the present diocese, the first to be built were those of St. Matthew's, Buckley (1822), 1 The total number of schools in 1866 was 228. 2 I say this in justice to Churchmen, and because it has become a habit in some places to speak of Dissenters as if they had not only to maintain their own forms of worship, but also to support the Established Church ; forget- ting that the only payment they are required to make is the rent-charge of an endowment so old that its first bestowal is hidden in the mist of early history; an endowment, moreover, in consideration of which, if they happen to be owners of property, they have purchased it, and if tenants have rented it, at so much less than its full value ; and which, if done away with tomor- row, would no more go into their pockets than it does now in the case of lands tithe free, or than it is proposed to do with the surplus funds of the Irish Church. Nay, I venture to say further, that if the proposal recently laid before Parliament for the disestablishment and disendowment of the PRESENT STATE OF THE DIOCESE. 161 and St. Mary's, Broughton (1824), in the then Peculiar of Ha- warden ; but these stood long by themselves, until the institution of the " St. Asaph Diocesan Society for promoting the Building, Enlargement, and Endowment, of Churches and Chapels," on the 30th July, 1834, gave a new and general impulse to the move- ment. One of the chief promoters of this excellent and useful Society was the late Dean dough, who also inaugurated its work by the subdivision of his own huge parish of Mold, — a parish in which he raised, during the course of his vicariate, about £20,000 for Church purposes. Another name to be recorded here is that of Bishop Carey, under whose auspices the Society was started, and whose large bequest1 is now available as a sepa- rate fund not only for such objects as churches, schools, and par- sonage-houses, but also for the assistance of poor clergy, their widows, and orphans. And last, but not least, must be added that of our present venerable Bishop, who has been a very liberal supporter of all such works, and whose episcopate will probably be distinguished hereafter as that of the church and school build- ing period. Among the laity of the diocese there are so many names deserving of record, that to enumerate all would be tedi- ous ; and to single out a few wrould be alike invidious and unjust, where many have contributed with equal liberality, as wTell out of their narrower means as out of their abundance, for the promo- tion of the common work. Their names, however, will be found recorded in the parochial portion of this history, in connexion with those objects which they have more especially supported. Turning from the material to the living Church, from the fabric to the worshippers, the result, it must be confessed, is not so satisfactory. The external work of building and restoration has "Welsh Church, and the appropriation of its income, were to be carried, it would entail an actual hardship on the very persons whom it is presumed to help; for the establishment of so-called unsectarian schools to be sup- ported by them, apart from the paradox of such schools being in effect the most sectarian of all, would necessitate religious Dissenters as much as Churchmen to support denominational schools of their own, where religion and the Bible should not be dissociated from the teaching, in addition to those others where the two could not be combined consistently with the principle of their foundation. 1 Amounting to £13,500 in the 3 per cent. Consolidated Bank Annuities. Y 162 PRESENT STATE OF THE DIOCESE. not been accompanied, in all cases, by a corresponding inner growth, nor does her progress appear commensurate with the exertions she has been making. Still it must be remembered what an accumulation of difficulties she has to overcome, what a burden she has had to bear. A "Welsh diocese, with a large pro- portion of the population not even yet able to speak, and a still larger proportion not able to think in any other than their native language, it has nevertheless been subject, for more than a hun- dred and forty years, to the oversight of an unbroken succession of Bishops unacquainted with that language ; whose efficiency, at the best, has necessarily been greatly marred by this defect, and whose administration has been too often stained by much misuse of patronage ; one consequence of which has been a sad discouragement to the native clergy, and a great scandal to the laity, resulting in much apathy and worldliness, and not less in material neglect. And to these evils of administration must be added the ever present bilingual difficulty which prevails on every side. Still, with all this, there has long been a yearning and a move for the better, and there is a growing spirit of Church-life and co- operation throughout the diocese. Not only are the churches, with very few exceptions, renovated and in good order, but the services also are more numerous and more reverently performed ; and that not only on Sundays and the great festivals, but often, too, on other occasions. Advent and Lent services are more general ; Saints' days more often observed ; and in most parishes there is a weekly lecture either in the church, or the school, or a cottage in some outlying hamlet.1 More attention, too, is paid to the Sun- day Schools and the singing classes ; and parochial visitation is more systematically carried out. There is hardly a parish, be it never so small, without a school of its own, and none but what is within an easy distance of one ; whilst the system of diocesan inspection aims at securing a certain standard of religious instruc- tion, independently of the Government requirements of reading, writing, and arithmetic. Other means adopted for the improve- ment and increase of these several parts of the Church's work in 1 There have been above twenty Sehool Chapels built at a distance from their parish Churches, and divine service is regularly performed in them. PRESENT STATE OF THE DIOCESE, 163 the diocese are, — for the Clergy, clerical meetings for mutual dis- cussion and counsel, and retreats for individual retrospect and prayer ; — for the communicant laity, special services and classes for edification, and associations and guilds for more systematic cooperation in parish work. On a larger scale, too, there has been the Association of Lay Consultees, initiated by the late Mr. Henry Hoare ; and there is now being organised a scheme for rurideca- nal conferences of clergy and laity combined. With such a will to help, the way will surely be found ; and with these various appliances at work, there need be no fear for the Church's future. She has still a great work to do. There are many thousands of the population of the diocese who are practically neither Churchmen nor Dissenters ; and notably is this the case in the towns. Let her do her duty by these first ; not in recrimination, not in controversy, not in unavailing regrets, but in an earnest, faithful, loving spirit compelling them to come in from the fields and the byways, the narrow lanes and the crowded streets. Mindful of the differences in origin and principles, by which the various Nonconformist bodies are distinguished, let us, whilst freely granting that much good has been effected by many of them, be thankful for the requickening life of our own Church, ami be for the future more true to her than we have been during the past ; more true to her principles and her theory as a Ee- formed branch of the Church Catholic, distinguished alike from Nonconformity and from Komanism ; more true to her and more united among ourselves in the great work before us, for there unhappily still remains a large population to be reclaimed. For these, short and simple services are desirable ; and, as far as con- sistently may be done, a more elastic use of our Book of Common Prayer, in order to supplement its beautiful but elaborate services. Whilst developing, however, and adapting the Church's system, do not let us compromise the truth committed to her charge, nor loosen her hold upon her own children, in the hope of winning back those who, after all, may not be willing to accept her offers. It is by good will, indeed, towards others, but fidelity to herself, that she will most effectually fulfil her duty. By attaching her members to herself and one another, in the closer bond of common 164 PRESENT STATE OF THE DIOCESE. work, she will be able, by their cooperation, best to gather back the wanderers and recover the lost ; and thus, too, by a more consistent and vigorous life, will she most surely attract to her communion multitudes of those who already acknowledge the purity of her faith and the apostolicity of her orders. Some statistics collected during the spring of the present year (1869) will form a serviceable conclusion to this history. They were supplied in response to a series of questions issued by a Committee appointed for that purpose by the Bishop at the peti- tion of the clergy of several of the deaneries, asking him to take measures for ascertaining more exactly the condition of the dio- cese as to its work and its wants. They are not, indeed, com- plete, for nine parishes sent no returns ; nor are they sufficiently accurate, for in some instances, instead of the aggregate number of worshippers and communicants, the average was given by mis- take ; and in others the school-returns were imperfect. Still they are sufficiently approximate to indicate pretty fairly the state of the Church, and to suggest abundant material for future work.1 With these remarks we may accept the summary drawn up by the Secretary of the Committee, and which gives the fol- lowing proportions, viz. : Church worshippers to population . . 1 in 6 Communicants 1 in 22 Children under Church instruction . . 1 in 10 Thirty-nine of the parishes are described as Welsh, ninety- seven bilingual, forty-eight English. GENERAL SUMMARY. i o § Sunday Ser- vices. Aggregate No. of 60» tj Attendants at where Ser- anted no sj . 7? 5 CP Archdeaconry. 6? "A 3 Popu- lation. «s Welsh Wor- ship- pers. Com- muni- cants. Aggre No.und instru Day Sch. Sun- day. Places more vices yt m St. Asaph 143 194,951 1C6 155 30,527 7,GS7 19,712 12,003 8,842 55 44 Montgomery 57 52,172 661 631 11,094 3,210 4,593 2,843 2,253 15 10 Totals 200 247,123 2321 2181 41,621 10,897 21,305 14,846 11,095 70 54 1 Another series of Questions has since been issued by a Committee of Con- vocation appointed to inquire into the condition of the Welsh Church gene- rally, but its results are not yet known. PEESENT STATE OF THE DIOCESE. 165 These statistics will be somewhat more complete and satisfac- tory, if, bearing still in mind the confusion between aggregate and average, and supplying the nine deficiencies at the average of the returns as given above, we consider the three items of worshippers, communicants, and scholars, in relation, not to the whole population, but to those portions of it respectively which each more directly represents. Taking the whole population of the diocese, for 1869, at 255,000, more or less, and deducting one seventh for infants under five years of age, we should have 43,582 Church worshippers for 218,572 of worshipping age ; i. e.j 1 to 5 of the worshipping population. This, however, no doubt includes a large number of those who, attending Church at one time, and one of the Nonconformist chapels at another, according to the convenience of the hour or the attraction held out, are probably included in the worshipping returns of both. In the same way, taking those of communicant age, i. e,, above fifteen, at two thirds of the population, we should have 11,410 communicants for 1 70,000 of communicant age ; i. e., 1 in 14.5.1 Again, if we adopt the estimate put forth in the National Edu- cation League Monthly Paper for February 1870, that " one eighth of the population is taken to be the number of children of school age," and that about " one ninth is to be deducted for children of a higher class and those already attending free schools, there would be left 28,333 children to be otherwise provided for; i. e., in week-day schools. Now there were last year, in average attendance at Church schools, at least 15,549, or rather more than 1 in every 2 ; but there were on the registers a much larger 1 An interesting point of comparison, if it were practicable, would be the relative number of communicants, Churchmen and Nonconformists respect- ively. But it would be exceedingly difficult, if not impossible ; for if we take particulars, the number and variety of the denominations, and the ground covered by them, differ in each case as widely as do the ideas of parish and congregation ; and if, on the other hand, we take totals, we find from the Dyddiaduron (Diaries) of the Independents, Calvinistic Methodists, and Bap- tists for 1870, that one in every four of the population of Wales and Mon- mouthshire, above fifteen years of age, must, according to those returns, be a communicant member of one of those three bodies, let alone all the other denominations and Churchmen in the bargain ; a calculation, it need hardly be added, that not only carries its own refutation, but also shows the unre- liableness of the generally accepted statistics. Z 166 PRESENT STATE OF THE DIOCESE. number. In 1866 they were 19,899 ; and in the following year, 21,628 ; i. e., 3 out of every 4 of the school population. These did not all attend regularly, of course; but still their names would not have been retained on the books if they had not attended to a certain extent ; and it is well known that in an agricultural population there are many uses to which children are put, that enables them to combine (not, perhaps, in a satis- factory manner, but still to combine, and sometimes not ineffi- ciently) the two great wants of bread-getting and school-learning. Taking, then, this last number (for 1866-7), it would only leave some 6,000 children untaught in the Church schools ; and most of these are, doubtless, provided for by the British and other Nonconformist schools. Of the Sunday scholars it is more diffi- cult to write, because they are not limited to children, but include also young people and adults. The National Society's Eeport, 1866-7, however, put down 12,409 for the average attendance, and 16,339 as the number on the books ; to which, again, in order to complete the estimate, must be added some 600 regular night scholars. If, lastly, we turn from the scholars to the schools, we find that there were, in 1866, 228 week-day schools in 170 parishes or ecclesiastical districts ; but that there were 34 parishes or dis- tricts without Church schools. From the National Society's Eeport, however, we learn that, whilst more than half of this number were supplied with education in conveniently adjoining- parishes, there were only 14 parishes in the whole of the four counties of Denbigh, Flint, Montgomery, and Merioneth, that were destitute of either separate or adjoining schools within a con- venient distance. As the increase in the number of new schools within the diocese, from 1859 to 1866, was 22 ; i. e., rather over three a year; and the same work has been going on uninterruptedly since, we may conclude that the most pressing, at least, of these cases have been now supplied ; and that the expression employed in the farewell address of the clergy of the diocese to Bishop Short is amply borne out by facts ; that his " earnest and most successful labours in the cause of elementary education have left scarcely anything wanting to complete the supply of Church schools for the diocese." PRESENT STATE OF THE DIOCESE. 167 The resignation of Bishop Short1 at the ripe age of eighty, and after an active episcopate of nine-and- twenty years, during twenty-four of which he presided over this diocese, has been fol- lowed, happily, by the appointment of a native Welshman ; the first instance of the kind in any Welsh see for many generations, and in this of St. Asaph for exactly a century and a half. The selection of Bishop Hughes, therefore, may be regarded as a reversal of that unhappy policy which, by its continued operation and influence throughout so long a period, has sorely discouraged the energies of the native clergy, and hindered the efficiency of the Church in the Principality ; and wTe hail that inspiriting service in which so many have joined, on the very day these words are written, in doing honour to their new Bishop on the occasion of his enthronement, as an augury of better days, when revived Church life and work, wisely directed and heartily sup- ported, shall bind both clergy and laity more closely together in the one common aim of leading and reclaiming souls to Christ through the more efficient ministrations of our spiritual Mother ; and we will add the fervent hope that that Holy Communion with which the service ended, may prove to be for " the strength- ening and refreshing" not only of individual souls, but also of the corporate life of the Church within the diocese. The subjoined tables relating to the Churches, Schools, and Diocesan Collections for spiritual purposes, will serve not only to illustrate what has been already stated, but also to exhibit in a compendious form the present condition of certain branches of the Church's work, as well as to supply material for comparison in future years of progress and improvement. Those relating to churches were issued by the Dean (Bonnor) in 1869, with special reference (1) to endowments by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, and (2) to the grants of the Diocesan Church Building Society. 1 This lias taken place during the interval between the publication of Parts I and II; the former of which was issued from the press in January, 1870, and ended at p. 164. 168 PRESENT STATE OF THE DIOCESE. That of the diocesan collections is taken from the Report of 1866, the last issued ; and those of school statistics from the Reports of the Diocesan Inspectors and the National Society respectively. NEW CHURCHES AND NEW ECCLESIASTICAL PARISHES. ENDOWMENTS. Tithe Rent-Charge Sitti ti£>s & Grants by Eccle- Gross Income siastical Comm'ers f Bala, Llanycil - 460 . Bagillt, Holywell - 764 . .. £75 0 0 .. .£ 1 72 o o Bistre, Mold - - 656 . .. 104 0 0 .. 175 o Bodelwyddan - 300 . .. 200 0 0 .. n o Brymbo, Wrexham - - 600 . .. 182 0 0 .. 300 o (_) Brynford, Holywell - - 350 . 40 13 4 .. n u u Bwlch y cibau, Meifod - 172 . . 122 14 3 .. 9fl9 D q Bylchau, Henllan - 158 . .. 378 0 0 .. 378 o Cefn, Euabon - 875 . 1 zt9 n n u Cefn, St. Asaph - 220 . .. 292 0 0 .. 292 o o Colwyn, Llandrillo yn Rhos - 303 . 74 0 0 .. 1 70 o o Connah's Quay, Northop - 500 . .. 290 8 10 .. 301 o o fChristchurch, Welshpool - 800 . 11A 11U u u *Cynwyd, Llangar - 300 . 17 10 0 .. 93^ n Dolfor, Kerry - 140 . Eryrys, Llanarmon yn Ial - - 200 . .. 385 1 1 8 .. QfifT ooo 1 1 11 0 Frankton, Whittington - 392 . i on 1ZO O u Frongoch, Llanfor - 160 . 140 0 0 .. 0 O Glyndyfrdwy, Corwen - 240 . .. 113 2 0 .. 99fl u u Gorsedd, Whitford - - 224 . .. 279 0 0 .. u n u Gwernaffield, Mold - - 524 . 90 0 0 .. 200 o q Gwersyllt, Gresford - 387 . 26 0 0 .. . 150 0 0 Llanddewi ... - 219 . .. 207 8 8 .. . 207 0 0 *Llandyssil - 360 . Llanfynydd, Hope - 433 . .. 268 13 2 .. . 268 13 2 # Llan wy ddelan - 140 . Llawr y Bettws - 180 . .. 118 0 0 .. . 118 0 0 Llwydiarth ... - 120 . . 230 0 0 Mostyn, Whitford - 516 . .. 262 0 0 .. 300 0 0 Moughtre, Newtown - 160 . 86 0 0 *Newtown - 600 . #Pen y bont fawr, Pennant - 204 . 420 0 0 Pont Bleuddyn, Mold - 406 . 71 0 0 .. 150 0 0 Pont Dolanog, Llanfihangel - 200 . 155 0 0 Pont Fadog, Llangollen - 322 . .. 100 0 0 .. 171 19 5 * Parish churches in lieu of the old mother church, f Chapels of ease in connexion with the mother church. PRESENT STATE OF THE DIOCESE. 169 Sittings Tithe Bent- Charge, etc. Gross Income Pout Robert, Meifod - 250 . . £23 10 0 . .. ,£187 19 0 Pool Quay, Guilsfield - 250 . 83 6 8 . 250 0 0 Prestatyn, Meliden - - 243 . 233 12 4 . 233 12 4 Prion, Llanrhaiadr D. Clwyd - 250 . 150 0 0 Rhes y cae, Halkin - 318 . 217 18 4 . 217 18 4 Rhos llanefch rhugog, Rhuabon - 425 . 254 0 0 . 300 0 0 Rhyd y croesau, Llansilin - - 300 . 84 0 0 . 100 0 0 Kb yd y mwyn, Cilcain - 200 . 236 9 0 . 236 9 0 Rhyl Welsh Church, Rhuddlan - 427 . 77 3 4 . 400 0 0 f „ St. Thomas's - 1085 Rossett, Gresford - 550 . 50 0 0 . 149 0 0 Spfilnnrl - kjccvxtiixxix - 300 . 100 0 o fSt. David's, Denbigh - 828 fSt. Mark's, Wrexham - 760 .. 100 0 0 fSt. Mary's, Llanrwst - 300 95 0 0 Sarn, Kerry - 220 98 0 0 Trefnant ... - 250 .. 378 7 2 .. 378 7 2 Trinity, Oswestry - 670 113 0 0 150 0 0 19213 . .. £5589 8 9 .. £9946 15 4 N.B. To these should have been added Hengoed, St. Barnabas ; Llangollen, St. John's; Trefonen, and Rhosygwaliau. CHURCHES REBUILT.1 Grant Sittings gained Of which are free Date Bodfari - - £200 .. 100 .. 100 .. . 1865 Dauddwr, Llandrinio - 150 .. 191 .. 184 .. . 1846 Castle Caereinion - 200 .. 100 .. 100 .. . 1864 Flint - - 400 ... 265 .. 165 .. , 1848 Gwytherin ... - 100 . 1869 Llandysilio - - 200 . 1868 Llanfair Caereinion - 150 . 1868 Llanarmon Dyffryn Ceiriog - 125 .. 60 .. 60 .. Llangwstenyn - 100 .. 97 .. 97 .. . 1844 Llansantffraid Glan Conway - 150 ... 192 .. 192 .. . 1839 Llanwyddelan - - 75 .. 30 .. 30 .. . 1866 Llanymowddwy ... - 100 .. 100 .. Llanymynech - 150 .. 115 .. 100 .. . 1844 Nannerch .... - 200 .. 60 .. 60 .. . 1853 Northop .... - 25 ... 29 .. 29 .. . 1840 Ysceifiog - - 100 .. 232 .. 113 .. . 1837 Yspytty Ifan - - - 200 .. 200 .. . 1859 1 With the aid of the Diocesan Church Building Society. 170 PRESENT STATE OF THE DIOCESE. CHURCHES ENLARGED OR RESTORED. Grant Sittings gained Free Date - .£50 fiO 60 1857 Bcttws yn Rlios - - 100 190 120- 1839 (' Q TV ol It C\ T* Y\~l i~\ TV _ _ _ V_/d U t;l vXctl IXIUJJ. ■ • " 1 o 20 20 1863 /^o PT*W\7Q . - - v/ujCI vv v o 15 24 24 Cemmes - - 100 14 ... 14 V-lIOctlxl - ~ ~ ~ 40 72 ... / — ... 72 16 40 40 (rTPQinvn .... - 100 1867 Grwa6nys££or - 30 50 ... 40 Hawarden - - 100 230 ... 1859 Llanbryninair . 80 julandrillo in Edeirnion 50 91 ... 91 w yn Rhos - 100 96 96 1857 Til 'i ti c\ rl ncrpf". _ _ 80 Llanddulas - 20 68 ... 40 Ijlanfocliain - 25 Til q nffrvPQ _ _ - 100 162 112 T ,1 n n fi Iv ?i n o*ol f-rl T7n IVTvPi* JLJlcLiiiilictilg t?l 11 XTJLjfll " - 70 ^o 30 Tjlmrfwrno* /'in ■nvAcrvp^R^ JJiCvUl VV X Uli I 111 UlViilCOO 1 Llanfyllin - 25 25 ... 25 1856-64 Iilangadvan - 50 ... 1868 Tjlangadwaladr - 25 100 70 T,l q n rrrvllpn - JLilclllgUlltJll • " • - 300 350 1867 T<1 fi n (tawpv . A-J XcLLl t£KJ VV CI 25 1868 T j1 « n o* vn i p w ... 40 53 53 T .1 p n vVi n l n rl v TVrriplrnfl.nt". JLJlCLill Xldildivli i'lvv 11 1 1 CXjlL U " 10 20 20 Ijlansantffraid yn JVEGcliain 10 36 36 Llansantffraid (Corwon) 50 27 19 1857 Llysfaon (in progress) Llanwddyn - - 75 52 52 TVTfii 11 wvrl X'lClll W V \X ... _ loo 72 72 IVEanafon ... 50 175 X'J-CLl Oil VV Icltll - - - 25 18 18 Meifod ..... - 50 ... 141 ... 141 Mold .... - 400 ... 289 ... 288 ... 1856 Nanfcglyn - - - - - 60 115 ... 1860 Nerquis - - 200 ... 100 ... 100 Pontbleuddyn - 150 ... 150 ... 150 ... 1865 Rhuddlan ( in progress) Tremeirchion - - 25 ... 56 ... 14 Welshpool ... - 25 ... 15 ... 15 Wrexham ... 8 ... 110 ... 110 Yspytty .... . 20 ... 140 ... 148 PRESENT STATE OF THE DIOCESE. 171 List of School Churches or Buildings licensed for Divine Worship in outlying Hamlets or populous Districts. Rural Deanery Name of Parish ( Hanruer I Ruabon ' Ditto - Wrexham Gresford .Brymbo r Oswestry Name of School Church Services ...Bettisfield ...1 English When opened Sundays ...1851 Wrexham -< .Pen y cae - .Bryn - ..Bersham ..Burton .Bwlch Gwyn .Maesbury - ...1 Welsh, ditto ...1 English, ditto ...English ...English ,1866 .1857 ,1858 .1863 .1868 Oswestry CWhittingtc fBettws Caedewen... Dolforwyn - Llanllwchaiarn ... Pen y glodda Caedewen { Berriew Denbigh Mold Bala I Ditto Llanelian Pontbleuddyn Llanfor r Welshpool - ...Bala - Welshpool \ Buttington - ...Trewern ^Castle Caereinion...Cwm Golan LlangoUenlChirk " " -Centre . I Llanyblodwell ...Porthywaen Holywell ...Holywell - ...Greenfield • 1 Eng., Sunday even'g, Monthly Communion. . . 1840 Ebnal, in progress ...2 English, Sundays ( 1 ditto, ditto 1 1 do., Wednesday eve. ,1, winter j Sunday 1 2, summer ) C Friday evenings dur- ing Lent & Advent ...1 English, Sunday ...1 ditto, ditto ...English and Welsh ...2 Welsh on Sundays, 1 on saints' days ...1 English ...1 English ...Yaenor ...Pant y Ffrydd ...Plas Llanelian ...Lees wood . . . Sarnau 1856 1857 .1858 .1865 .1859 .1864 1837 .English - - ...1866 .Ditto - - - ...1839 . 1 Welsh, Sundays . . . 1846 Churches in the Diocese of St. Asaph. ■ 2 CO 3 to — > 2 Chapelries Open seated en 9 Rural j2 In 52 -S "a! and Total Churches, most il Deanery » § c *3 h a Chapels of Churches Sittings free and ■a 2 Ease unappropriated Mold - ... 9 . .. 5 . . 14 .. 5 . .. 19 . 8 1 Holywell - ... 8 . .. 7 . . 15 .. 15 .. 7 1 Dyffryn Clwyd 15 . .. 1 . . 16 !! 2 ! .. 18 .. 7 St. Asaph 11 . .. 4 . . 15 .. 15 . 5 Llanrwst 14 . .. 1 . . 15 . i ! .. 16 .. 7 Oswestry 8 . .. 5 .. . 13 . .. 13 .. 3 2 Wrexham 14 . . 5 .. . 19 . 2 ! . 21 .. 7 6 Llanfyllyn ... 10 . . 2 .. . 12 . 1 .. 13 . 7 Caedewen 13 . .. 1 . . 14 1 .. 15 .. 4 4 Bala - ... 11 . .. 4 .. . 15 2 . .. 17 .. 9 1 Llangollen . . . 12 . .. 2 . . 14 .. 14 .. 3 2 Welshpool ... 11 . .. 3 . . 14 i ! .. 15 .. 8 3 Denbigh 13 . .. 3 . . 16 .. 17 .. 7 1 149 43 192 16 208 82 21 -to1 O o a o p W H H O O a u &h O a M H EC -1 H 02 o a W 02 02 W J 02 Schools from which a Return of Expenditure has been received Average Cost of Education 'SCOiO^OONO-'KiiONOeOCCiW rH —I © rH rH Total Expenditure ^*COOOOMM(DCOOO)OOiOOOCOO «OO«5hiOC0OhOOMONCCO i— . rH i-i HHH HH r— 1 I— 1 r-H CHNOJ«OlOOWCON CO CO CO GO CD *0 1^- 1^- i>» kO CD r-^ GO CD H H i— 1 i— 1 (M i— ( i—( 17580 siooqog jo -on: CD-*^OiGO^'*I>OCOrH05CO(M'* rH CD rH Present at Examin- ation COCOCD^HOiiOCDHJfCDiOCOCOOH^ ^b-HHt>H-NHHNO500O5W3 VO (M rH ©1 HH ^ (M ^ i-H CO CD fc^* i-t — i rH — i GO X>rH lO lO HH I>- ^lOCO^OiOtOMlOlOiC CO id Average Attend- ance J>-*J©COCDHHiD >ON05Hi(5m^omooono5ini> 13248 uorremdod uo s^oog uo "osj jo aS^ueoaej CD rf| HM GO CD CD O HJJ CO CD ^ !>CDl>^irSCOC75CDOCDCD'^?Xt>l> 7.09 Number on Books Total CO rH CO — 4CDrHlOCOCDCOCO©GOCDCD i> co go i> c; ©qcDt>cD©itococo — < rH ©1 ©J ©1 I— I I— 1 1— ( 1—1 19899 Girls CDCDCDi-HO>-0(MCDCD-*iOOCDCO»-0 QOCOQOmiMNOCDOJlftHN'^OO rH rH 9556 Boys TpCvJH^OCDCDCOHHOH^COOtMCOH^ CD t^- CO GO CO A CD CO ©1 CO O CD CO HH COrHt^CDCOO--H^COCDCC)COCDH(CD 10343 S[ooqogA"uQ ^no -iliuv saqsi.ruj ©lCOCOrHH/l©l©I©©rHCOCDrHCOCO CO spoqog jo "ox GO^lOCDCOGO^PCOOCDC^IOGOC^OO rHrHrHrHVT5iOt-»lC>t^CDCD©l©l»O-HHlG0 HH O Q H H H N IM ^ rHrHr-,rHrHrH 250080 Deanery Llanrwst A Llanrwst B - Denbigh St. Asaph Euthin - Holywell Mold - Wrexham A - Wrexham B - Oswestry Llangollen Penllyn & Edeirnion Pool & Caereinion - Llanfyllin Caedewen Total PRESENT STATE OF THE DIOCESE. 173 TL From the Statistics of the National Society for the Year 1866-7. Table XIX, pp. 34, 35. 1 Deubigh. Flint. Mont- Meri- gomery. oneth. No. of ecclesiastical parishes and districts ... 79... 52... 66... 47 Population in Dec. 1866, according to Regis- trar-General . . . ...105,804.. .70,660. ..66,681. ..39,032 No. of Week-Day Schools Receiving annual State grants 37.. 36 . 25.. 13 Not receiving ditto . 25.. 13.. 30.. 24 Total 62 49 55 37 No. of Scholars on Registers in Schools 1. Annually aided by the State. Day schools... 5,337.. 5,088.. . 2,784.. . 1,349 Night ditto... 329.. 171.. 52.. 21 2. Not annually aided by State. Day sch.... 2,200... 1 950.. 1 295 1 1 3fi 1 , .LOO Night do.... 152... ' 78.. 55.. 85 Average No. of Week-Day Scholars in AttendoMce. ]. In schools annually aided by State. Day... 3,798.. 3,559.. . 2,050.. . 969 „ „ „ Night... 190.. . 104.. 32.. 17 2. In schools not annually aided. Day 1,623.. . 1,386.. . 817.. . 763 Night ... 117.. 45.. 43.. 54 Total aver. No. of scholars under instruction 5,728 5,094 2,942 1,803 Percentage, on population of 1866, of such ( 5.4, or 1 in 7.2. or 1 in 4.4, or 1 in 4.6, or 1 in average No. . . . . ) 18.4 13.8 22.6 21.6 Church of England Dame Schools 4.. 1.. Average No. of scholars not included above. . . 88.. 23.. III. General Summary for the Diocese, from Nat. Soc. Statistics for 1866-7. Appendio: III, p. 49. Week-day Night Sunday Schools Schools Schools Number of scholars on Registers . . 21,628 ... 978 ... 16,339 Average number in attendance . . 15,297 ... 598 ... 12,409 1 These figures are chiefly valuable as showing the educational state of the four Welsh counties most closely connected with the diocese, rather than that of the diocese itself ; for they include portions of Merioneth and Mont- gomery belonging to Bangor, and omit that portion of Shropshire which belongs to St. Asaph. A A CD . a He* He* He* He* H« He, TOTA1 ^ rH i-H-h HHH HH i—i Olt^OOCM^OCSCiXOt^CM-^COt^ ^0-*l>000(aN05iOQOCOQOI> WCNCOMrHCOr-tM CM 3747 2 .■^ © CO CM 00 ^OO^OCO He* CO Other Societii •rHi>XOCO H05HOOM w rH rH HH rH COHOMH CD CO 00 VO ~ CO lO rH V-O rH rH rH 300 5 AUXILIARY SOCIETIES Bible Society.* , He* ^ r-l rH rH ^•^oocqcooi^jooONost^co ^CM — TjCMCiOOCOCOCO^GMrH CO o CD Soc. for Pro- motion of Christ. Knowl He* _ H« ^OOOCOOOOOOOOOCiOfflMO ^^-^CO^I>C»QOCOt^CMC5^CO COCOrHCDCDCO-tfOOrHlOCMCO^CO ^ CM CO CO rH CM rH 178 3 11 National School Society (^®C05i-l Ci}"CDC5t>CO ~ CO O CO — 1 rH CO 377 4 0 [SSIONS Church Pastoral Aid Society He* rrj NTfHOCONWOO COO • OS rH lO rjl Ci 030 05 r-i rH rH CJ N(OONOHI>» © C5 " TfnlOHH CM i— i 00 00 home m: Curates' Aid Society . Hta He* He* f^N05H00005COC05(M •lOt>ClCOiDrHCOCMX>CSCM w i— 1 rH rH rH rH C|)OOOCOCOHOWN««5 ^ t- CM CM CO CM r-i CM He* CO o lO CM MISSIONS Church Missionary Society He* He* n|« h^h|«h|« Ha< i^(MCO^H05?0 1>riH«0(M05l> •rHt>l>.Oil>»OC0OiCOTfi\OrHQ0 50 HH- ,_| -H -H rH ri ^ CM ^ CM Ci CM CM CO ^ CM He* rH rH O O "-1 c3 co §1 03 <£i r^ CO fcD^ r* d q a al ^ d 03 J3 no rd rt d 03 > 0; CO *^ lO CO •rjj co co \a i>- cm co 01 cd cc o 03 ^ co n o >o «5 CO CO -r? CO CO rH CM CO -rp lO CO CO CO CO CO 00 00 GO 00 00 oj lO lO TjH O "<# HH \a rH CO CM rH Cl) N O N 00 OJ ~ © © © © — I H CM CM CO CO t> 00 Ci O IO lO lO lO CO 00 00 00 00 00 175 THE CHAEITY FOE THE WIDOWS AND ORPHANS OF CLERGYMEN IN THE DIOCESE OF ST. ASAPH. TRUSTEES: THE BISHOP, DEAN, AND CHAPTER. BENEFACTIONS. GIFTS. Rev. John Tanner, late Precentor of St. Asaph £108 0 0 Dowager Countess of Gower - 60 0 0 Unknown 21 0 0 Mrs. Jones, Colomendy - 21 0 0 Sir Foster CunlifFe, Bart. - 20 0 0 Rev. Dr. Jeffreys, late Rector of Whitford 10 0 0 Unknown, by Rev. Hope Eyton - 10 0 0 T. H. W. 25 0 0 Rev. G. Bouchery, out of Mr. Somerscale's money for charitable purposes - 10 0 0 Mr. Bouchery 10 0 0 Mrs. Jane Ball ------ 10 0 0 Mrs. Elizabeth Ball - 10 0 0 Unknown, through Rev. H. H. Edwards 15 0 0 R. Myddelton Biddulph, Esq. - 21 0 0 Rev. James Drake - 10 0 0 Mrs. Parry, Glanrafon - 5 0 0 Rev. William Cleaver - 10 0 0 Rev. 0. Owens, Llangyniew - 10 0 0 R. W. Wynne, Esq., Garthewin 50 0 0 Bishop Carey 19 0 0 Rev. W. Cleaver - 91 10 0 Rev. H. H. Edwards - 500 0 0 Mrs. Jones-Bateman - 21 0 0 Bishop Short, " Mrs. Short's Money" - 1000 0 0 Captain Robson - 50 0 0 John Taber, Esq. - 1000 0 0 Portion (Bishop Carey's bequest relinquished by Miss Carey, the surviving tenant for life) 2110 0 5 176 PRESENT STATE OF THE DIOCESE LEGACIES. iVllIS. JMlZdUc 111 >> \KG? LilW \ licgrill "Rpv frilVjpvt "RnupViPw - 10 o o Mrs. Elizabeth Evans, Llanymynech - 94 0 0 John Barker, Esq., Brynmadyn - 100 0 0 Rev. W. Worthington, V. Llanrhaiadr M. - 10 0 0 Bishop Bagot - - - 64 0 0 Mrs. Brown, Thnrstaston Hall, Cheshire - 200 0 0 Miss Dora Roberts, Denbigh - 900 0 0 THE CAPITAL STOCK OF THE CHARITY. FOR GENERAL PURPOSES. Three per Cent. Consols. (£52 : 4:1 sold during the year) £773 14 0 Three per Cent. Reduced - - - - 1500 0 0 On Mortgage of Tolls of Turnpike Road from St. Asaph to Conway, at £4 per Cent. - - - 100 0 0 On Mortgage, at £4 per Cent. -£4751 19 7 ) 430O 0 0 Ditto ditto further - 48 0 5 j The Subscriptions for the year 1868-9 amounted to The Grants, nineteen in number, to - £296 12 0 - 505 10 0 THE HISTORY OP THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF ST. ASAPH. 179 THE HISTORY OF THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF ST. ASAPH. The dearth of authentic documents, which rendered it so difficult to elucidate the early history of the diocese, makes it equally or rather more difficult to elaborate that of the Cathedral. In a fragmentary Life of St. Asaph,1 compiled probably in the twelfth century, from various sources of written and oral tradition, by one of the clergy of the Cathedral, it is asserted that Kentigern, having come to these parts from Menevia, at the invitation of Caswallawn (Law-Hir), " illustrissimus Rex et miles strenuissi- mus," and having selected the site for his monastery, under the special guidance already referred to,2 was afterwards interrupted in his work by the fierce Maelgwn ; whose miraculous conver- sion, however, was soon effected by the saint, and who became thenceforth the munificent patron of the undertaking. The account given of the first building is highly interesting : " Cum Sanctus Dei Kentigernus, monasterium construere studuisset in quo filii Dei dispersi salubriter pervenirent, more apium, ab ori- ente, occidente, aquilone, et meridie, primo Spiritu Sancto Filii Dei venientes, orationibus et divinis officiis expletis, viriliter et aniinose laborantes diversis operibus incumbebant, alii locum purgabant, alii complanabant, alii fundamenta preparabant. Qui- dam etiam gestantes, quidam compaginantes, more Britonum, eccle- 1 Vita Sancti AsajpM, in Llyfr Coch, p. 43: " Grloriosissimi Confessoris et Pontificis Assaph, patroni nostri, vitam per loca diversa, monasteria, catlie- drales et baptismales ecclesias diligenti affectione quaesivi Hoc igitur opusculum ex uno libro Latino et diversis codicillis nostro vulgari conscriptis Storiographorum Wallensiuni narracionibus simplici dictainine....duxi com- paginandum." - P. 1. 180 THE HISTORY OF THE CATHEDRAL siam et ceteras ofhcinas, de lignis levigatis, subtiliter et festinauter construebant." This wooden structure is in complete accord with what is otherwise known of primitive British buildings, and is aptly borne out by the description of the early British church at Glastonbury, as at first "vergea", and then covered "ligneo tabu- latu"; with its walls of wattle-work, "inferius per circuitum virgis torquatis muros perficientes,"1 — a mode of construction practically illustrated in the existing case of Melverley Church in this diocese. The further intention, " pro loco et tempore de lapidibus dictum Monasterium construere", is to be assigned, doubtless, to the imagination of the biographer rather than to the mind of Kentigern ; for stone buildings on any larger scale than cells or oratories, continued for long after this unadopted by the Britons, — " mos insolitus Britannis".2 ' Another document, discovered in London in 1256, by Bishop Anian I, in an old book relating to the liberties, rights, and endowments of the see, enumerates the donations made by Mael- gwn to Kentigern on two occasions ; and seems, in its anxiety to secure the claim of an indisputable antiquity, to gather up under that head all the property belonging to the see at the period when it was written. The names of the places or vills are — Altemeliden, Llanhassaph, Bryngwyn,8 Disserth, Kilowain,4 Llansannan, Bodeugan,4 Henllan, Llannefydd,5 Llangernyw, ...man (?), Bodgynwch,6 Uchaled, Meriadog,4 Mofoniog,5 Hendre- newydd,7 Pennant,^ Llanarthu, Hafenwen juxta Llannefydd,5 Bod- nod,8 Maledyr,7 Bodvalleg, Ardney-y-menllyn, Berryng,5 Dolwynan, Bodlyman,9 "et alias villas"; making the limits of the see extend from the city of Conway to the stream of Glatir,10 near Basing- werk. It was soon afterwards enlarged so as to be coextensive with the kingdom of Powys.11 The same document describes 1 Bede and William of Malmesbury in Councils, i, 37, 38. 2 The Welsh term for a building, adeilad, is an abiding witness to the material of the first structures. 3 In Tremeirchion. 7 In Llansannan. 4 Townships in St. Asaph. 8 In Eglwysfach. 11 In the " Rex Powysie nomine Maye" of the Latin scribe, we may further recognise the name Mai- or Mci-fod, near which lay Matbrafal, the later resi- dence of the princes of Powys. in Llanefydd. in Llangernyw. 9 In Bettws yn Rhos. 10 Glastir, Maes Glas, Greenfield. CHURCH OF ST. ASAPH. 181 Llanelwy (St. Asaph) as a "civitas munita" (fortified), an epithet sufficiently indicative of the dangers to which it was exposed ; and further points out the limits of the square mile of district to which the right of sanctuary extended, as Adwy Lleweni, Pen isaf Gell1 Esgob, and Pont yr wddar. Whatever the actual period of its history, above illustrated, there are no records that profess to describe it during the long interval that elapsed from its foundation to the middle of the thirteenth century. Nor is it matter of surprise, so much as of regret, that it should be so : the very silence is expressive ; its situation exposing it to the attacks of turbulent natives and of foreign invaders, — Mercian and Norman by land, and freebooting Dane by sea ; the perishableness of the material with which it was constructed, as implied in its destruction by fire, by the sol- diers of Henry III, in a.d. 1245, and again, in a.d. 1278, by a sallying party from Ehuddlan, and especially in the readiness with which, on this latter occasion, the plea of accidental burn- ing was admitted ; the very necessity of fortifying the town, chiefly, no doubt, in self-defence ; but partly also, it may be fairly supposed, as a partial check to the neighbouring fortress of Ehuddlan ; the silence of Domesday ; the description of the see, in 1125, as "pro vastitate et barbarie episcopo vacantem"; its omission in the catalogue given by Henry of Huntingdon, c. a.d. 1135 ; and its description by Giraldus Cambrensis, in a.d. 1188, as " paupercula sedes Lanelvensis," — all help to account for the "altum silentium" in which this part of its early history is involved. One of the earliest records of any importance that we meet with, is an Agreement entered into, in a.d. 1266, between the chapter and one Maurice or Meurig,who was appointed guardian of the temporalities of the see on the death of Bishop Anian I.2 It is valuable as showing that, although the English custom of seeking first the royal license to elect, and afterwards the royal assent to the election, had been admitted both by the bishop and chapter ; not altogether willingly, however, for their words are, 1 Probably Coed Esgob in Talar, and Ehyd y Gwtter in the Waun. 2 Llyfr Coch, ii, 12 ; Councils, i, 495. BB 182 THE HISTORY OF THE CATHEDRAL "consuetudini et dignitati quas illustris rex Anglie habet...in Ecclesia Anglicana...ofrymre nolentes"1 a certain voice and power in the patronage were still reserved to the chapter and clergy ; for the guardian not only promises to maintain their privileges intact, but also engages not to bestow any vacant prebend, in any part of the diocese, without the advice and concurrence of the dean and archdeacon, nor to fill up any vacant canonry with- out the consent of the whole chapter. Besides this, there are other points in the stipulation relating to discipline, to tithes, to the mortuaries of recluses, nuns, and lepers, to the goods of deceased clergy, and to reliefs. In the case of tithes he agrees not to exact them of lands originally tithed to an ecclesiastic, and afterwards cultivated by ecclesiastics, whether such lands hap- pened to be inherited or rented.2 The expression employed on the occasion is important,3 and supplies a strong confirmation of what has been already said4 of the nature of the early endow- ments of the Church. This reference, moreover, suggests a further inquiry as to the special endowments of the cathedral clergy and the maintenance of the fabric. The question has already been partly answered in the list of vills bestowed upon Kentigern and his successors ; vills which, with the addition of the grants at St. Martin's in 1271, and of the manor of Llandegla in 1278, filled the goodly list we shall meet with in the Taxation of 1291, and receives a further solution from the connexion of the sur- rounding parishes as capellce to the mother church, the dignitaries of which derived their prebendce from the great tithes of Henllan, Llannefydd, Llansannan, Llanfair-talhaiarn, Llangernyw, Tremeir- chion, Abergele, and Disserth ; to which must be added those of Llanasa, appropriated to the fabric of the Cathedral, and those of the more distant Gwyddelwern, of which four-fifths were assigned to the support of the vicars-choral. All these were originally 1 Br. Willis, Append, v, p. xxviii. - An exception is made in the case of * Sanctuaries", probably for the rea- son that, like that of Llanrwst, they were appropriated to the sustentation of the fabric of the Cathedral. 3 " Quod nos, taradiu in custode existamus, aliquas decimas de terris per- sone ecclesiastice decimatis et postea a personis ecclesiasticis cultis, sive sint conducte, sive fuerint hereditaria possesse, nullatenus exigamus." 4 Page 14. CHURCH OF ST. ASAPH. 183 bestowed, there can be little doubt, under some such conditions as specified in chapter II,1 by the first patrons of the church, in order to secure its sendees for their families and tenants in per- petuity.2 In those days, however, as vast districts were evan- gelised by missionaries from the collegium, the endowments were bestowed on the body corporate (" Deo et ecclesise") ; and the clergy, in return, undertook to provide for the spiritual wants of the locality.3 Their appropriation to specific offices and persons took place at a later period. It must be remembered, too, that the church, in addition to her essentially spiritual aspect as a messenger of peace and love to sinners, soon obtained a vast influence as a humanising and mediating power ; being, in fact, the only effectual check to the violence and oppression of a rude age. Hence, too, she acquired by degrees, partly through direct grants from patron-nobles, but mainly through the support of the people who learnt to look upon her as their protection from the tyranny of their lords, cer- tain civil privileges which at first grew out of custom rather than were defined by law, but had in the time of Hywel Dda assumed a definite and recognised position. In later times, when her increasing power and more ambitious views began to excite the jealousy of the State, frequent disputes arose as to the extent and character of these privileges. Of this a memorable illustra- tion is afforded by the famous controversy between the bishop and chapter on the one hand, and Llewelyn, Prince of Wales, on the other. Although already touched upon in its bearing upon 1 Page 14. 2 Cf. Gen. xviii, 19. If I may hazard a conjecture as to the earliest donors of these endowments, I -would say that the nearest clue is to be found in the ancient "moduses", which retained unaltered for centuries a definite pay- ment ; small, out of all proportion, as compared with other tithes of later date, but of a very different value at the period of their first institution. 3 It may be well to note here that these endowments were made to the national British Church before her absorption in that of Canterbury and Rome, and even before the latter had adopted those innovations which were and are the main ground of our separation from her. The grants made, in this diocese at least, during the period of Roman supremacy, and many of the earlier ones which were then appropriated, were either alienated at the dissolution of the religious houses, or sold during the Commonwealth. 184 THE HISTORY OF THE CATHEDRAL the general history of the diocese,1 it deserves to be treated here at greater length, as well for its intrinsic importance as for the part borne in it by the Cathedral body, who, from their wealth, their organisation, and the vigorous leadership of their bishop, Anian II, were well suited to stand forth as the champions of their cause. In the grant made by Llewelyn to Bishop Anian, and dated at Mold on St. Philip and St. James' Day (May 1), 1272, the prince enjoined his bailiffs in Berwetwlad2 to observe " omnes consuetudines meliores, quas predecessores nostri cum suis ante- cessoribus Episcopis observaverunt, seu nos fecimus observari, et hoc quoad feodum laycalem," adding that any dispute thereupon should be settled by the verdict of a competent local jury. In this language we seem to detect an anticipation of coming con- troversy, for the terms " meliores" and " hoc quoad feodum lay- calem," e\ddently bore some special reference. Nor was the anticipation unfounded, as events soon proved; for Anian at once, " apud eundem locum, eodem anno," published the grant, appending to it a construction much wider than it appears to have been intended to bear, — "consuetudines universas per totum dominium nostrum et feodum laycalem volumus et precipimus firmiter observari," —and acknowledging his readiness to accept the jury's verdict " in animas suas et super nomen Domini depo- nendum"; a limitation of no small import when read by the light of the excommunications so freely employed in this and other cases. An occasion of dispute seems soon to have offered itself, for in 1 274 the controversy had long since assumed a serious aspect, " dudum controversia fuisset orta," and a synod was held in the cathedral church, on the 19th of October, to take evidence as to the relative rights of the prince and the bishop. It was there found " that in times past the bishops and chapter of St. Asaph had exercised all civil jurisdiction, capital and other, in their own courts ; but that in process of time they had, for the better execution of justice, entered into a compact with the secular power, by which they ceded to it the fines for ordinary felony, 1 Page 41. 2 The " Mid-Land" lying between the rivers Conway and Clwyd. CHURCH OF ST. ASAPH. 185 and the right to condemn and put to death vassals of the Church ; but on the understanding that they should not lay hands on any accused person without the previous consent of the church- steward ; and that if he was clearly guilty, and paid a fine for his release, one half of it should go to the bishop and chapter."1 Hereupon the bishop at once writes to the archbishop a letter of complaint against Llewelyn, accusing him of robbing the Church of her rights and privileges, especially in the above matter of fines ; and also of imposing certain payments and exactions on ecclesiastics according to his mere pleasure, and without the bishop's consent ; and even of making the churches rateable to himself. "Ad hoc, quod absurdum est audire, ex Uteris vestris premissis satis elici potuit, quod nos tallias, collectas seu exacci- ones, personis imponimus ecclesiasticis ad libitum, Ecclesie con- | radicente prelato ; quantum ad hoc, ecclesias ipsas nobis faci- entes censuales." To these last charges Llewelyn gives a flat I Bnial (" omnino negamus") ; and to the other calumny he replies that he was only exercising a right which had all along belonged to him as prince, but which the bishop was now assuming to himself, — " tarn predecessores nostri quam nos, temporibus pre- decessorum suorurn, ac diu retroactis temporibus usque ad hec tempora fuimus in possessione vel quasi pacifica libertatum et consuetudinum predictarum quas sibi vendicat." And even here he professes his readiness to concede the privileges claimed, if the bishop can bring forward genuine charters, made at the time, to substantiate his claims. These, however, do not appear to have been forthcoming ; but instead thereof Pope Gregory X sent " Letters of Monition" to the prince, and deputed certain officers to restrain him, if need be, " per censuram ecclesiasticam." The need did occur, for Llewelyn paid no heed to the monition or the threat : indeed, he was at that time hard pressed by Ed- ward I ; and his necessity became, alas ! the ambitious Anian's opportunity ; for Anian applied, in 1276, to the English king, and obtained from him a confirmation of the liberties of his see ; and this he followed up the same year by summoning a grand synod of his clergy and laity, on the 7th of December, to draw 1 Councils, i, 502. 186 THE HISTORY OF THE CATHEDRAL up a declaration of grievances against Llewelyn, to be presented to the Archbishop of Canterbury, "ut etiam ipse correctioDis remedium apponat in eisdem." Their " Gravamina"1 are specified under no fewer than the following twenty-nine heads, which shall be their own commentary : 1. Llewelyn refuses permission to the bishops to make wills ; and, if made, holds them of no force, but takes possession of all their move- able goods, according to his own will and pleasure. 2. Other people's property found among them, he takes in the same way. 3. Gifts made by the bishop during illness, or on his deathbed (as of horses and such like), he, after the death, reclaims for himself, as having been unjustly alienated. 4. His bailiffs plunder, rather than protect, the episcopal manors, when they are put in charge of them during a vacancy in the see. 5. When a vacancy occurs in the see he does not allow the canons either to fix the day, or to make an election, without his leave ; or, if they do, he punishes them arbitrarily. 6. He does not permit prisoners to make their confession to the priest, except in the presence of his own officers ; and this, in order that he may discover their accomplices, and punish them accordingly by fine or death. 7. He does not allow the validity of wills, unless made during a mortal sickness ; otherwise he claims the goods as his own. 8. His bailiffs hold their courts on Sundays and holydays, in church- yards and other consecrated spots ; sometimes even in the churches themselves, though often warned, " sub poena canonica eis infligenda," not to do so. 9. He takes the whole instead of half the fines exacted of a vassal of the Church, when caught thieving, or receiving stolen goods, or informed against by king's evidence. 10. He does the same also wherever a vassal of the Church is caught fighting with one of his own \ whereas he ought to receive only half when it occurs in his territory, and none at all when on the land of the bishop and chapter. 11. Where vassals have dwellings in both territories (e. g., the Church and the prince), he compels them to reside on their lay feoff, whereas in olden times they were allowed their choice. 12. He threatens to appoint foresters in the Church's woods, a right always freely exercised by the bishop and chapter. 13. He takes the whole of the fine for rape committed within the Church's territory, whereas half belonged to them. 14. In case of a vassal of the Church committing homicide within their territory, his goods belonged to them, his person to the state ; 1 L!y/r Coch, 39-44 ; Councils, i, 512-516. CHUKCH OF ST. ASAPH. 187 the prince takes all ; and does the same also with the fines for arson and forfeit, half of which are due to them. 15. Likewise half the fine for contempt of summons for personal service to the prince. 16. Likewise, on the occasion of a vacancy, he assumes to define, according to his pleasure, the boundaries of the Church's vills. 17. Item, he seizes and imprisons vassals of the Church, to her pre- judice ; a thing unheard of in former times, except on the most serious occasions, and then only in the presence and with the consent of the bishop. 18. He compels heirs to enter upon their inheritance, whether they will or no, and grants the right to illegitimate children equally with legitimate; but refuses it to females, even in the absence of other claimants. 19. He and his bailiffs compel the vassals of the Church, equally with his own, to transport his goods for him from place to place, and at their own charge. 20. He takes possession of their inheritance whenever, from his own fault, they transfer their allegiance to the English realm. 21. He assumes the punishment of crimes committed in church- yards and other consecrated ground, and keeps to himself the whole of the fines. 22. He reserves to himself the cognisance of breaches of the marri- age law. 23. He compels the clergy to submit to the jurisdiction of the civil courts. 24. He insists on the forfeiture of bail in certain specific cases. 25. For a certain money consideration he has permitted some of his vassals to rob Basingwerk Abbey of several carucates of land. He still wilfully persists in similar practices in other cases, and has even deprived some clergy of their inheritance, contrary to the laws of his country. 26. His officers sometimes demand as dues procurations of the clergy and vassals of the Church ; and, if refused, use personal violence, and even carry off their goods. 27. He compels all who inherit property under him, irrespectively of their order, to submit, if challenged, to a trial in his courts, or else to surrender the claim. He inflicts other hardships and extortions on the clergy, and will not even allow them to punish their own servants, in order that he may secure the fines for himself; and if they venture in aught to resist, he seizes their lay possessions, and retains them until satisfied ; but is even harder upon them if they venture to remon- strate, or apply elsewhere for aid. 28. He denies to the parochial clergy, in some places, a common right to the woods, pastures, and turbaries. 29. The Vill of Lanerost, which has long while belonged, with all its rights, to the Church of St. Asaph, he has not only taken, but retains possession of, save that he allows an annual payment of 5s. for the same. 188 THE HISTORY OF THE CATHEDRAL The crusade (" votiva expeditio"), which soon after this set out under the sanction of the Archbishop and the leadership of the Earl of Warwick and others (" quos reputavimus Deo devotos"), committed such sacrileges1 as to call forth a stern remonstrance from the Archbishop, and a plaintive wail from Anian, who found himself powerless to check the mischief he had invited, and soon became the victim of his own ambition. The storm which had been making havoc of the more distant parts of the diocese, now enveloped the Cathedral itself in flames. Anian, chafing but powerless, full of righteous indignation, but without a friend to turn to, — for he had long ago estranged the Welsh, and had now, moreover, fallen under the displeasure of the English king, — endeavoured to persuade Archbishop Peckham to espouse his cause, and, as it were, of his own free will, as spiritual guardian of the Church, to proceed to launch his excommunications against the culprits. But the cautious Peckham, whilst professing a ludicrous regard for his brother's feelings (" salva reverentia vestra"), finds ample reasons for deliberation and delay. It was pleaded, and probably with truth, that the fire had occurred by accident, and that in fair fighting, according tc the guerilla war- fare of the country ; and that, moreover, the place (St. Asaph) itself had been a regular harbour and rendezvous for the enemies of the King, who had from it attacked his castle at Ehuddlan, and committed murder and havoc by fire and sword. Besides, those holy men, the Friars Preachers, must have known the cir- cumstances, and they would never have admitted them to the Sacraments if they had wilfully wrought so great a misfortune to the church. To make matters worse, he rates the unhappy Bishop for deserting his flock at a time of so much peril to them ; and reminds him, by way of a final cut, how very different, under somewhat similar circumstances, had been the conduct of the Bishop of Norwich " of blessed memory."2 Edward I was desirous, mainly, no doubt, from motives of policy, to transfer the Cathedral from St. Asaph to his newly built and fortified town at Ehuddlan, and with this object wrote a letter to the Pope (Martin IV), asking for his sanction, and i P. 45. 2 Roger de Skerwyng, a.d. 1265-1278. CHURCH OF ST. ASAPH. 189 offering at the same time a suitable site and a thousand marks for the building. The Bishop and canons also fell in with the design, from motives of convenience and safety. St. Asaph (writes the Bishop) is situated in a country place with hardly any population, and so exposed to the attacks of the insurgents that it is not safe for his canons and himself to approach it, much less dwell there. To which the King adds, that the body of the great confessor, St. Asaph himself, was liable to be carried away by any band of these marauders ; and that even on the great festivals the attendance was so small that the canons had all the service to themselves and the walls.1 Strong as these several reasons may have seemed, they came to nothing ; others more effectual counterbalanced them, and orders were given to rebuild the Cathedral on the old site. A favourite method of raising the contributions of the faithful was thereupon resorted to in furtherance of the work, and Arch- bishop Peckham issued a Circular Letter to the clergy and laity of the Welsh dioceses, and those of Hereford and of Lichfield and Coventry, recommending to their favour the canons of St. Asaph, who went travelling about the country with their famous text of the Gospel,2 to solicit alms. This must have been a considerable source of revenue, for nine years after we learn from an entry in Llyfr CocJi, that the amount collected during the three preceding years was £95 : 6 : 10 J ;3 a sum equi- valent to nearly £3,000 in present value. Edward, moreover, having now succeeded in his great design of annexing the Prin- cipality to his crown, and having further indulged his love of building by removing the monks of Aberconway to Maenan, was the more easily moved to take into consideration the vast injury done to the church by his soldiers during the war. At the sug- 1 Browne Willis, ii, 50-54 ; App. xx, xxi. 2 " Either of our Lord Jesus Christ," or " according to St. John," accord- ing as we adopt the termination en or es ; for further consideration incHnes me to the belief that the names given (p. 21) are corruptions of Welsh ; e. g., " Evengyl Yr Evengyl, loan, Iesu." 3 " 35a. — Obligaciones Evangelii Spissi (qu. S'tissimi ?) Assavens. a'o 1293 per tres annos 95 lib. 6 sol. 10 den. ob. per manus D'ni David, vicar de Cor- waen." CC 190 THE HISTORY OF THE CATHEDRAL gestion of Peckham, and to relieve his royal conscience of scruple, if he had any, a commission was appointed to examine into the several cases, and assess the damage on the spot.1 The commis- sioners, in the present instance, were the Prior of Ehuddlan, the Warden of Llanfaes, and Dominus B. de Brochton, and their award was £100 sterling, which sum was paid over to the dean and archdeacon at Chester on All Souls' Day, 1284.2 This was in addition to twenty librates of land, which he had previously, in A.D. 1279 (i. e,, four years before the proclamation of peace), given to the bishop and chapter " propter incendia et diversa enormia predicte ecclesie.... tempore gueme facta." These lands had been assigned by Guncelin de Badysmore and Howel ap Gruffydd, his commissioners, in the vills of Disserth, Dincolyn, Nannerch, Coedymynydd, and Bhywlyfnwyd ; and amounted in all to forty-nine acres, valued at £10.3 The work of building was, no doubt, carried on as vigorously as the resources would allow ; but we have no means of stating exactly how long it occupied. The free tenants of the dean and chapter, we know, were bound to find six competent labourers to work in the " Bed Bock" every day of the year, except on Sundays and holydays, " pro operationibus Ecclesie Cathedralis"; and this obligation continued in force, though perhaps not in exercise, until it was commuted, in the time of Bishop Spridling- ton, for an annual payment of ten meres, thence known as "Ar- dreth y Garreg Goch" (the rent of the Bed Bock) ; indeed, I think we may see some proofs of their labour in the red sandstones that still give variety to the southern and western walls of the nave. Perhaps, too, we shall not be wrong if we assign to this period the present form of the Cathedral, that of a cross, as dis- tinguishing it from the earlier British oblong f for the epithet, " nova capella", applied to the south transept in the confirmation of the appropriation of Nantglyn, a.d. 1336, may be construed to imply a new feature in the building, as well as a new use to which it was applied. Turning from the fabric to the ecclesiastical body, we find 1 Br. Willis, ii, 37, App. xiv. ': lb., ii, 40, App. xviii. 3 Br. Willis, ii, 81, App. xxxi. * Page 9. CHURCH OF ST. ASAPH. 191 invaluable information both as to their constitution and revenues in the Valor Ecclesiasticus of 18 Edward I, otherwise called Pope Nicholas's Taxation.1 From this we learn that the Chapter con- sisted of fifteen canons, among whom were reckoned the bishop and the archdeacon, who, as well as the dean and six other canons, received a much larger income from special prcbendou than the rest, who derived their share from the corporate pro- perty only. Besides these, however, there were five portionists, who derived their stipend then, as now, mainly from Gwyddel- wern. SPIRITUALIA. Ecclesia Cathedralis de Sancto Asaph' cum Capellis suis et Canonie in eadem et Porc'o'es alie o'es taxant' Modo subscripto. Taxatio. Canonia D'ni Ep'i tarn in ip' Eccl'ia q' in capellis ejusderu P'ventus, Redditus et Obvenc'o'es p' totu' Ep'atu' ad ip'm spectantes taxant Canonia Archid' in ip'a Eccl'ia et capellis suis, p'ventus Kedditus Obvenc'o'es ad ip'm p'tinen- tes, una cu' Eectoria Eccl'ie de Abergelev, que est annexa Dignitati sue Archidiaconati Canonia Decani in ip'a Eccl'ia et Capellis suis P'ven- tus, Eedditus et Obvenc'o'es ad ip'm p'tinentes [Eccl'ia deHenllan est Capella Cathedralis Eccl'ie Prebend1 Decan'.] Canonia Ithael Apjorverth in ip'a eccl'ia - Canonia Ithael ap D'd in ip'a eccl'ia et p'ventus sui ap' Kilfurn .... Canonia Thome p'sb'ri in parochia ip'ius Eccl'ie et in Capella de Dymneychyaun & Langernyw cu1 p'tin' suis - Canonia de Kefnerth p'sb'ri in ip'a Eccl'ia et p'ven- tus in Capella de Aldmelyden et eande' Canonia' p'tinent' - Canonia Ithael Vachan in ip'a eccl'ia ft p'ventus in Capella de Lanveyr Dalhaeayn ad eande' Cano- nia p'tinent' .... Canonia D'd ap Lowarch in ip'a Eccl'ia et proventus in Capella de Lanveyr p'd'c'a ad eande' Canonia p'tinent' - Canonia Bledyn ap Adaf in eade' eccl'ia et p'ventus alii omnes ad eande' Canoniam spectantes d. 34 6 8 6 13 4 10 0 3 6 8 16 13 4 6 8 8 0 0 4 6 8 Deciine. £ s. d. 166 13 4 ... 16 13 4 3 8 8 0 13 4 0 2 0* 0 6 8* 1 13 4 0 14 8 8 0 0 ... 0 16 0 0 16 0 0 8 8 Pp. 54-56. Et q' alibi est bcnohciat' 192 THE HISTORY OF THE CATHEDRAL Taxatio. £ S. d. Decime. £ s. d. Canonia Mag'ri Bened'ci in eade' eccl'ia & p'ventus alii ad earn p'tinent' ... 0 15 0 .. . 0 1 6* Canonia Mag'ri Anyany in ip'a Eccl'ia et p'ventus alii ad earn p'tinent' - 1 0 0 .. . 0 2 0* Canonia Lowelyn Vachan in eadem eccl'ia et p'ven- tus alii ad earn spectantes ... 0 10 0 . 0 I 0* Canonia Will'i de Brygwol in eadem eccl'ia et p'ven- tus alii ad earn spectantes - 0 10 0 .. . 0 ] 0* Canonia Howel gryc in eade' eccl'ia et p'ventus alii ad earn spect' - 0 15 0 .. . 0 1 6* Porcio Kenewr ap Bledyn in paroch' Eccl'ie Assa- phens' et porcio sua in eccl'ia de Gwydelwern - 4 6 8 ., .. 0 8 8 Porcio Meyfel p'sb'ri ibide' & apud Gwydelwern 3 6 81 Porcio Kenewrici ap' Ad' p'sb'ri ibide' & apud Gwyd- elwern - - - 3 6 *\ Non deci an (-.' Porcio Phi' p's'b'ri ib'tn & apud Gwydelwern 3 6 S\ Porcio Adaf ap Madok p'sb'rti & apud Gwydelwern 3 6 sj S'ma £287 30 0 TEMPOEALIA. Bona EpH Assavens\ Ep'us h'et man'iu' de S'c'o Assaph' cu' Altmoled- ym1 & Dymolyn2 quinq' caruc' terr' cu' redd' & molend' & aliis com'oditat' - - - 7 0 43 ... 0 14 114 Item Landegla4 cu' una caruc' & molend' & com'od' &redd' - - - - - 2 11 0 ... 0 5 11 Item ap'd S'c'm5 duas caruc'6 terr' cu' aliis com'odit'? - - - - 1 12 0 (14) 0 3 2* Item de p'quis' p'd'c'ar' villar' - - - 100... 020 Item8 h'et in Bodgenen, Meyradok, Warymel insula de redd' - - - 5 6 10 ... 0 10 84 Item9 Crathlan de redd' & p'quis' - - 4 3 8 ... 0 8 41 S'ma bonor' d'ni Ep'i - - £22 2 10 S'ma decime - - 2 4 31 1 Istemeledym (Meliden). 2 Dycolyn (Dincolyn). 3 .£7:9:4. 4 Langedela. 5 " S'c'm Martini & S'c'm Leonard'." 6 " Duas car' & tres bovat' t're cu' aliis com'od'." ' .£21 : 6 : 8. 8 "Item h't in Botnoc (Bodnod), Lanrust, Bremman (Bryngwyn), Bod- geneu (Bodeugan), Caeryadoc (Meriadog), Wayno (Vaenol), Insula Peng- nen (Pengwern), Cansyman (Llansannan), Langner (Langernyn), de redd' £5:6: 10." '■> "It'm Trathlan, Eenant (Trenant), Henlan, Bodingenan, Lanhudith (Llannefydd), Kyllawen (Cilowen), Bregnen (Bryngwyn), Tardys (Caerwys), Nantvenez (Nannerch), de redd' et p'quis' £4:3: 8." CHURCH OF ST. ASAPH. 193 Taxatio. Decime. £ s. d. £ s. d. Bona Canonicor\ Canonici h'ent in Bodnod1 de redd' - - 6 5 11 ... 0 12 7£ Item2 in de redd' - - ■ 3 2 10 ... 0 6 3| Item de p'quis' villar' o'i'm' - - -1 13 4... 034 S'ma bonor' Canonicor' Assavens' .£11 2 1 S'ma decime - - - 1 2 2£ To these statistics of the income of the bishop and chapter, if we add the following " Memorandum"3 of the date a.d. 1305, we shall also see whence came the funds for the sustentation of the fabric : " Md qd de infrascript' Receptor Eccl'ie Assavens' debet. "De porc'o'e ejusd' eccl'ie in eccl'ia de>Corvaen. "De subsidio. " De finibus tenent' de Llanelwy incident' p' annu' ab op'e consueto circa Rupem Rubeam p' a0 D'ni nr°ccc° tertio. " De pro anno D'ni mm0 cccm0 quarto. " De fine sive subsidio anevar (annuar 1) ejusd' ville. " De legatis ad fabrica' eccl'ie Asavens "De porc'o'ibus provenientibus per questuar' ad fabrica' eccl'ie sive sint ejusd' eccl'ie sive extranei. " De amerciamentis provenientibus pro defectu operis in Rupe Ru- bea. " De amerciamentis concessis ap Ep'o ad eand' fabrica' viz' de D'no Roberto de Creuquez (?) xls. de adult era Madoci ap Robert una marca, de D'na Iselda de S'co Creuquez vis. viiic?. " De amerciamentis ministroru' eccl'ie pro suis defectibus ad fab eccl'ie assign'. " De redempc'o'ibus penitenciaru' solemnibus vel' aliaru'. " De deposito penes D'num. " De den' provenientibus ex terre dicte eccl'ie legatis. " De subsidio capellaru' eccl'ie Assavens' et de no'ibus non solven'. " De exitibus san'tuarii de Llanrwd." Turning from the fabric and the clergy of the Cathedral, let us now see what, and of what kind, were the services which were performed there. Whatever they had previously been, and almost all that we know of them is the complaint of Edward I, already 1 " Canonici h'nt in Bodno^, Languman, & Lanrusty, Bren'an, Bodguenen, & Lansymnan, Teflez, Lanhudich, Henlan, Meryedok, Veynol, & Insula de (Pengwern), de redd' £6 : 5 : 11." 2 " It'm in Pengnernen, Bodguenn'e, Kyllewyn, Brengven, Tarwys, Dis- sert, Dymcolyn, Lanaurez de redd' =£3:2: 10." > Llyfr Coch, p. 91. 194 THE HISTOKY OF THE CATHEDRAL alluded to, " quod canonici dicte Ecclesie non solum in ferialibus, verum etiam in magnis et solemnibus Festivitatibus, Divina coguntur ipsis solis et lapidibus celebrare, cum propter loci distantiam nullos habeant auditores"; though, perhaps, another reason for this paucity of attendance might be found in the un- popularity of the then chapter, owing to the part they had taken against Llewelyn. Whatever, then, the earlier services may have been, we may conclude, from the Injunctions of Peckham, that those in the new Cathedral were by comparison both more frequent and more impressive, owing alike to the more full and regular attendance of the clergy now required, and to the more musical and imposing ceremonial adopted, as became the model church of the diocese. Such peculiarities, too, of vestments and of clerical attire as may have hitherto been retained (and this see was the last to lose its national and independent character- istics), were now laid aside, and all was conformed to the English exemplars, " Quia Assavensis Ecclesia Cathedralis est toti dio- cesi posita in exemplum, sacris canonibus adherentes statuimus ut domus decani et canonicorum, quatenus fieri poterit, prope et circa ecclesiam construantur. Et ut canonici in claustri ambitu et ecclesie capas et almutia deferant canonice honestatis, juxta quocl in aliis ecclesiis cathedralibus per provinciam fieri consue- vit. Ipsa tamen ecclesia officietur celebritate condigna tarn in missa quam in horis canonicis omni die."1 With a view to the further improvement of the services, we find the following ordinances2 passed in chapter on the 6th March, 1296 : that all the clergy beneficed in Gwyddelwern3 should attend all the cathedral services at the canonical hours daily, under pain of one penny fine for each absence ; and that all the beneficed priests in the same church should in their turn perform divine service musically, according to the arrangement of the precentor. It was also further ordained in the same 1 Br. Willis, ii, 42, App. xv, et supra, p. 49. ^ 2 Ibid., ii, 75, App. xxvi. 3 The Taxatio of 1291, sub voce Gwyddelwern, states that "ilia ecclesia est decern vicariorum in Ecclesia Asaphensi, quibus incumbunt missam celebrare do Virgine ibidem et eidem interesse"; including, apparently, in that number not only the vicars-choral, but also tho rest of the working staff of the Cathe- dral, the clerks or vicarii of the respective prebendaries. CHURCH OF ST. ASAPH. 195 chapter, and with the mutual consent of the members, that the dean and the prebendaries of Vaenol and Llannefydd respect- ively, for the time being, should each find a priest, who should be a good singer, and skilled in the science of music, to serve their cures in this respect (the cathedral sendee), and to be pre- sent at the daily services with the vicars choral, under the above mentioned penalty ; that the archdeacon should find a priest or a layman skilled in vocal or instrumental music ; that the pre- bendaries of Meliden and Llanfair (two) should find four singing- boys or choristers between them ; and lastly, that the prebend- ary of Meifod should pay ten shillings a year in augmentation of the salary of the water-carrier, to secure his attendance also with the other ministers in the daily service. In furtherance of the same object, Bishop Leoline de Bromfield (Llewelyn ap Ynyr), on the 11th of April in the same year, appropriated the rectorial tithes of Llansilin and Bhudcllan to the dean and chapter for the general fund ; and at the same time renewed a former appropriation of Llanasa, "ad fabricam et luminaria", thereby relieving Corwen of a charge which, in pursuance of an ancient precedent, had recently been laid upon it. These appropriations were followed, in a.d. 1336, by that of Nantglyn, for the support of the ten vicars (by whom, no doubt, were meant the vicars-choral and the vicars, or representatives above specified, of the several prebendaries), and of such other expenses as were incidental to the Cathedral. In this appropri- ation there is a distinct reservation of a competent stijjend for a resident vicar, and the residue was to be apportioned by the dean and chapter. In return, however, for this increase to their stipend, the vicars were to say two masses daily in the new transept on the south side ; one of the Blessed Virgin, and ano- ther for the souls of the departed as well as the living benefac- tors of the see.1 A similar condition was attached to the appro- priation of Llanyblodwel to the bishop's uses, a.d. 1377.2 He was to find " quendam capellanum Missam de Sancta Maria et alia divina singulis diebus in capella ipsius Episcopi pro anima- bus avi, patris et aliorum progenitorum nostrorum et pro salubri 1 P. 61. 2 P. 63. 196 THE HISTOKY OF THE CATHEDEAL statu nostro dum viximus ac pro anima nostra cum ab hac luce migravimus et animabus omnium fldelium defunctorum."1 Three years later, on June 26th, 1380, in consideration still of the smallness of the stipends of the ten vicars or chaplains as they are here called ("quorum quatuor sunt perpetui vicarii, dudum in Ecclesia Cathedrali Assavensi de certis possessionibus dotati, et sex minores vicarii de choristis absque certa sustenta- tione ordinati"), Bishop Spridlington procured the appropriation of Llanrhaiadr-yn-Mochnant,with its chapelries, for the improve- ment of their stipends and other expenses of the Cathedral.3 Two days after this the same bishop obtained the royal license to annex the chapelries of Pole and " Kegitva" to the mother church of " Mey vot," and appropriate the whole to himself and his successors. Another source from which, at this period, the funds of the cathedral chapter were augmented, was the tolls of the annual fair held on the eve and festival of St. Philip and St. James and the following day ; to which was added, in 1380, the right to hold a second, also for three days, viz. on the Feast of St. Diony- sius and the day before and after; and a weekly market on Monday, with all the tolls, customs, etc., arising therefrom.3 To complete the account we must also add the specific bequests by which they were occasionally supplemented. Thus Bishop Llew- elyn ap Madoc, in his will, a.d. 1373, ordered his plate to be sold, and the proceeds applied to the fabric of the Cathedral, and also bequeathed "40s. vicariis de choro."4 Bishop Spridlington, a.d. 1381, bequeathed to the fabric 40s. sterling, and his book called The Catlwlicon ; to the high altar of the same, a chalice of silver gilt ; and 40s., to be equally divided among the perpe- tual vicars and other chaplains ; and one marc, to be divided likewise between the "parvi vicarii, choristse, et sacristse."5 Bishop Child, a.d. 1389, left a hundred silver meres for the pur- chase of vestments, besides a bequest of one vestment of red serge, and "unum Psalterium." 1 Br. Willis, ii, 88, App. xxxiv. 2 P. 63, and Br. Willis, ii, 91, App. xxxvi. Br. Willis, App. xxx and xxxvu. 4 Ibid., ii, 89, App. xxxv. '•> Ibid., ii, 96, App. xl. CHURCH OF ST. ASAPH. 197 Such appear to have been the main features of the Cathedral history to the end of the fourteenth century, soon after which it was visited with the stern vengeance of Owen Glyndwr, who burnt it to the ground in a.d. 1402. On this occasion " the Chirch Cathedrall of Saint Asaph, with the steple, bells, quere, porch, and vestiary, with all other contentis, bokes, chaliz, vesti- ments, and other ornaments, as the bokes, stalles, deskes, altres, and all the aparaill longying to the same chirch, was brent and utterly destroyed, and in likewys the byshop's palays and all his other three mannoirs no styk left."1 In this deplorable state of ruin the Cathedral continued for the long period of eighty years. Meanwhile, with a view to its restoration, and in consideration of the damage done to the see, the successive bishops were relieved from the payment of the annual rent of twenty meres due to the crown for certain lands which had been granted to them at Gronant-is-y-mor. For the like reason Bishop Lowe was allowed, in 1439, to retain Meifod with its chapelries of Welshpool and Guilsfield as appropria- tions f and in 1442 there was added a special grant unto him by Henry VI, that " from henceforth he shall be quite and fully discharged ageinst us and our heirs of all manour dismes and quinzimes and parcells of dismes and quinzimes that have been and shall be granted unto us or our heirs by the clergie of this our Eoyaume, and of paying unto us or our said heires the saide dismes or quinzimes, or parcells of dismes and quinzimes, of the which the saide Johan hath, be or shall be, grauntez, with other prelates of this our Eoyaume."3 It was not, however, till 1482 that the restoration was carried out by Bishop Eedman, who, having found " only the walls standing, set about repairing them, and having carried them up to the present height, and placed thereon a new roof, and made the east window stalls in the choir, as may be seen to this day" (writes Browne Willis in 1720) "by his arms being fixed in divers parts of the church and on the episcopal throne before it was new made, since 1660." These oaken stalls, with their excellent canopy-work, which have been assigned by tradition to the skilful handicraft of an idiot, after 1 Br. WiUis, ii, 116, App. li, from the Sebright Collection. 2 Ibid., ii, 115, App. l. 3 ibid., ii, 117. DD 198 THE HISTORY OF THE CATHEDRAL having been overlaid for many years with thick coatings of paint, have, in the late renovation, been once more restored to their original beauty. The old Perpendicular east window, of Bed- man's time, was supplanted, in the alterations of 1780, by a pre- tended imitation of the east window of Tintern Abbey. Bishop David ab Owen, in 1512, bequeathed to the Cathedral a silver gilt chalice, some altar-linen, a vestment for the celebration of Mass, and twenty pounds of wax for lights for the high altar ; and Bishop Standish, in 1535, added £40 for paving the choir. This last bequest, however, is said to have been expended in the purchase of an organ, and to have involved the executors in a law suit, because they had not performed the letter of his will.1 Little more, save what has been already said about the Decla- ration of the dean and chapter on abjuring the supremacy of the Pope,2 is related of the Cathedral till we come to the Valor Eccle- siasticus of Henry VIII. The episcopal palace, after having lain in ruins for a hundred years,3 was at length rebuilt by Bishop David ab Owen, whose name was to be seen over a door leading to the garden, before the present garden front was rebuilt by Bishop Bagot in 1795. The canons' houses were never rebuilt, unless the present canonry, built in 1857, under somewhat dif- ferent circumstances, may be said to replace them. The Valor Ecclesiasticus of Henry VIII, a.d. 1535, is full of valuable information as to the sources and value of the incomes of the bishop and the different members of the Cathedral chap- ter, and from it we derive the following particulars : The Bishop. — Temporalities. £ s. d. M s. d. Manor of Llandegla, let bo John Gruffydd v 0 0 St. Martin's - - i 0 0 Meliden, let to Peter Mutton ix 0 0 Bishop's land at St. Asaph, let to Fulk Sales- bury, Clk. - - - - ii 0 0 „ called Uchby and Estervyns, to Soger Salesbury - viii 0 0 Lepers' land at Wrexham, let to John ap Eobert x 0 25 10 0 ' Br. Willis, i, 93. - P. 73. 3 During this interval Bishops Lancaster and David ap Iorwerth, and pro- bably David ap Owen also, lived at Valle Cruris Abbey. CHURCH OF ST. ASAPH. 199 Spiritualities. £ s. d. £ s. d. Kectory of Mold, annual portion - - v 0 0 „ Llanassaph, let to Ric. ap Hoell xvi 0 0 „ Blodwell, let to Ievan - ii 0 0 Lactuals .... lxvi viii viii Annual procurations - - - liii xiiii viii Sixths from Henllan, Ruthlande, E. & V., Llan- selyn, Meliden, Llanyvith, S. Assaph, Llangurnyo, Dyingh'an and Mivod xx xv i Triennial procurations, giving annual average xi xix ix£ Proving of wills - - - - i iii iiii 177 1 6 Deduct fees of steward, receiver, and auditor - - 15 0 0 Net income per ann. - 187 11 6 Tenth thereof granted by the clergy to the king, by Act of the last Parliament - - - - - 18 15 If Dean. Henllan tithes and offerings - - xxxiii 0 0 Two portions of Meriadog & Wekewere, & house & glebe - - - - xii xiiii viii Two portions of Kyllowen et Bodeigan ii 0 0 Prebend's portion from Ehuddlan, Llansellyn, & glebe - - - ii vi viii 50 1 4 Deduct sexta from Henllan to the Bishop - - - 5 0 0 Net annual income - - - - -45 14 Tenth to the king - - - - - 4 10 If Archdeacon. Abergele, tithes and offerings - - xxxv xvii ix Llangustenyn, ditto - - vi xiii iv Bettus - - - - v 0 0 Annual portions from other churches1 in the lordship - - - iv ii iii Disserth, tithes and offerings - - xvi xiii iv Relefnoid (Newmarket) - - ix 0 0 Prebend's portion - - ii vi viii *79 13 4 Deduct lactuals and procurations, annual and triennial - 4 17 9£ Net income - - - - - - 74 15 7 Tenth - - - - - - - 7 9 6£ Prebendary of Vaenol. Porcion'deVaynell,KynmelletDynorben,tithes xx vi viii Capella de Dym'ghion (Tremeirchion) - iv iii iv Capella de Llangernew ... xiii iii iv Prebend's portion - - ii vi viii 40 0 0 Tenth - - - - - - - 4 0 0 1 E. g., Llanrwst, viiis. iiiicZ.; Llansannan, vs.; Llanverthayarn, vis. iiid. j Llandulas. viis. viiid.; Llansanfraid, xvs.; Eglwisvach, xs.; Llanhcllian, xxxs. 200 THE HISTORY OF THE CATHEDRAL Prebendary of Llannefydd. £ s. d. £ s. d. Llanufith', tithes and oblations XX 0 0 Porciones in Kylowen, Blodican et Kerynan - vi xiii iv Porcion' de Llanvfith Ughniyneth X 0 0 Prebend's portion .... ii vi viii 39 0 o Deduct sexta to the Bishop 1 6 8 Net - 37 13 4 Tenth ----- 3 15 4 The two Comportioners of Llanfair. Llanvaire-dal-Hairne, tithes, offerings, & glebe XX 0 0 Prebend's portion - ii vi viii 22 6 8 Deduct lactuals and procurations, ann. and trien. ■ 3 16 o Net - - 18 10 Q O Equal shares - - ■ 9 5 4 Tenth ----- - ■ 1 17 Of Prebendary of Meliden. Meliden, tithes, etc. - xviii 0 0 Prebend's portion - ii vi viii 20 6 8 Deduct sexta from Meliden to the Bishop _ 2 0 0 Net - _ _ 18 6 8 Tenth ----- _ 1 16 8 Canons. Tenth. Eic'us Harrison, prebendal portion - ii vi viii 0 4 8 Arthurus Bulkeley - ii vi viii 0 4 8 Adam Bekensall - - - - ii vi viii 0 4 8 Galfridus Euthyn ii vi viii 0 4 8 Ead'us Brikeved - - - - ii vi viii 0 4 8 Joh'es Gruffith ... - ii vi viii 0 4 8 David Owen, prebendal portion & "porcio de Myfod" - - - - iii X 0 Inde sexta et proc. trienn. - - - iii V Nett ----- iii vi vii 0 6 8 David ap Hoell, preb. por. and glebe ii X viii 0 5 Of The four Vicars Choral. St. Asaph, tithes and offerings xi xviii 0 Nanclyn - - - - - ii 0 0 Gothelwerne - XV iv V 29 2 5 Deduct sexta, lactuals, and procurations 2 4 5 Nett - 26 18 0 Equal shares, each - 6 14 6 „ tenth - 2 13 9£ These canons, it may here be noted, gave their names to their CHURCH OF ST. ASAPH. 201 respective stalls, which were known thenceforward as " Canonia lnia, David ap Howell"; "canonia 2da, Artnrii Bulkely", and so on. The archdeaconry, which was taken in cowmendam by Bishop Hughes, in 1573, continued so until the office was restored by an Order in Council in 1844, and subdivided into those of St. Asaph and Montgomery. In a chapter holden on the 25th of May, 1558, under the pre- sidency of Bishop Goldwell, some old ordinances relating to the members of the Cathedral and their duties (evidently those of Bishop Llewelyn ap Ynyr, a.d. 1296), to the following tenor, were unanimously confirmed : " Statuimus et ordinamus ut sint per- petuo in Ecclesia Catheclrali Assaphensi, unus decanus, xiv cano- nici (quorum unus sit archidiaconus, unus vice-decanus, unus precentor, unus thesaurarius), iv canonici minores sive vicarii chorales ; tres capellani sive vicarii deservituri curis decani, pre- bendarii de Vaymol et prebendarii de Llanufydd, et etiam ad interessendum singulis diebus tempore celebrationis divinorum ; unus organista, iv choristae, unus subsacrista sive aquae bajulus ; qui quideni in eadem ecclesia, numero subscripto, unusquisque in suo ordine juxta obligationem suam sedulo inserviat."1 In a subsequent chapter, held on the 8th of March, 1601, under the presidency of Bishop Morgan, " pro concionibus habenclis in Ecclesia Cathedrali Assaphensi,"2 the following scheme was agreed upon as to the number of sermons to be preached annu- ally in the Cathedral by the respective members of the chapter : the dean, six ; the archdeacon (i.e., the bishop), six ; the prebend- ary of Vaenol, five ; of Llannefydd, five ; of Meliden, five ; the comportioners of Llanfair, eight ; prebendary of Meifod, three ; each of the canons, two ; and the lord bishop on Ascension Day, All Souls' (17th of November), Christmas Day, and Good Friday. To this order for the Cathedral, Bishop John Owen, in a.d. 1630, added the following series of Welsh sermons, to be preached in the parish church, on the first Sunday in each month, by such members of the chapter as derived a portion of their income from the tithes of the parish : the bishop in November ; the dean in December, May, and August ; the prebendary of Vaenol in Janu- 1 Br. Willis, ii, 134, App. lviii. 2 Ibid., 149, App. lxi. 202 THE HISTORY OF THE CATHEDRAL ary, June, and September; the prebendary of Llannefydd in February and July ; the prebendary of Meifod in March ; the first vicar-choral in April, the second in October, the third on Easter Day, at matins ; and the fourth, at vespers, on Whitsun- day.1 The following extract from the Diary of Piers Roberts? who lived at this period at Bronwylfa, supplies an interesting illustration of the above arrangement : "6 Mar. 1630. A christening before Morning Prayers or High Service j upon which day Mr. Vicar Jones, Vicar Choral, made the first sermon in Welsh in the then p'ishe Churche of St. Asaph al's Llanelwy, by my Lord Bishop's orders and decree ; and my Lord Bishop preached in his Cathedral Churche that day." From the same source we gather the following further details : " Mem. That upon and in the week before Xmas, the four-footed waynscotte pulpitt was made and placed in ye chauncell or queere of ye Cathedral: and in Ffebruarie 1631 the bishops seate in ye southe syde, togethyr with seates or fformes, placed and sett for schollars and others, comers thither to heare divyne service and sermons there, were sett up by the Rev. ffather John Owen, L'd Bishop of Llanelwy. " 1635. Organ, St. Asaph. Mem. — That in ye beginninge of Octr. ye greate and newe organ in ye Cathedral Churche was sett up, and plaied upon ye same, beinge ffirst brought and carried thither from London upon Saturdaie the vth of Septr., the Rev. ffather L. John Owen being bishop. ' Magna silet campana sonant tamen organa Sancti Asaphei : Honor, gloria, laus Deo.' John Wilson ye organ player. " 1638. Pewes placed in the Cathedral, in the Southe Chapel al's Cappel Vair. " 1638. Greate timber trees earned out of Jannian Wood in Be- raigne...for and towards the making of a newe steeple lofft or bell- frye... which intended work pray God to prosper. " That in ye moneths of Oct'r and Nov'r ye steeple and bellfrye of ye cathedral churche and ye loffte there were repaired and boorded, and fframes of the 3 belles reedyfyed bye Ffoulke Llwyd the carpen- ter." Two more entries in the same diary introduce us at once to the troubles of the civil war, and the misfortunes of the Church from that period to the end of the Commonwealth : (1645.) "Upon Sondaie after Easter, Evan Evans, Clerk, being admitted Parson of Llanllwchaiarn...read the Articles of Religion agreed upon in 1562, for that he could not quietly yet repaire to Llan- 1 Br. Willis, ii, 150, App. lxi. 2 Ty-yn-y-Rhyl MSS. and Bodryddan MSS. in Arch. Comb. CHURCH OF ST. ASAPH. 203 llwchaiarn to read them there without danger of lieff and for feare of the enemies. " 1645. St. Asaph Rebellion : 'Libera nos, D'ne, a malo. Amen.' Mem. The 24, 25 and 26 daies of Aprill ye rebells, i. e.} S'r Wm. Brereton and Sir Thos. Middleton, Knyghtes, with their armies have plyndered St. Asaph and parishe, excepte Wicwer, and made greate spoyles," etc. The Diary of Richard Sijmonds, written about this time, and published by the Camden Society in 1859, gives the following- description of the Cathedral : "The quire is pretty handsome, but poore in respect of others. Upon the flore, near the north wall, at the east end of the quire, lyes the statue of a bishop cut in stone ; au arch over his head, a foot above the ground, with mitre aud crozier. The body of the Cathedral is rude and slovenly. Clay flore. Only a scurvy stone wall in the middle. No other monuments in the Church." The happily brief interval of the Puritan rule was an evil period for the Cathedral and its members. The chapter was abolished, its property confiscated, and the members deprived of their preferments. The bishop, too, besides being impeached and imprisoned, was fined £500 ; the episcopal property sold, and the palace turned into a posting house or inn ; the master of which, moreover, desecrated the Cathedral by using it as a stable for his horses and oxen. After the Eestoration Bishop Griffith set to work to repair the damage done, and built a new throne in lien of that which had been used for feeding the innkeeper's calves in. He also renewed, in 1662, the scheme of sermons drawn up by Bishop Morgan for the Cathedral in 1601 ; only substituting for the 17th of November the 29th of May, which had been just appointed to be kept as a day of public thanks- giving to Almighty God for having put an end to the Great Kebellion ; and adding the 30th of January, winch had also been set apart as a day of public fasting, in memory of the martyrdom of the late king, and " to implore the mercy of God that neither the guilt of that sacred blood, nor those other sins by which God was provoked to deliver up both us and our king into the hands of cruel and unreasonable men, may at any time hereafter be visited upon us or our posterity."1 1 These two services were discontinued by royal warrant dated January the 18th, 1859. 204 THE HISTORY OF THE CATHEDRAL Bishop Barrow, in 1678, procured an Act of Parliament for the appropriation of the rectory of Llanrhaiadr-yn-Mochnant to the repairs of the Cathedral and the better maintenance of the choir. From which it appears evident that the former appropriation made by Bishop Spridlington in 1380, for a similar purpose, had never taken effect ; owing, no doubt, to the destruction of the Cathedral so soon after by Owen Glyndwr. The Act,1 after reciting in the preamble that " The Cathedral Church of St. Asaph, by reason of the high and bleak situation thereof, near the sea, is much exposed to storms, and requireth great and frequent repairs, for defraying the charge w hereof there is not at present any competent maintenance, and that the in- come and allowance of the choir within the said church is likewise very small and inconsiderable," enjoins "that the advowson, patron- age, and right of presentation of and to the rectory of Llanrhayadr in Mochnant, in the counties of Denbigh and Montgomery, shall be and is hereby vested in the said dean and chapter of St. Asaph and their successors ; and that from and after the next avoidance thereof, the said rectory of Llanrhayader and all the gleab, tythes, issues, and profits thereof, shall be, and the same are hereby, vested in the said dean and chapter of St. Asaph and their successors for ever ; and they shall be and remain perpetual parsons and incumbents thereof, with- out any presentation, nomination, admission, induction of any other incumbents thereunto for the future ; and they shall hold the same as appropriated to this only intent and purpose, that the rents, issues, and profits of the same shall be by them from thenceforth, from time to time, for ever bestowed and employed to and for the satisfying and defraying the charge of the repairs of the said Cathedral Church of St. Asaph in the first place, and the residue of the said profits for the augmentation of the revenue of the choir thereof. And that until such vacancy of the rectory of Llanrhayader shall happen (but no longer), the rents, issues, and profits of the rectory of Skeiviog, in the county of Flint, with the appurtenances thereof, being now holden by the bishop in commendam, shall be appropriated and applied to and for the repairs of the said Cathedral Church, and for the augmentation of the said revenue of the said choir." Besides making this provision for the fabric, Bishop Barrow "repaired several parts of the Cathedral, especially the north and south isles, which he new covered with lead ; and caused the east parts of the choir to be wainscoted ; and laid out a con- siderable sum of money in building and repairs of the Palace and the mill belonging to it."2 1 Br. Willis, ii, 151, App. lxii. 1 Ibid., i, 120. See also p. 113 supra, for many other munificent acts of his. CHURCH OF ST. ASAPH. 205 From " The Presentment of the Members of the Chapter in Answer to the Articles of Visitation exhibited by the Right Reverend Father in God, Edward (Jones) Lord Bishop of St. Asaph, at his Primary Visitation in the Chapter House on the 14th day of September, 1694," we gather that " The constitution of the Cathedral was such that it consisted of one dean, one archdeacon, six prebendaries, seven canons, four petty canons, or otherwise called vicar-chorals, one organist, four singing men, four singing boys, one verger or subsacrista, and one organ- blower ; that they had no body of statutes then extant, but were governed by acts of chapter and the laudable customs of the Church ; that the prayers of the Church were duly celebrated, and the Holy Communion at least monthly administered ; that the Cathedral Church and all thereunto belonging was in good order and sufficient repaire ; and that perfect terriers had been delivered to his lordship's predeces- sor of all lands, houses, etc., belonging to the chapter or the members thereof." The " good order" and " sufficient repaire", however, were pro- bably not of a very high standard, otherwise Bishop Fleetwood (1708-1715) needed hardly so soon have "paved and flagged a great part" of it, as he did at his own expense,1 with " broad stone" from the Talacre quarries,2 besides laying out above £100 in adorning and painting the choir. Not long after this, on the 2nd of February, 1714-15, — "A violent storm or hurricane blew down the battlements and sheets of lead of the tower upon the roof of the quire, broke throw the same, beat down the tabernacle-work, aud shattered the stalls and organ, to the damage of three or four hundred pounds ; which, however, was soon repaired by the generosity and vigilance of the bishop (Wynn) and other dignitaries, who not only contributed largely themselves, but procured subscriptions from the neighbouring gentry and clergy ; insomuch that the breach was made up to better advantage, and the church rather benefited than damaged thereby, as it is daily improv- ing through the liberality of the present sett of members, who, being all natives except one, seem disposed to spare no zeal or cost to adorn their church, and render it ' the beauty of holiness.' "3 The same historian, Browne Willis, to whom we owe so much, has, in his minute description and measurements of the Cathe- 1 Br. Willis, i, 140. 2 " The stone and the carriage were the gift of Sir Pierce Mostyn, of Tal- acre, Bart." (B. W., MS. I, p. 55.) 3 Br. Willis, i, 143. K E 206 THE HISTORY OF THE CATHEDRAL dral about the year 1720, supplied us with the details of many interesting features, some of which have since been removed by alterations and restorations.1 Thus he writes of the choir as " Extending beyond the tower eastward, and having no side-isles or vestry appendant, except the Chapter House, which opens into it through the seats on the north side, about the middle, and has a room over it which is not used.... The roof of the choir is ceiled with boards nayled to the Joyces under the couples, painted white, without any framing ; and (that of) the body of the Church is of compass work. The upper part, over the arches of the great isle or nave, is of a newer work than the lower, and not of the same piece with the arches ; and the east window of the choir is of a different architecture from the windows of the Chapter House.2 From the two western pillars (that support the steeple) to the steps that lead to the choir, is eight yards and two feet. From the steps to the folding doors that open into the choir is five feet three inches ; on each side of which steps are two vestries, within the area of the steeple : that on the north side is in length three yards, from east to west ; and the opposite one, on the south side, two yards. Both rooms are on a square, and reach to the east end of the two great eastern pillasters, which support the steeple, where the screen of the choir begins. From the entrance of the choir to the west door that leads to the stalls is five feet. The length of the choir from the entrance to the steps that lead to the altar is forty feet nine inches. From beyond the stalls up to the altar, and also round the altar, the wall is covered with wainscot well finished with Belection work, which is painted, as are also the stalls. Over the door that leads into the choir is the organ (set up in 1714), within the arch, which is closed up with wainscot towards the nave.' The dimensions of the window also bespeak lancets in the nave-aisles as wTell as in the choir. The tower, ninety-three feet high, had frames for eight bells, but contained only two, inscribed respectively ' Thomas Roberts fecit ex Decreto et impensis Capituli Asaphensis, 1681,' and ' Ha3 duae Campanae e tribus conflatse sunt.' The three earlier ones were said to have been brought from Wrexham in exchange for a very large bell, which bore the inscription, ' Dicas Bodlewiddan,' pro- bably in commemoration of the donor and his residence."3 In 1780, during Bishop Shipley's time, considerable alterations 1 MS. Book I in Bishop's Library, pp. 56, 57. 2 An unpublished view of the Cathedral from the north east, taken by Moses Griffith before the alterations made in the year 1780, and now in the Downing- Library, has the east window of the Cathedral a Perpendicular, and the north window of the Chapter House an early pointed triplet, similar to those which Mr. G. G. Scott has reproduced (18G9) on the north and south sides of the chancel in his recent restoration. a Br. Willis, i, 14 seq. CHURCH OF ST. ASAPH. 207 were made both externally and internally. The old Chapter House was taken down, and the south wall of the choir rebuilt ; the choir itself was renovated, and a new throne and pulpit erected. During the alterations the figure of a bishop, in his episcopal vestments, was " re-discovered, and removed from the south side of the high altar to one of the pillars in the broad aisle."1 Fresh works were continually carried out by way of renova- tion and repair during the first quarter of this century. A rere- dos of wood was set up about the year 1810, and other alterations made, under the direction of Mr. Turner, architect. In 1815 a special Act of Parliament was procured to enable the dean and chapter to borrow money to pay off encumbrances incurred on account of past, and to meet the expenses of further improve- ments. About the year 1822 the open roof of the nave and aisles was ceiled over with stucco, after the plans of Mr. Lewis Wyatt of London ; and about the year 1830 the choir was extended so as to take in the portion under the tower ; the old wooden screen taken down, and a new one, of stone, erected at the intersection of the tower and nave ; and on it a new organ set up in lieu of the old one, which was presented by the dean and chapter to the parish church, and now occupies the north gallery therein. In 1832 (2 William IV) a commission was appointed to inquire into the ecclesiastical revenues of England and Wales. From their Report, made in 1835, and calculated " on an average of three years ending on the 31st Dec. 1831," we learn from Table I, that the average gross }Tearly income of the see and of the ecclesiastical preferments annexed thereto2 was - - - 7408 0 0 Permanent yearly payments thereout - - 1107 0 0 Net yearly income - - - - 6301 0 0 1 Br. Willis, i, 1 6, 22. This effigy, previously described, from Symonds' Diary (p. 203 supra), and generally supposed to be that of Bishop David ap Owen, is most likely, to judge from its character, either that of Anian II, the re- builder of the Cathedral, or that of Llywelyn ap Ynyr (de Bromfield), who rearranged its services. 2 The rectorial tithes of Abergele, Bettws, Llangwstenin, Disserth, and Newmarket, attached to the archdeaconry; and the rectories of Llandrinio and Pennant accustumably held in commendam. 208 THE HISTOKY OF THE CATHEDRAL the greater part of which (£5,974) arose from tithes, which, however, had gradually declined since the year 1827, when they amounted to £6,636 : 0 : 0. By a supplemental statement it further appeared that "the income of the see was lower in 1834 by £1,022 : 0 : 0 than in 1831, and there seemed no prospect of improvement." Table II, containing the corporate incomes of deans and chapters, that the average gross yearly in- come of the dean and chapter - - - 1462 0 01 Average yearly payments charged thereupon - 823 0 0 Eeserved yearly for repairs, etc., and not divided 257 0 0 Average net yearly income, subject to temporary- charges2 - - - - - 382 0 0 The corporation consisted of the dean and thirteen prebendaries, who divided the net income equally. Table III, giving the separate revenues not contained in Table II, that Aver, gross yearly Fines on Renewal Income, exclusive Aver. Net. of Lenses during of Shares iu II. the 3 Years, in ad- dition to Av. Net. £ s. d. £ d. £ s. d. Deanery ... 1539 0 0 . ..1185 0 0 .. Prebends. Vaenol 51 0 0 . .. 51 0 0 .. . 369 0 0 Llannefydd - 74 0 0 . .. 65 0 0 .. . 41 0 0 Meliden ... 46 0 0 . .. 16 0 0 .. . 170 0 0 Llanfair-tal-haiarn, 1st comportion 79 0 0 . .. 79 0 0 ... . 97 0 0 „ 2nd comportion 31 0 0 . .. 31 0 0 . 41 0 0 Meifod 7 0 0 . .. 7 0 0 Cur sal Canonries. Adam Bekensall 8 0 0 . .. 7 0 0 .. . 54 0 0 Arthur Bulkeley 6 0 0 . .. 5 0 0 .. . 34 0 0 David ap Howell 6 0 0 . .. 6 0 0 .. . 27 0 0 Galfridus Buthin 7 0 0 . .. 6 0 0 .. . 84 0 0 John Griffith - 6 0 0 . .. 5 0 0 .. Rad. Birkenhead 6 0 0 . .. 6 0 0 .. . 39 0 0 Richard Harrison 6 0 0 . .. 6 0 0 .. . 17 0 0 There were no residences attached, except in the case of the deanery, and the duties were limited to an occasional turn in preaching, either in person or by deputy. In close connexion with this inquiry, two other Commissions were issued in 1835, — 1, "to consider the state of the several dioceses in England and Wales, with reference to the amount of 1 Including the appropriation of Llanrhaiadr, .£1,080. 2 Such were interest and annuities, amounting together to .£179 : 18 : 10 p. a. on the sum borrowed under 54 G. Ill for repairing Cathedral. CHURCH OF ST. ASAPH. 20D their revenues and the more equal distribution of episcopal duties ; and the prevention of the necessity of attaching, by com- mendam, to bishoprics benefices with cure of souls ; and 2, to consider also the state of the several cathedral and collegiate churches, with a view to the suggestion of such measures as might render them more conducive to the efficiency of the Established Church ; and to devise the best mode of providing for the cure of souls, with special reference to the residence of the clergy on their respective benefices." Some of the fruits of their recom- mendations have been already noticed j1 but that which concerns us most closely here is "An Act for regulating the Cathedral Churches in Wales," passed 22nd Aug. 1843 (6th and 7th Vict., cap. 77). By this Act certain provisions of two earlier ones (3rd and 4th Vict., c. 113, and 4th and 5th Vict., c. 39) were modified, explained, and supplemented to the effect, 1 . " That in each of the chapters of the cathedral churches of St. Asaph, Bangor, St. David's, and Llandaff, there shall be four canonries residentiary, and no more ; and such canonries residentiary shall be in the direct patronage of the respective bishops. 2. " That so soon as conveniently might be after the passing of the Act, arrangements should be made for permanently annexing two of such four canonries residentiary, in such cathedral churches respect- ively, to two archdeaconries in the respective dioceses in which such churches are situate. 3. " That the dean of each of the said four cathedral churches shall be the head of the chapter thereof, and shall have precedence over all other members of the chapter ; and that such dean dud the canons residentiary respectively of each such church shall possess and may exercise all the like rights, power, and authority, as are and may be possessed and exercised by the dean and canons respectively of any cathedral church in England founded by King Henry VIII. 4. " That the average annual incomes of the said deans and canons residentiary shall be of the same amounts respectively as are fixed as the average annual incomes of the deans and canons respectively of the cathedral churches of St. David's and Llandaff;2 and that the pro- visions of the said recited Acts respecting the augmentation of the incomes of deans and canons shall be construed to authorise the aug- mentation of the incomes of the respective deans and canons resi- 1 P. 153 seq. - The Act 3 and 4 Vict., c. 113, fixed the average annual income of the deans of St. David's and Llandaff at <£700, and that of the canons of the same cathedrals at =£350 respectively. 210 THE HISTORY OF THE CATHEDRAL dentiary aforesaid, out of the common fund in the said first recited Act mentioned. 5. " That it shall be lawful to provide out of the same fund one fit house at St. Asaph, Bangor, and Llandaff respectively, as a house of residence for the use of the canons resident iary, and also a fit house of residence for the dean of Llandaff. 6. " That from and after the passing of this Act the dignity and office of archdeacon of St. Asaph1 shall no longer be holden by the bishop of St. Asaph ; that the dignities and offices of archdeacon of Bangor and archdeacon of Anglesea shall be dissevered from the bishop- ric of Bangor, and be no longer holden by the bishop, and the arch- deaconry of Anglesea shall be incorporated with and form part of the archdeaconry of Bangor ; and that the dignity and office of archdeacon of Llandaff be separated from the deanery of Llandaff." This scheme, whilst aiming at a restoration of the original principle of a resident council for the bishop, materially altered its character in the process. Instead of the old prebendal canons, who represented the members of the original collegium, and as deriving their prebendce from the extensive districts once directly subject to it, were therefore, in theory at least, and probably in fact also, until the destruction of their houses, first by Edward's soldiers, and then by Glyndwr, intimately concerned in the wel- fare of the surrounding parishes, four residentiary canons were substituted, who should each be bound to a three months' resi- dence, however large or important, or distantly situated, their own parishes might be ; two of whom, the archdeacons, had addi- tional duties to discharge, and extra calls upon their time and services. The cursal canons, that is, those with cure of souls (acura salutis") elsewhere, representing as they did, in theory, the wider and more important diocesan element in the council, and deriving, as such, from the common fund a share sufficient to defray the expenses of their journeys to attend the chapter meet- ings at a time when the chapter was really the bishop's council and an influence in the Church, were relegated to the domain of honorary members, apparently without duties as well as without emolument. It may, however, be questioned whether the title "Honorary Canons", by which they have since been distin- guished, though sufficiently indicative of their position, is a cor- 1 By virtue of a provision in 3 and 4 Vict., cap. 113, this was subdivided into those of St. Asaph and Montgomery. CHUUCH OF ST. ASAPH. 211 rect application of the title in their case, seeing that the Act 3 and 4 Vict., which effected the change in the cathedral constitu- tions, founded Honorary Canonries only in those cathedrals " in which there were not already founded any non-residentiary pre- bends, dignities, or offices";1 and where such did previously exist, it only abolished the emoluments, hut did not suspend the offices themselves ; so that the more correct title would seem, in this case, to be their old name of Canons Cursal. This modification of the constitution of the chapter is appro- priately followed by some account of the recent renovation of the fabric, carried out under the direction of Mr. Gilbert Scott, who has restored to the chancel and choir much of their original character. The main features of this restoration, which may be ascribed to the improved taste and feeling of the day rather than to any actual decay or deficiencies in the edifice itself, may be briefly described as, externally, new casing the walls, and substi- tuting the characteristic lancets and cornice of the early English period of Edward the First's cathedral for the poor and ill pro- portioned windows and battlemented parapet introduced during the alterations in the earlier part of this century ; and internally, as throwing open the Cathedral, so as to render it available for divine service throughout its entire length from east to west, by taking down the stone screen which separated the choir from the nave ; removing the organ, which stood upon it, to the north transept ; substituting open seats for the pews which had pre- viously occupied the chancel, and seating the nave with chairs. The roof of the chancel has also been ceiled in paneled oak, to the cradled form of the old timber framing ; and the portion under the tower vaulted in oak, in lieu of the previous stucco, and made to spring from carved corbels representing angels. The old oak stalls, with their fine tabernacle-work, have been cleaned from the paint which had so long encrusted them, and some new ones added. A new and well carved throne and pulpit, and a ricli eagle-lectern of brass, have also been contributed ; and there still remains a beautiful reredos in the artist's hands. The floor 1 These are specified in 4 and 5 Vict, as Canterbury, Bristol, Carlisle, Chester, Durham, Ely, Gloucester, Norwich, Oxford, Peterborough, Eipon, Rochester, Winchester, Worcester, and the new foundation of Manchester. 212 THE HISTORY OF THE CATHEDRAL has been paved with rich encaustic tiles inlaid with bands of polished Anglesea marble ; or, perhaps it should be said, repaved, as some of the tiles are exact reproductions of old ones found in the debris during the course of the work. The chancel is raised one step above the choir, and the sacrarium several steps above the chancel, each step being faced with one of the opening sen- tences of the "Te Deum," culminating in the glorious "Ter Sanctus." The sedilia have been restored from fragments dis- covered in the old work ; and the same thing may be said of the two western windows of the chancel, into which the stonework of the origin als, found in piercing the walls, has been worked up. This restoration, which has been carried out mainly through the exertions of the Dean, has been effected at an outlay of rather more than £6,000/ inclusive of £360 for the throne and pulpit ; the former of which, as testified by a Latin inscription,2 is a memorial to Bishop Beveridge (1704-1708) ; and the latter in honour of Bishop Short (1846-1870) ; £365 for the encaustic 1 A printed subscription list, issued by the Committee in 1868, gives the following contributions of .£100 and upwards : Dean and Chapter, from the Fabric Fund ... i>500 Bishop Short, two new windows, exclusive of the stained glass - 200 Dean Bonnor, ,£100 each to choir, nave, and Chapter House. Addi- tional subscription, ,£10 ------ 340 E. J. Sisson, Esq., to General Fund, .£100 ; windows, .£112; peal of bells, <£ 100 312 G. Willoughby Hemans, Esq., Gen. Fund, .£160 ; window, .£90 - 250 Archdeacon Ffoulkes - 250 Earl of Powis, conditionally on three more laymen contributing the same - -- -- -- - 250 Earl of Dudley, on the above condition - 250 Sir Hugh Williams, oak roof of nave, .£100 ; new Chapter House, .£100 200 Lord Sudeley ; Sir Stephen E. Glynne, Bart. ; Sir Watkin "Williams Wynn,Bart.,M.P.; Mrs. Williams Wynn of Cefn; H.E.Hughes, Esq., Kinmel j Edmund Peel, Esq. ; C. W. Wyatt, Esq., each give 100 Baroness Windsor; Lady Willoughby de Broke; Miss Mesham; Mrs. Lloyd of Ehagget; Mrs. Nanney ( + «£38); T. Mainwaring, M.P.; Jesus College, Oxford; Canon Morgan Davies; Hugh Jones, Esq.; Eev. W. C. E. Kynaston, each - - 50 2 " Quod ejus pietatis, doctrines, modestise monumentum foret posteris hanc Sedeni Pontiflcalem in memoriam viri vere apostolici, Gulielmi Beveridge, S. T. P., Episcopi Assav. poncndatn curaverunt Ecclesise Anglicanse alumni." CHURCH OF ST. ASAPH. 213 tiles, and £180 for improvements in the organ: but exclusive of such special gifts and offerings as the reredos, presented by Mr. Bamford-Hesketh ; the lectern, by Miss Mesham ; the Dean's stall, by the Messrs. Maurice ; that of the Archdeacon, anony- mously; two canons' stalls, by the Eev. Elis Price, in memory of ancestors who had once filled them ; the altar-rails, by Mrs. Stur- key; the altar-cloth, by Mrs. H. P. Ffoulkes; and the two memo- rial windows given by Mr. E. J. Sisson and Mr. Willoughby Hemans.1 To this it only remains to add some further account of the Cathedral as it now is, A.D. 1870, in order to complete this por- tion of the work. The ground-plan is that of a cross, and consists of chancel, nave with north and south aisles, north and south transepts, and central tower, under which is the choir ; the dimensions of the several parts being : Length. Breadth. Height. Chancel - - 61 ... 34 ... 40 Choir - - - 35 ... 29 ... 37 Nave and aisles 86 ... 68 ... 45 Transepts - - 108 ... 33 ... 40 Extreme length, 182 ft.; height of tower, 100 ft.; area, 11,600 ft.; cubic inches in the whole space, 324,976. The external outline is simple; but from its commanding position and the massive character of the embattled tower, which forms a conspicuous landmark to all the surrounding country, it pos- sesses a certain quiet dignity often wanting in larger and more attractive churches. The clerestory, which still remains on the south side, is formed of small squares filled with octofoiled tracery, that on the north having disappeared during the altera- tions of 1822. The tower, which has a small stair-turret on its north-east angle, and a Decorated window on each face, contains two bells only ; but to atone for its deficiency in this respect, it commands a glorious view of the vale, the mountains, and the 1 At the re -opening services on the 30th Sept. 1869, the English sermon was preached by the eloquent Bishop of Oxford (Wilberforce), and the Welsh one by the Bishop of Bangor (Campbell), when the thrilling effect of the grand " Old Hundredth" ("Yr Hen Ganfed") stirred in many hearts a longing for the day when Welsh services should be regularly held in the mother church of the Welsh diocese. FF 214 THE HISTORY OF THE CATHEDRAL sea. The new windows of the chancel are Early Pointed in style, and consist of a triplet and two double lancets on each side. The great east and west windows are of the Decorated period, with flowing tracery ; and the north and south windows of the transept are also Decorated, but with tracery of a geometrical character. Internally, the want of height in the nave, produced by the modern stucco ceiling, which excludes the clerestory range, gives it a character of poverty and ill proportion ; the more striking from the plainness of the arches, which rise in continuous mould- ings, without pillars or capitals, from pediment to apex. This, however, it is proposed to remedy, as soon as funds are available, by restoring the nave to its original design, renewing the win- dows, and paneling the roof in oak so as to show the clerestory.1 The north transept is used partly as an or^an chamber, partly as a vestry for the members of the choir. The Organ, first erected by Hill of London in 1834, stood formerly upon the stone screen under the western arch of the tower. Considerable improve- ments were made in it both in 1846 and 1859 ; and on its recent removal to its present site, a further outlay2 has tended to render it as rich in power as it was previously in quality of tone. The south transept (originally St. Mary's, or the Lady Chapel) is used as the Consistory Court ; and also contains the Library, since its removal from the old Chapter House. The books number nearly seventeen hundred volumes, and consist chiefly of theological works of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries;3 besides copies of rolls, records, acts of Parliament, and other public documents, printed by the Eecord and other commissions, it possesses also a copy of the " Sealed Book of Common Prayer," and a valuable series of Welsh editions of the Bible and Prayer Book ;4 but it is almost entirely wanting in modern standard works. Of the memorials to the departed by which it is adorned^the 1 It is also proposed to build a Chapter House, to be connected by a cloister with, the south transept. 2 JB180 collected by Mr. Atkins, the organist. 8 Bishop Fleetwood used to give the " Mortuaries", before their abolition in 1712, for the purchase of books, to which others have been added by Pre- bendaries Clopton and Bouchery and Bishop Short. 1 Presented by the Eev. Dr. Briscoe, vicar of Whitford. CHURCH OF ST. ASAPH. 215 most striking as well as most appropriate are the painted win- dows. The beautiful east window, of seven lights, was erected to the memory of Bishop Carey by his sisters, Susanna Levett and Anna Sheepshanks, in 18G4, and has, as its central subject, the Ascension of our Lord. This is surrounded by twelve inci- dents in His life and teaching. Medallions representing the seven w^orks of mercy fill the tracery ; and the whole is crowned by his exaltation on the throne of David. On the north side of the chancel, the most eastern window (of two lights) represents Martha and Mary (St. Luke x, 42), and was erected by Bishop Short to the rneniory of his wife, " Mary Short, who died Aug. 16, 1848," and lies buried near the western door ; and corresponding to it, on the south side, is one representing " The Unbelief of St. Thomas" (St. John xx, 27), also erected by him at the same time. Xext to this is represented, in two lights, " The Magda- len" (St. Matt, xiv, 8), and " Our Lord at the Grave of Lazarus" (St. John xi, 25), to the memory of Susan Maria Sisson,died 18G5 ; and opposite to it, on the north side, " Felicia Hemans" is appro- priately honoured, by the filial affection of her son, with vivid representations of the sacred songs of Moses and Miriani (Exod. xv, 2), and of Deborah and Barak (Judges v, 3). The west win- dow of the nave has eight medallions illustrative of the life of our Lord, and was erected by subscription in honour of " Rowland Williams, M.A., canon of this Cathedral," 1856. That of the south aisle, representing " The Good Shepherd and Christ bless- ing little Children," is to the memory of Caroline Jane Bonner, 1865. In the south transept the principal window is filled with quarries, the tracery illustrating the Beatitudes ; and is the gift of Messrs. Hughes & Ward, the artists who supplied all the painted glass in the Cathedral, except that of the west window, which is by Gibbs. The armorial bearings in the other windows were removed hither from the chancel, when the present beauti- ful memorial to Bishop Carey was substituted. Among the monuments may be noticed the following. In the south transept, the episcopal effigy already mentioned as existing formerly in the chancel, and representing probably either Anian II or Llewelyn ap Ynyr ; and a life-sized effigy of Dean Shipley, in a sitting posture, executed by Ternouth. and erected by public 216 HISTORY OF THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF ST. ASAPH. subscription.1 In the north transept, the Luxmoore monument, a high, canopied tomb, which cost £1,500, commemorates the bishop, dean, and canon of that family ; tablets to members of the families of Lloyd of Pengwern and Berth Llwyd, 1763, 1795 ; Thelwall, 1775 ; and a slab to Leche of Carden.2 In the nave, a floriated cross to the memory of Dean Clough, 1859 ; tablets to members of the families of Price of Vaenol and Ehiwlas, 1732 ; Browne of Bronwylfa, — among them General Sir Henry Browne, died 1855 ; and Felicia Hemans, the poetess, buried at St. Anne's, Dublin, but commemorated here both by a window and a tablet ; " Sir John Williams, 1830, and Dame Margaret, his wife, 1835," by Westmacott ; Captain Whiteman Thomas, 1867, "by his brother officers"; and others to Wyatt, Bythel, Blewer, Jones, Webster. In the Cemetery are the tombs of Bishops, Barrow near the west door, and Bagot and Carey in the south-east angle, between the chancel and transept. Bishops Morgan, Parry, and Owen, have neither monument nor memorial to mark their last resting-place ! ' The cost was about ,£600. 2 To this transept has been removed a massive sepulchral slab, found during the recent restoration beneath the floor of the choir. It bears a curious representation of a hare pursued by a hound; and on an armorial shield has a lion gardant, and four fleurs-de-lis ; but no legend. Another slab, found at the same time, bearing a floriated cross, and underneath it a flat leaden cir- cular box-cover or lid, with a hand, in benediction, rudely cut or scratched upon it. It probably marked the grave of Bishop Spridlington, who " died at his Palace at Gralltmelyden, 9 April, 1381, and appointed his body to be interred in his cathedral church, under a flat stone in the choir, lying equal with the pavement." — B. Willis, i, 69. THE BISHOPS, A EC H DEACONS, AND CHANCELLORS, OF THE DIOCESE, AND THE DEANS, PREBEND ARIES, CANONS, AND VICARS-CHORAL, OF THE CATHEDRAL. 219 THE BISHOPS. a.d. 560. — Cyndeyrn (Kbntigernus), a northern Briton, disciple of St. Serf, and founder of the see of Penrhyn Rhionydd (Glasgow). Being driven thence he became the founder of Llanelwy ; but was soon recalled, and continued to preside over Glasgow till his death, a.d. 612. He is still commemorated there under the title of "St. Mungo" (Mwyngu) "the Amiable." Life. — 1. A fragment by a monk unknown, between a.d. 1147- 1161, in Glasgow Cartulary , vol. i, pp. 78-86. 2. By Joscelin of Furness, c. a.d. 1180, in Pinkertons Vitce SS. Scot., pp. 195 seq. 3. Based upon Joscelin's in Capgrave, X. L. A., 207; and Act. SS., Jan. 13, i, 815; from Councils, i, 157. a.d. 570. — Asaph or Asa, a disciple of Cyndeyrn, is said to have written the Ordinances of his Church, the Life of St.Keatigem, and some other works; and is memorable for the saying attributed to him, " Quicunque verbo Dei adversantur, saluti hominum invi- dent." The parish churches of Llanasa and Llanelwy are dedi- cated to him in connexion with St. Cyndeyrn. Life. — In Acta SS., Maii, torn, i, p. 82, Antv. 1860; and a fragment in Llyfr Coch. a.d. 600. — Tysilio, son of Brochwel Ysgythrog, Prince of Powys, is supposed to have succeeded Asaph. He founded a church at Meifod, near his father's castle of Mathraval, and organised the district of which it was the head. The daughter church of Llan- dysilio, and many others, record him as their founder and patron saint. To him has been assigned one of the ancient Welsh chron- icles, which is printed in the Myvyrian Archaiology under the name of " Brut Tysilio." But it is difficult to ascertain his por- tion of the work, whether he was the original compiler of the chronicle which was afterwards edited by Walter de Mapes, and amplified by Geoffrey of Monmouth, or whether he wrote a con- tinuation of the original work. The only remains of his poetry 220 BISHOPS OF THE DIOCESE. consist of a dialogue between two monks, which is also printed in the Myvyrian Archaiology. For Life and authorities, see Williams's Eminent Welshmen. c. a.d. 800. — "Renchidus, mentioned without a see, but in conjunc- tion with Elbod of Bangor by one MS. of Nennius, may have been Bishop of St. Asaph." — Councils, i, 144. a.d. 928. — Cebur, Bishop of St. Asaph, is mentioned in the preface to the Laws of Hywel Dda as accompanying that prince to Rome to see if those laws were consistent with the Law of God. c. a.d. 1070. — "Melanus Llanelvensis, said by the chapter of St. David's to have been consecrated by ' Bedwd' (apparently Bleid- dud), Bishop of St. David's." — Councils, i, 144. a.d. 1143. — Gilbert, consecrated at Lambeth by Theobald, Archbishop of Canterbury. The first bishop of this see to derive his orders from England. a.d. 1152. — Geoffrey (the well known Archdeacon) of Monmouth. Galefridus or Galffrai ab Arthur was family priest of William Earl of Gloucester, lord of Glamorgan, and consecrated by Arch- bishop Theobald at Lambeth, a.d. 1152, but died at Llandaff before taking possession of his see. Brut y Tywysogion records of him, in ann. 1152, that "he was a mau whose like could not be found for learning and knowledge and all divine excellence on account of which an archdeaconry was conferred upon him in the church of Teilo at Llandaff, where he was the instructor of many scholars and chieftains." He is famous for his version of the British Chronicle (BrutTysilio), which he remodelled from another version by Walter Mapes, Archdeacon of Oxford; it is printed in the Myvyrian Archaiology as Brut Gruffydd ab Arthur. — Councils, i, 360, and Eminent Welshmen. a.d. 1154. — Richard, a Friar, but of what order is not known, was also consecrated by Archbishop Theobald. a.d. 1158. — Godfrey, a nominee of Henry II. — " Paupertate et infes- tatione Walensium compulsus," he deserted his see, a.d. 1165, probably owing to the successes of Owen Gwynedd, and received from the king the abbey of Abingdon to hold in commendam. Continuing to exercise episcopal functions, he incurred thereby the odium of his brethren ; and was suspended, a.d. 1170, by the Pope for joining in the coronation of Prince Henry " contra jura Cantuariensia." He became obnoxious to Archbishop Becket for absolving certain persons whom he had excommunicated, and is described by Wharton as of ill repute everywhere. " Mercena- rius episcopus vulgo habitus ; quique canones ecclesiasticos aut nesciret aut lucro oblato parum curaret." Finalty, being com- plained of by his clergy for non-residence, and compelled to elect between the see and the abbey, he chose the latter, and was almost immediately afterwards deprived of that also. BISHOPS OF THE DIOCESE. 221 1175. — Adam, a Canon of Paris, where he had been a fellow student with Giraldus (Cambrensis). He was consecrated by Archbishop Richard, attended the Council at Westminster in 1177, and that at the Lateran in 1179. Died in 1181, and was buried atOsney. 1183.— John I. 1 1 SO. — Reyner,1 a Benedictine monk, consecrated by Archbishop Baldwin, whom he attended in his celebrated Visitation of the diocese, 1188. 122-). — Abraham. 1235. — Hugh, consecrated in Reading Abbey on the same day with the famous Robert Grosseteste, or Greathead, Bishop of Lincoln. 1240. — Howel, son of Ednyfed, Lord of Abergele and Baron of Bryn- ffanigl, was consecrated at Boxgrave Abbey. During his time Wales was conquered by Henry III, and the Welsh bishops and clergy, siding with their countrymen, had their bishoprics and churches so despoiled and destroyed, that they were forced to beg their bread, and live upon the alms of others. Howel died in 1247, at Oxford, and was buried, like his countryman Adam, at Osney Abbey. 1 219. — Anian I, or Eixion. The King (Henry III) began to assume the same prerogative in the election of the bishops, both here and at St. David's, as he had hitherto exercised in England; both issuing a license to the dean and chapter to elect, and requiring them also to seek his confirmation of the election.2 12G7.— John II (on the authority of Whartou, p. 323). 12G8. — Anian II, ude Schonau" " Y Braivd du o Nannau" as he was more familiarly known, a Dominican friar, and confessor to Edward I in the Holy Land. " Longe fortissimus privilegiorum Sedis sua? vindex et assertor." — Lib. Antiq., MS. de Hergest. 1293. — Llewelyn ap Ynyr (Leolinus de Bromfield), a Canon of St. i I *'i/.h. Having been elected during a vacancy in the archiepiscopal see of Canterbury, he received the royal license for his confirmation by the Prior and Chapter on May 9th, and was consecrated there 1 " It would appear from an Inspexiinus Charter of Archbishop Peckharn that there were two Reyners bishops of St. Asaph in succession. Mr. Hardy, in his edition of Le Neve's Fasti (i, 66), makes a remark which shews that he suspected something of the kind, on the ground that Bishop Reyner (if only one person) must have sat for the unusual term of thirty-eight years." — Eyton's Shropshire, x, 342. In the absence of more definite information, however, I abstain from adding the second name. 8 On Anian's death, in 1266, the temporalities of the see were entrusted to one Meurig, whose agreement with the chapter relating thereto is given in Councils, i, 495. From Peniarth MS. of Llyfr COch. GG 222 BISHOPS OF tup: diocese. by the Bishop of London on Whit-Sunday. He bore an import- ant part in the resettlement of the Chureh after the annexation, and "bequeathed much goods and ornaments to his church, canons, and chaplains." 1314. — Dafydd ap Bleddyn, Canon of St. Asaph. 1352.1 — John Trevor I. Nominated by Pope Clement VI first to a canonry, and then to the bishopric. 1357. — Llewelyn ap Madoc ab Elis, Dean of St. Asaph. 1376. — William de Spridlington, Dean of St. Asaph, 1357. Previ- ously rector of Spridlington in Lincolnshire, and of Weldon in Northamptonshire, and prebendary of Lincoln. Appointed to the bishopric by provision of Gregory XI, Feb. 4th, 1376; made profession of obedience at Lambeth, April 29th, and was conse- crated May 25th. He died at his palace at Alltmeliden (Llys), April 9th, 1382, and was buried in the choir of the Cathedral. 1382. — Lawrence Child, LL.B., a Benedictine monk of Battle Abbey. Conge cVelire dated May 19; confirmation by Archbishop Court- ney, June 18; received the spiritualities Oct. 2, and the tempor- alities Oct. 20, 1382. 1390. — Alexander Bache, S. T. P., of the Order of Preaching Friars, and confessor to Richard II. Designated by the King in a conge d'elire, dated Jan. 13, 1390, he demanded consecration from the Archbishop (Courtney) ; but was refused, and had to wait until he had received the papal confirmation of Boniface IX, after wThich he was consecrated at Westminster on May 8. He died in August, 1394, and was buried in the House of the Grey Friars at Hereford. His will is given in Browne Willis, App. xliv. 1395. — John Trevor II received the temporalities July 6, and the spiritualities Oct. 15, 1395. For the important events of his episcopate, see p. 65 seq. He was buried in the chapel of the Infirmary of the Abbey of St. Victoire, Paris, with the following epitaph, " Hie jacet Reverendus in Christo, Pater, Johannes Epis- copus Herefordensis in Wallia, qui obiit a.d. 1410 die Veneris x mensis Aprilis ; cujus anima feliciter requiescat in pace. Amen." 1411. — Robert de Lancaster, A bbot of Valle Crucis (as appears from a contemporary Register in the Hengwrt MSS. 133); consecrated at Lincoln by Archbishop Arundel, June 28, 1411. 1 According to the Chronicle of Wales, one Ephraim was bishop of St. Asaph in 1332; and according to a record in the Tower (1 Bichard III), one Henry in 134-7. But these arc both mistakes, — the former probably for Abra- ham (1232), and Henry Menevensis (St. David's); for in 1336 David is the bishop mentioned in Edward the Third's grant of land, and it was he who confirmed the appropriation of Nantglyn (p. 61). BISHOPS OF THE DIOCESE. 223 1433. — John Lowe, S. T. P., Provincial of the Austin Friars; born in Worcestershire, and educated at Droitwich (in a convent of that order) and Oxford. Nominated by papal provision, August 17, 1433; and consecrated, Nov. 1, by Archbishop Chicheley. Trans- lated in 1443 (the first instance of translation from this see) to Rochester, where he died, and was buried in the Cathedral in 1467. Bishop Lowe was a learned man, and " wrote divers good works. He was also a careful searcher after good books, so that divers copies of some ancient fathers had utterly perished but for his diligence."1 1444. — Reginald Pecock, S. T. P. Born at Laugharne in Carmar- thenshire, he was educated at Oriel College, Oxford, of which he became a fellow ; promoted to this see by papal provision, bull dated 22 April, 1444; received the temporalities June 8, and was consecrated at Croydon on the 14th; translated to Chichester in 1449, and deprived in 1457. (See p. 71 supra.) Life by J. Lewis; see also Browne Willis, i, 80; Lives ofArch- bishops of Canterbury, vol. v; Milman's Annals of St. Paul. I 4-30. — Thomas Knight, Prior of Daventry, 1444; which office he was allowed to hold with his bishopric until 1460, when he was de- prived of the former for non-residence, and of the latter for his politics. 1471. — Richard Redman, S. T. P., Abbot of Shapp in Westmoreland, and Visitor-General of the Premonstratensian Order. Born in Hertfordshire, he became chaplain to Bishop Gray of Ely, who promoted him, in 1455, to the rectory of Kershull, and in 1458 to that of Stretham in that diocese. He was consecrated to this see, Oct. 13, 1471, and being allowed to hold his abbacy in com- mendam, was the better able to carry out his great work of restor- ing the ruined Cathedral. Translated to Exeter in 1495, and thence to Ely in 1501. 1495. — Michael Diacon, Confessor to Henry VII, consecrated 11 Jan. 1495, and buried in Westminster Abbey. 1500. — Davydd ab Iouwerth, Abbot of Llanegwest, i. e., Valle Crucls, consecrated April 26, 1500, died 1503. " While he presided over the abbey he was distinguished for his hospitality and patronage of the Welsh bards." (See Archaiologia Cambrensis, i, 26.) 1503. — Davydd ab Owen, LL.D., Abbot of Abercomvay ( or Maenan). lie had been educated at Oxford, and became abbot, first, either of Ystrad Marchell, or its daughter house of Valle Crncis, and afterwards of Aberconway. Appointed to the bishopric by Pope Julian, Dec. 18, 1503, he rebuilt the palace, which had lain in ruins for a hundred years after its destruction by Glyndwr, and 1 Browne Willis, i, 80. 224 BISHOPS OF THE DIOCESE. built a timber bridge (reconstructed of stone in 1639) over the Clwyd, still known as " Pont Davydd Esgob." He died Feb. 12, 1512, and was buried in the Cathedral. 1513.' — Edmund Birkhead, S. T. P. of Cambridge. He was instituted by papal provision of Leo X, April 15, 1513; consecrated, May 29, by Archbishop Warham; and, dying in 1518, is thought to have been buried in Wrexham Church, the rebuilding of which he is said to have greatly promoted. 1518. — Henry Standish, S. T. P., Provincial of the Order of Minorite or Grey Friars. Of the family of Standish, of Standish in Lan- cashire, he had been educated partly at Oxford and partly at Cambridge; was appointed Warden or Provost of the Franciscan Convent in London; nominated to this see by papal provision of Leo X, in a Bull dated May 28, 1518; and consecrated, July 11, in the conventual church of the Franciscans at Oxford, by Arch- bishop Warham. In 1515, when Warden of the Minorites in Lon- don, he distinguished himself by taking the anti-clerical side in the controversy as to the exemption of the clergy from civil judges. In 1523 he was sent as ambassador into Denmark; in 1527 he was engaged with Cardinal Wolsey and others in the examination of Thomas Bilney, who was afterwards burnt;1 and in 1530 he was one of the bishops who directed Queen Catherine in the memorable suit concerning her divorce. He died in Lon- don, July 9, 1534, and was buried in the Church of the Grey Friars. He was a learned man, and a most zealous assertor of the Catholic religion f wrote several sermons, in which he in- veighed especially against Dean Colet, and also a treatise against Erasmus's Translation of the New Testament. 1535. — William Barlow, S. T. P., Prior of Bisham. Descended of an old Welsh family, but born in England, he was educated at the Austin Priories of St. Osith, Essex, and Oxford. Being- favourable to the Reformation, he travelled into Germany to be instructed by Luther and other teachers of the new learning. On his return he became successively canon of Blackmore, prior of Tiptree and Lees in his native county of Es^ex, rector of Great Cressingham, and prior of Bromhall, Norfolk, of Haverfordwest, and lastly of Bisham. By his readiness to resign his preferments on the dissolution of monasteries, he gained the favour of Henry VIII, and was promoted to this see; elected Jan. 16, 1535; received the temporalities Feb. 2, and was consecrated Feb. 22 ; but within a few months he was translated to St. David's, and thence again, in 1549, to Bath and Wells. On the accession of Queen Mary he was deprived, and imprisoned in the Fleet, but 1 Wordsworth's Ecclesiastical Biography, sub voce " Bilney." 2 Burnet's History, i, p. 13. BISHOPS OF THE DIOCESE. 225 escaped thence into Germany. Returning after her death, he was made Bishop of Chichester by Elizabeth in Dec. 15-39; and the following year first canon of St. Peter's, Westminster, on the new foundation. He died in 1567. His works, at one time for, at another against, the Reformation movement, are, like his life, an illustration of the transitional state of the religious opinion of the time. 1536. — Robert Warton or Warrington, called also Parfew or Per- few, S. T. P., Abbot of St. Saviour's, Bermondsey, which he con- tinued to hold with his bishopric, to which he was elected June 18, 1536, and received consecration July 2. The abbey being very rich, he was able to live in great state ; and on resigning it to Henry VIII, in 1539, received a pension of £333 : 6 : 8. He was translated, in 1554, to Hereford, where he died and was buried in 1558 or 1559. 1555. — Thomas Goldwell, S. T. V.,All Souls College, Oxford, received the temporalities May 12, 1855, and had restitution of them, Jan. 22, 1856. Queen Mary designated him for translation to Oxford, and the patent for restitution of the temporalities of that see was dated November 9, 1558; but before the translation was perfected, the Queen died, and Goldwell withdrew into exile. He sat at the Council of Trent in 1562, and afterwards going to Rome, he was appointed by the Pope (Pius IV) to baptize Jews, and ordain such Englishmen as fled thither for their religion. He was living at Rheims in 1580, and died the following year at Rome. His picture was to be seen, in Mr. Addison's time, in the Pope's gallery at Ravenna, with this inscription : " P. D. Thomas Goldwellus Episc. Asaph. Tridno Concilio contra Haareticos, et in Anglia contra Elizabet, Fidei Confessor conspicuus." 1558. — Thomas Wood, S. T. B., Chaplain to Queen Mary, rector of High Ongar, Essex, and of Harlington, Middlesex, and prebendary of Canterbury, is said to have obtained a grant of the temporal- ities, November 5, 1558; but, owing to the Queen's death, to have missed the promotion, and also to have been deprived of his other preferments. In 1579, according to Strype (Hist, of the Reformation, ii, 132), he was confined as a recusant in the Mar- shalsea, from which Fox professes to give an account of his escape. 1560. — Richard Davies, S. T. P., One of the Translators of the "First Welsh Version of the New Testament" and of the English Version known as "Parkers' or "The Bishops' Bible." He was the son of Davydd ap Gronw, curate of Gyffin, near Conway; born at Plas y Person in 1501, and educated at New Inn, Oxford; presented by Edward VI to the vicarage of Burnham, with which he also held the rectory of Maidsmorton, Bucks; deprived by Queen Mary, and went into exile at Geneva; restored by Elizabeth, and nominated to this sec ; elected by the chapter, December 4, 1559; confirmed January 18, and consecrated January 31, 1560; trans- 220 LISHOPS OF THE DIOCESE. lated to St. David's, May 21, 1561; died November 7, 1581, and was buried at Aberg.vily. He is charged with having greatly impoverished the latter see; but it is not quite clear how much of the injury was due to him personally, and how much to the circumstances of the time and place. In his " Rhagymadrodd," or preface to the New Testament, being an epistle " to all the Welsh, especially those within his diocese, desiring a renewal of the ancient Catholic faith, by the light of the Gospel of Christ," he gives a brief historical review of the religious condition of Wales. 1561. — Thomas Davies, S. T. P., Archdeacon of St. Asaph, son of Davydd ap Robert ap Llewelyn, of Caerhun, near Conway; bora about a.d. 1515; educated at St. John's College, Cambridge; rector of Llanbedr-3T-Cenin, and vicar of Caerhun ; Chancellor of Bangor Cathedral, 1546; deprived by Mary, 1554; restored by Elizabeth, and promoted to be Archdeacon of St. Asaph, 1558; Bishop, 1561 ; confirmed May 21, and consecrated May 26 ; died in 1573. " He was distinguished for his piety and charity; founded a scholarship in Queen's College, Cambridge; and be- queathed also considerable sums of money for other pious uses." 1573. — William Hughes, S. T. P., son of Hugh ap Cynric of Cefn- y-Garlleg in Carnarvonshire ; educated first at Oxford, whence he removed to Christ's College, Cambridge; rector of Llysfaen, 1567; chaplain to the Duke of Norfolk; incorporated B.D. of Oxford, 1568; D.D., 1570; elected Bishop of St. Asaph, Nov. 28, 1573; confirmed Dec. 12, consecrated Dec. 30. See pp. 91, 92. He died in 1600, and was buried in the choir of the Cathedral. 1601. — William Morgan, S. T. P., Translator of the Bible into Welsh. He was bora at Gwibernant, in the parish of Penmachno; edu- cated at St. John's College, Cambridge ; appointed vicar of Welsh- pool, 1575; vicar of Llanrhaiadr yn Mochnant, 1578 (where he translated the Old Testament); rector of Llanfyllin, and sinecure rector of Pennant Melangell, 1588; sinecure rector of Denbigh, 1594; Bishop of Llandaff, 1595; translated to St. Asaph, 1601 ; died Sept. 10, 1604, and buried in the choir of the Cathedral, without any inscription or monument. Pp. 88, 94. 1604. — Richard Parry, S. T. P., Author of the Revised Version of the Welsh Bible. Born at Ruthin in 1560, he was educated at West- minster under Camden ; and elected student of Christ Church, Oxford, 1579 ; became subsequently one of the Masters of Ruthin School; was made Chancellor of Bangor Cathedral, and vicar of Gresford, in 1592; and Dean of Bangor, 1599; elected to the see of St. Asaph, Oct. 19, 1604; confirmed Oct. 29, and conse- crated Dec. 30th. He founded a pension of £6 per ami., at Jesus College, Oxford, for a poor scholar born in the town of Ruthin, or in this diocese. He died at Disserth, Sept. 26, 1623, and was buried in the Cathedral, without any monument. A BISHOPS OF THE EHOCESE. 227 Concio ad Clerum, on Rev. hi, 4, was published in his name in 1628. 1624. — John Hanmer, S. T. P., Prebendary of Worcester, and Chaplain to King James. Of the family of the Hanmers of Flintshire, he was born at Pentrepant, in Selattyn parish, iu 1574. Educated at Oriel College, Oxford; fellow of All Souls, 1596; proctor for the University, 1605; rector of Bingham, prebendary of Worces- ter, and chaplain to the King, 1614; elected bishop of this see, Jan. 20; and consecrated Feb. 15, 1604. Died at Pentrepant, June 23, 1629; and was buried in the church of Selattyn, where a monument to his memory relates his benefaction to the poor of that parish. 1629.— John Owex, S. T. P., Chaplain to King Charles I. Of the family of Bodsilin, in the parish of Aber, he was born, in 1580, at Burton Latimers in Northamptonshire, of which his father, Archdeacon Owen (of Anglesea) was rector. Educated at Jesus College, Cambridge, of which he became a fellow; chaplain to King Charles I, and rector of Burton Latimers, 1618; promoted to this see in 1629, to which he was elected Aug. 11 ; confirmed Sept. 18, and consecrated Sept. 20. The troubles of his episco- pate and his own misfortunes will be found at pp. 98 seq. He died at Aberkinsey, near Rhuddlan, Oct. 16, 1651, and was buried under the throne in the Cathedral. 1660. — George Griffith, S. T. P., Canon of St. Asa])h, born at Pen- rhyn, in Carnarvonshire, iu 1601. Educated at Westminster; student and tutor of Christ Church, Oxford ; chaplain to Bishop Owen, who made him a canon, and presented him to the rectory of Newtown, 1631; Llandrinio, 1632; Llanfechain, 1633, which he exchanged for Llanymynach. During the Rebellion he lost his preferments; but on the Restoration he was promoted to the bishopric, and consecrated Oct. 28, 1660, being allowed to hold in commendam his restored preferments. He died Nov. 28, 1666, and was buried in the choir of the Cathedral, with an inscription quaintly ending with "Qui plura desiderat, facile investiget." 1667. — Henry Glemham, S. T. P., Dean of Bristol. He was born in Suffolk ; educated at Trinity College, Oxford ; and having been a great sufferer during the Rebellion, was on the Restoration made Dean of Bristol, 1660. Elected Bishop of St. Asaph, Feb. 7, 1667; confirmed Oct. 8, aud consecrated Oct. 13. He died at Glemham Hall, Suffolk, Jan. 17, 1669, and was buried at Little Glemham. 1669.— Isaac Barrow, S. T. P., Bishop of the Isles and Governor of the Isle of Man. Born at Wickham, in Cambridgeshire, he was educated at Peter House, Cambridge, of which he became a fel- low, but was ejected during the Great Rebellion. Going to Ox- ford, then garrisoned for the King, he was appointed chaplain of New College, but on the surrender of the garrison was forced to 228 BISHOPS OF THE DIOCESE. flee for safety. On the Restoration he recovered his fellowship, and was also made a fellow of Eton, and afterwards became rector of Downham. Being appointed by the Earl of Derby Bishop of the Isles (as the Bishop of Sodor and Man was then called), he was consecrated thereto July 5, 1663, and the following year made Governor of the Island. By the improvement of poor livings, the establishment of schools, and the foundation of scholarships at Trinity College, Dublin, he effected so much for the benefit of that diocese, that a historian1 of the Island has written that " the bread the poor clergy eat is owing to him, as is all that little learning amongst the inhabitants." He was translated to St. Asaph, March 21, 1669; but retained till October, 1671, his for- mer bishopric in commendam, as also the governorship of the island. The Act for the union of sinecure rectories to their vicar- ages, the repaired Cathedral and palace, the new almshouses which he built and endowed, and his bequest towards founding the grammar school at St. Asaph, all attest his care for the interests of this diocese. He died at Shrewsbury, June 24, 1680, and was buried near the west door of the Cathedral. 1680. — William Lloyd, D.D., One of the Seven Bishops. Of the family of Henblas, in Anglesea, he was born at Tilehnrst Rectory, Berks, Aug. 18, 1627; entered at Oriel College, Oxford, 1638, when only eleven years of age ; removed thence to New College, and after- wards to Jesus College, of which he became scholar and fellow. In 1654 he was presented by his friend, Elias Ashmole, to the living of Bradfield ; which, however, he quickly resigned; pre- bendary of Ripon, 1660; chaplain to King Charles II in 1666; D.D. and prebendary of Willsford and Woodford in Salisbury Cathedral, 1667; rector of St. Mary's, Reading, and Archdeacon of Merioneth, 1668; Dean of Bangor, 1672; canon residentiary of Sarum, 1674; vicar of St. Martin's, Westminster, 1676; pro- moted to this see, Sept. 30, 1680, and consecrated Oct. 3;2 trans- lated to Lichfield and Coventry in 1692, and in 1699 to Worces- ter. Having taken part against the Packingtons in a county election, a complaint was laid against him by the House of Com- mons, and he was deprived, in consequence, of his office of Lord Almoner, to which he had been appointed by William and Mary. He died at Hartlebury Castle, Aug. 30th, 1717, in the ninety- first year of his age, retaining all his faculties to the last, and was buried in the church of Fladbury, of which his son was rec- tor, and in the chancel of which there is a monument to his memory. There are portraits of him at Leaton Knolls and at Cefn. According to the judgment of Leland, Burnet, Wilkins, Whar- 1 Sacheverell's History of the Isle of Man. 2 For his excellent administration of the see, his committal to the Tower, and release, see pp. 114-124. BISHOPS OF THE DIOCESE. 229 ton, and others, he was preeminent for learning, judgment, and piety. His published works embrace " Historical Account of Church Government as it was in Great Britain and Ireland when they first received the Christian Religion"; "A Chronological Account of the Life of Pythagoras"; " Five Tracts against Popery"; "Nine occasional Sermons"; "A Letter to Dr. William Sherlock"; "A Discourse on God's Ways of disposing Kingdoms"; "The Pretences of the French Invasion Examined"; " Explanation of Daniel's Seventy Weeks"; "A System of Chronology"; "The Chronology of the Bible*'; " Harmony of the Gospels"; "A Trans- lation into English and Latin of a Greek Epistle of Jeremy, a Priest of the Eastern Church." Besides which he left in manu- script "A Discourse of the Three Orders in the Ministry," and a "History of the Church of England"; assisted Bishop Wilkins in his "Essay towards a real Character and Philosophical Lan- guage"; and Wharton in his "Anglia Sacra," the second volume of which is dedicated to him;1 and he is thought to have had the chief hand in the " Series Chronologica Olympiadum." 1692. — Edward Joxes, D.D., Bishop of Cloyne. He was born at Llwyn-rhiryd, in Forden ; educated at Westminster School and at Trinity College, Cambridge, of which he became fellow in 1667; afterwards appointed Master of Kilkenny College, Dean of Lis- more, and Bishop of Cloyne. He died in 1703, and was buried at St. Margaret's Church, Westminster. 1703. — George Hooper, D.D., Dean of Canterbury. He was born in 1640, at Grimley in Worcestershire; educated at Westminster, and became student of Christ Church, Oxford; chaplain, together with Ken, to Bishop Morley of Winchester, and rector of Havant, which he exchanged for Woodhey, 1672; chaplain to Archbishop Sheldon and rector of Lambeth, 167-3; precentor of Exeter; almoner to the Princess of Orange, 1677; twice offered and twice declined the Regius Professorship of Divinity at Oxford ; king's chaplain, 1685; Dean of Canterbury, 1691; prolocutor of the Lower House, 1701; declined the primacy of Ireland, 1701; accepted this see, 1703; but at the instance of his old friend, the deprived Bishop Ken, removed the same year to Bath and Wells, where he remained till his death, in 1727, though offered in the 1 From the Dedication. " Tu primus me ad opus istud aggrediendum in- citasti, consilio atque auctoritate tua inceptum opus promovisti. Tibi accepta referri debent plurima...monumenta Pars potior de antiqui cleri Wallensis statu, disciplina ac rebus gestis agit, teque maximum sui decus atque columen clerus Wallensis hodiernus habet, quern jactitet et veneretur. In te Wallia diluit labem, qua propter literarum ignorantiam et religionis incuriam Gentiles tuos Giraldus Cambrensis olim aspersit. Utinam et ilia, quibus Anglos advenas Wallensium episcopatus et sacerdotia occupantes, Giraldus proscidit, opprobria tarn facile dilui possent." H H 230 BISHOPS OF THE DIOCESE. interval the sees of London and of York. He published several sermons, and left in manuscript a Latin Treatise on Divorce. A life of him is printed in the appendix to Trevor's Life and Times of William III. 1704. — William Beveridge, D.D., " the reviver and restorer of primi- tive Christianity." He was born in 1638, at Barrowe in Leicester- shire, educated at St. John's College, Cambridge, and was " so well versed in all the learned languages that at eighteen he wrote a treatise on the excellency and use of the oriental tongues, espe- cially Hebrew, Chaldee, Syriac, Arabic, and Samaritan." In 1660 he was collated by Bishop Sheldon, of London, to the vicarage of Ealing, which he resigned in 1672, on being elected to the rec- tory of St. Peter's, Cornhill ; appointed a prebendary of St. Paul's, 1674; and Archdeacon of Colchester, 1681; chaplain to King Wil- liam and Mary, and prebendary of Canterbury, 1684; Bishop of St. Asaph, 1 704. Of his works, the following were published by himself, " De Linguarum Orientalium, prsesertim Hebraicse, Chal- daicse, Syriacse, Arabicse et Samaritanse Prsestantia et Usu," 1656, 8vo.; "Institutio Chronologica Libri Duo," 1669, 4to.; "Pan- dectse Canonum," 2 vols, folio, 1672; "Codex Canonum," 1679, 4to.; " The Church Catechism Explained, for the Use of the Dio- cese of St. Asaph," 4to, 1704. The following were published after his death, by his executor, Mr. Timothy Gregory : " Private Thoughts upon Religion," written when he was twenty-three years of age ; " Private Thoughts upon a Christian Life"; " The great Necessity and Advantage of Public Prayer and frequent Communion"; one hundred and fifty sermons in 2 vols, folio, and twelve in 8vo.; "A Defence of the Book of Psalms"; " Exposition of the Thirty-Nine Articles"; and " Thesaurus Theologicus," in 4 vols. Svo.1 1708. — William Fleetwood, D.D., chaplain to the Queen and to the House of Commons. Descended of the Lancashire family of this name, he was born in the Tower of London, 1656, and educated at Eton and King's College, Cambridge, of both of which he became a fellow ; rector of St. Augustine's, and lecturer of St. Dunstan's, being then known as " Silver-tongued Fleetwood"; prebendary of Windsor, and rector of Wexham; chaplain to Queen Anne and the House of Commons. He was promoted to this see in 1708, and translated to Ely in 1714. His works were pub- lished in one volume, folio, in 1737, and embrace "Twenty-six Sermons on Public Occasions," " Essay on Miracles," " The Rea- sonable Communicant," " Fifteen Discourses on Relative Duties," " Chronicon Pretiosum," " Life of St. Winifred," letters, etc. A preface to "Four Sermons" published by him in 1712 gave so 1 Many of these works are said to have been written by him at Colfryn, near Llansantffraid-ym-Mechain. BISHOPS OF THE DIOCESE. 231 much offence to the ministry of the day, that a motion was made in the House of Commons to burn it. 1715. — John Wynne, D.D., Principal of Jesus College, Oxford. He was bom in 1667, at Maes-y-coed, in Caerwys, and educated at Ruthin School and Jesus College, Oxford, of which he became fellow; was chaplain to the Earl of Pembroke; and afterwards rector of Llangelynin in Carnarvonshire, and prebendary of Brecon; Lady Margaret's Professor of Divinity at Oxford, and prebendary of Worcester, 1705; Principal of Jesus College, 1712; Bishop of St. Asaph, 1715; translated to Wells, 1727, in succession to Bishop Hooper; died in 1743, and buried in Northop Church. Whilst Tutor of Jesus College, Dr. Wynne published for the use of his pupils An Abridgment of Locke's Essay upon the Human Understanding, which was also translated into French. 1727. — Francis Hare, D.D., Dean of Worcester and Chaplain to George I. Sprang of a Norfolk family, he was educated at Eton and King's College, Cambridge ; was chaplain to the Duke of Marlborough in most of his campaigns ; canon residentiary of St. Paul's, and rector of Barnes; Dean of Worcester and chaplain to George I in 1715 ; Bishop of St. Asaph, 1727; and translated to Chichester, 1731. " In 171 7 he took a very active part, toge- ther with Drs. Sherlock and Snape, Bishop Potter, and others, in the 'Bangorian Controversy,' occasioned by Bishop Hoadley's sermon on ' The Nature of the Kingdom or Church of Christ'; and in the following year, partly on account of this, and partly from political motives, he and other distinguished men were superseded as royal chaplains." His works were published in 4 vols. 4to; the more important being "A Translation of the Psalms from the Hebrew," and " The Difficulties and Discourage- ments which attend the Study of the Scriptures. " The last two volumes consist of political pamphlets in defence of the Duke of Marlborough and his policy. 1731. — Thomas Tanner, D.D., Archdeacon of Norfolk and Canon of Christ Church. Born in 1674, at Market Lavington vicarage, Wilts, he graduated at Queen's College, Oxford, and became chap- lain of All Souls, 1694, and fellow, 1696. At twenty-two years of age he published his learned Notitia Monastica. Chaplain to Bishop Moore of Norwich, his father-in-law, who collated him to the chancellorship, 1701; made him commissary for the arch- deaconries of Norwich (1703) and of Sudbury, 1707; rector of Thorpe, 1706; prebendary of Ely, 1713; Archdeacon of Norfolk, 1721 ; canon of Christ Church, Oxford, 1723; Prolocutor of the Lower House of Convocation, 1727; Bishop of St. Asaph, 1731. Died at Christ Church, 1735. "Vir in antiquitatibus Britannicis versatissimus, morum sim- plicitate primteva venerabilis et propter virtutes turn domesticas, turn publicas, suis charissimus." (Dr. Richardson in Continuatio 232 BISHOPS OF THE DIOCESE. ad Godwin Com. de Prcesid Anglie, p. 646.) His published works were, Notitia Monastica, a small 8vo ; an enlarged edition of which was published in folio, in 1744, by his brother, J. Tanner, pre- centor of St. Asaph; and a second edition of Wood's Athence Oxonienses, with above five hundred more lives, 2 vols, folio, 1721. He also left in manuscript Bibliotheca Britannico-Hibernica, and an enlarged version of Hegge's Legend of St. Cuthbert, with the Antiquities of the Church of Durham. 1 736. — Isaac Maddox, D.D., Dean of Wells. He was born in London, and educated at Aberdeen and Queen's College, Cambridge ; became rector of St. Vedast, Foster Lane ; chaplain to Bishop Bradford of Chichester; king's chaplain, clerk of the closet to Queen Caroline, 1729; Dean of Wells, 1733; Bishop of St. Asaph, 1736; and translated to Worcester, 1743, in which cathedral his monument styles him "the institutor of infirmaries." Whilst Bishop of Worcester he wrote An Answer to Neale's History of the Puritans, a Charge to the clergy of his diocese, and a Thanksgiv- ing Sermon on the Suppression of the Rebellion in 1746. 1743. — John Thomas, D.D., Prebendary of Westminster and Canon of St. PauVs. He was born at Dolgelley in 1681; sent to Merchant Taylors' School, and thence to Catherine Hall, Cambridge ; appointed chaplain to the British Factory at Hamburgh, in which capacity he generally attended George II on his visits to the Electorate; rector of St. Vedast's, Foster Lane, 1736, in succes- sion to Bishop Maddox ; prebendary of Westminster and canon residentiary of St. Paul's, 1742; promoted to St. Asaph, 1743; but before his consecration translated to Lincoln, and thence, in 1761, to Salisbury. Whilst at Hamburgh he edited a periodical called The Patriot. 1743-4. — Samuel Lisle, D.D., Warden of Wadham College, Oxford, and Archdeacon of Canterbury. He was born at Bland ford Forum, graduated at Wadham College; fellow, 1707; chaplain to the Levant Company, 1710; rector of Tooting, Surrey, and St. Mary- lebone, and domestic chaplain to Archbishop Wake, 1720 ; Arch- deacon of Canterbury, 1724; canon, 1728; vicar of Northolt, 1729; Prolocutor of the Lower House of Convocation, 1734-41; Warden of Wadham College, 1739; Bishop of St. Asaph, 1743-4, and translated to Norwich, 1748. He published a few occasional Sermons, and left in manuscript Notes and Observations made in his travels in Asia Minor and the Holy Land ; but with an ex- press clause in his will, " that all his unpublished compositions should be burnt without being printed, transcribed, or seen by any one but his executors"; which injunction was complied with. 1748. — Hon. Robert Hay Drummond, D.D., Prebendary of Westmin- ster. He was the second son of the seventh Earl of Kinnoull ; was educated at Westminster and at Christ Church. Oxford, of BISHOPS OF THE DIOCESE. 233 which he was a student ; rector of Bothal, and chaplain to the king, 1737; prebendary of Westminster, 1743; Bishop of St. Asaph, 1748; translated to Salisbury, 1761, and thence to York, and appointed Lord High Almoner. He preached the sermon at the coronation of George III, and published four single ones on special occasions. These have been reprinted at Edinburgh, 1803, with a Life by his son prefixed. 1 761. — Richard Newcome, D.D., Bishop of Llandaff. Born at Alden- ham Vicarage, Herts, in 1700, he became fellow of Queen's Col- lege, Cambridge, 1722; vicar of Hursley cum Otterbourne, 1726; rector of Stoke ; rector of Whitchurch, Salop, 1 746 ; chaplain to the king; canon of Windsor; consecrated Bishop of Llandaff, 1755; translated to this see, 1761. He held the rectory of Whitchurch in commendam with his bishopric, and lived there almost entirely. He published a few occasional Sermons. 1769. — Jonathan Shipley, D.D., Bishop of Llandaff, and Dean of Winchester. Born at Twyford in 1714, he was educated at Read- ing School and at Christ Church, Oxford ; he became Clerk of the Closet to George III, and Chaplain General to the forces under William Duke of Cumberland, 1744; rector of Silchester, sine- cure rector of Sherborne, and prebendary of Winchester, canon of Christ Church, Dean of Winchester, and rector of Chilbolton; Bishop of Llandaff, 1769; and translated the same year to St. Asaph, retaining therewith his deanery, rectory, and sinecure. He published during his lifetime three Occasional Sermons, and a " Speech (intended to have been spoken) on the Bill for altering the Charter of Massachuset's Bay." His works were afterwards published by his son, Dean Shipley, in 2 vols. 8vo, 1792. 1 787. — Samuel Halifax, LL. D. , D.D. , F. S. A. , Bishop of Gloucester. Born at Mansfield, Derbyshire, in 1733, he matriculated at Jesus Col- lege, Cambridge; became fellow of Trinity Hall, and Professor of Arabic; Regius Professor of Civil Law, 1770; chaplain to the King, Registrar of the Faculties in Doctors' Commons, vicar of Worksop, Master of Jesus College; Bishop of Gloucester, 1781; St. Asaph, 1787. Died 1790. (His epitaph, in Worksop Church, was written by his father-in-law, the Rev. Dr. William Cooke, Dean of Ely and Provost of King's College, Cambridge.) Author of " Sermons on the Prophecies concerning the Christian Church, and in particular the Church of Rome," preached in Lincoln's Inn at the Warburtonian Lecture ; " Fourteen single Sermons"; "Analysis of Butler's Analogy"; and an "Analysis of the Roman Civil Law." He was also the editor of " Ogden's Sermons." 1790.— Lewis Bagot, LL.D., Bishop of Norwich. The third son of Sir Walter Bagot, he was educated at Westminster, and became student of Christ Church, Oxford ; rector of Jevington and Rye, Sussex ; canon of Christ Church, 1771; Dean of Christ Church, 234 BISHOPS OF THE DIOCESE. 1777; Bishop of Bristol, 1782; translated to Norwich, 1783 (on which occasion he resigned his deanery); St. Asaph, 1790. Died 1802. He preached the Warburtonian Lectures, published in 8vo, 1780. 1802. — Samuel Horsley, LL.D., F.R.S., F.S.A., Bishop of Rochester. Born in London, 1733, he graduated at Trinity Hall, Cambridge; became rector of St. Mary's, Newington, 1759; Albury, 1774; prebendary of St. Paul's, 1777; Archdeacon of St. Alban's, 1780; rector of South Weald, Essex, 1782; prebendary of Gloucester, 1786; Bishop of St. David's, 1787; translated to Rochester, with which he held the deanery of Westminster, 1793. His works, in fourteen volumes, were presented by Bishop Short to the cathe- dral library, and embrace " Tracts against Priestley," Gloucester, 1789; " Four Charges," Dundee, 1813; " Speeches in Parliament," 2 vols., Dundee, 1813; "Sermons," 3 vols., London, 1816; "The Book of Psalms, translated from the Hebrew," London; " Biblical Criticism, 4 vols., London, 1820; "Nine Sermons, with a Disser- tation," London, 1822. 1806. — William Cleaver, D.D., Bishop of Bangor, and Principal of Brasenose College, Oxford. Born at Twyford, Bucks, 1742, he graduated at University College, Oxford; was appointed prebend- ary of Westminster, 1784; Principal of Brasenose, 1785; Bishop of Chester, 1787; translated to Bangor, 1800; and to St. Asaph, 1806, — on which occasion he resigned his headship. He pub- lished a " List of Books for the younger Clergy"; a Sermon for the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, 1796; and a volume of Sermons, 1808. 1815. — John Luxmoore, D.D., Bishop of Hereford. Born at Oke- hampton, Devon, 1756, he was educated at Ottery St. Mary's School, Eton, and King's College, Cambridge ; rector of St. George the Martyr; prebendary of Canterbury, 1794; Dean of Gloucester, 1800; rector of St. Andrew's, Holborn, 1806; consecrated to the see of Bristol, 1807; translated to Hereford, 1808; and to St. Asaph, 1815. He published a "Concio apud Synodum Cantua- riensem mdcccvi"; a "Sermon before the House of Lords," 1808; and a Sermon for the S. P. G., 1811. 1830. — William Carey, D.D., Bishop of Exeter. Born in 1770, he was educated at Westminster, 1784; and Christ Church, Oxford, 1789, of which he was a tutor and canon; perpetual curate of Cowley; Whitehall Preacher and prebendary of York, 1802; Head Master of Westminster School, 1803; prebendary of West- minster, 1809; vicar of King's Sutton, Yorkshire; Bishop of Exeter, 1820; translated to St. Asaph, 1830. Died 1846.1 1 Bishop Carey bequeathed a large sum for the benefit of this diocese (p. 161); and his valuable library was sent, in 1853, to St. Thomas' College, Columbo. BISHOPS OF THE DIOCESE. 235 1846. — Thomas Vowler Short, D.D., Bishop of Sodor and Man. The son of William Short, D.D., prebendary of Westminster, and Arch- deacon of Cornwall, he was born at Dawlish, 1 790, and educated at Exeter School, 1802; Westminster, 1803; and Christ Church, Oxford; student, 1809; Double First, 1812; Mathematical Lecturer, 1816, and perpetual curate of Cowley; Censor, 1819-29; Examiner, 1820; Proctor, 1823, and rector of Stokeley Pomeroy; rector of King's Worthy, Hants, 1826; Whitehall Preacher, 1821-30; University Preacher, 1823, 1830; rector of St. George's, Blooms- bury, 1834; Deputy Clerk of the Closet to the Queen, 1837; pro- moted to the see of Sodor and Man, 1841 ; and translated to St. Asaph, 1846; resigned 1870.1 He is the author of a " Sketch of the History of the Church of England to the Revolution of 1688," which has passed through many editions ; and his works also embrace "A Letter to the Dean of Christ Church on the Public Examination," " Tabular Thiicydidea?," " Tabulae Herodoteaa," "An Address from a Country Clergyman on Confirmation" (translated into Welsh) in 1822; "Sermons on some of the Fundamentals of Christianity," 1829; Visitation Sermon, 1830; "Sadoc and Miriam" (Anon.), 1832; Sermon on the Consecration of the Bishop of Ripon,"1836; "Lec- tures on St. Luke," 1837; "Letters to an Aged Mother"; and " Parochialia," papers printed for the use of the parish of St. George, Bloomsbury, 1834-41 ; "What is Christianity?" 1842; " Charges delivered to the Convocation held at Bishop's Court, Isle of Man," 1842, 3, 4, 5; " Charges to the Clergy of the Dio- cese of St. Asaph," 1847 (with an Appendix on Catechising), 50, 3, 6, 9, 62, 5 ; besides many papers and sheets on educational subjects, published by the S. P. C. K. 1870. — Joshua Hughes, D.D. Cantuar.; St. David's College, Lampe- ter; B.D. 1867; vicar of Llandingat with Llanfair-ar-y-bryn, 1846- 70; Rural Dean of Llangattock, and Proctor in Convocation for the diocese of St. David's ; promoted to the bishopric of St. Asaph 1870 ; elected April 17th; consecrated in the Chapel Royal, Whitehall, together with the Bishops of Chichester and Zululand, May 8th ; and publicly enthroned in his Cathedral, May 19th. 1 The Diocesan Church Building Society's Keport, 1870, states that "one fourth of the annual subscriptions has been, for the last twenty-four years, the liberal contribution of Bishop Short j and this in addition to an equally liberal donation towards every work of Church building or Church restora- tion that has been set on foot in the diocese." 236 ARCHDEACONS. ARCHDEACONS. 1120. — Daniel ap Sulien, son of Sulien and brother of Rhyddmarch, both Bishops of St. David's, and himself elected by the Scholars of that see, on the death of Griffri, or Wilfrid, a.d. 1115, to be their bishop, in opposition to the Norman Bernard, the nominee of Henry I. He appears in Brut y Tyivysogion as " Archdiagon Powys," and as "Cymodredwr y rhwng" (mediator between) " Gwynedd a Phowys." Died a.d. 1124 or 1127. Caradoc of Llan- garvan describes him as " Y doethaf a'r crefyddusaf o Esgobion y Brytaniaid,achlodforusaf oherwydd dyscu eiddisgyblion a'i blwyf- au." (Brut y Tywysogion in Myvyrian Archceology, 1870, p. 622 ; Councils, i, 308.) 1170. — David, suspended by Pope Alexander III for joining in the coronation of Prince Henry, a.d. 1170. (Councils, i, 376.) 1231. — David, "Archidiac. Assav. nuncius a Lewelino Principe habet salvum conduct' 15 Hen. III. — W. A. (Bp. Fleetwood), MS. notes to Wharton. 1250. — Anian, witness to Bishop Anian's confirmation of charters of Haughmond Abbey. 1266. — David, "Archid. de Sto. Asaph habet Literas Regis de con- ductu, 50 Hen. III." (W. A. supra.) Also mentioned in Llyfr Cdch, sub anno 1272. 1278. — Gruffydd, a witness to the will of Griffin ap Wenwynwyn, Prince of Powys, and executor to Bishop Anian It. Resigned 1306. (Montgomeryshire Collections, i, 43; Llyfr Cock, 24.) 1306. — William de Testa, Chaplain to the Pope, and Administrator of the Spiritualities of the see of Canterbury. 1307. — Llewelyn ap Hova, "obiit a.d. 1330, vir tunc maxime insig- nis." (Wharton, 334.) 1357. — William de Speidlington, Dean of St. Asaph, promoted to the bishopric, 1376. 1375. — Ithel ap Robert. (Pennant's Whitford, 119.) 1382. — Rushooke, Thomas,1 D.D., a Friar Preacher, Confessor to the King; appointed Bishop of Llandaff, 1383; translated to Chiches- ter, 1385. (Godwin, ed. 1615, p. 531.) 1 Those names which follow the Welsh system of nomenclature, as Llew- elyn ap Hova, Ithel ap Robert, and those which have a Latin form, as Wil- liam de Testa, William de Spridlington, have the Christian name put first ; but those which follow the English system, as Thomas Rushooke, Gruffydd Yonge, have the surname placed first. ARCHDEACONS. 237 1386. — David Vychan ap David. 1 398. — Yongb, Gruffydd, LL.D., Chancellor of St. David's, 1397. Siding with Owen Glvndwr, he was made his chancellor, and sent by him as ambassador to Charles VI, king of France. 1442. — Tubnet, John, rector of Sonthfleet in the diocese of Rochester. On the east window of Disserth Church was the following inscrip- tion, " Orate pro bono statn Johannis Tnbney Archid." 1.108. — Conway, Peter. He left twenty marcs to be distributed to each of the churches of Northop, Rhuddlan, Disserth, and New- market. 1534. — Skeltox, Richard, Master of Mettingham College, Suffolk, and rector of Goldhanger, Essex. Died 1539. 1539. — Pollard or Ap Hollard, Richard, ejected by Queen Mary for being married. 1553 — Edwards, Humphrey, in his turn ejected by Queen Elizabeth. 1558. — Davies, Thomas, D.D., Chancellor of Bangor, 1546; Bishop of St. Asaph, 1561. 1560.— Rogers, Richard, M.A. Christ's College, Cambridge; S. T. B., 1562. " Magister Richardus Rogers, Diaconus, ut ipse suis Uteris attestatus est, Archidiaconus Asaphensis, eruditus et absens." (Bp. R. Davies' Return to Abp. Parker, a.d. 1560. B. Willis, ii, 137.) Bishop Suffragan of Dover, Dec. 1, 1560; Dean of Canter- bury, 1584. 1566. — Powell, Thomas, on the resignation of Bishop Rogers ; rector of Llanfechain, and one of the Proctors for the clergy in the Con- vocation of 1562; rector of Hirnant, 1588. Died 1589. 1 573. — A Faculty was granted by Archbishop Parker to Bishop Hughes to hold the archdeaconry, the rectory of Llysfaen, and other bene- fices, to the value of £150, together with his bishopric ;l and from that time, or rather from the next vacancy, i. e. 1589, the office of archdeacon was held in commendam with the bishopric till 1843-4, when the Act 6 and 7 Victoria again revived its separate exercise ; and an Order in Council of the 31 January, 1844, divided its duties among two Archdeacons, those of St. Asaph and Mont- gomery,— the former to include those parts of the diocese that lie in Denbighshire, Flintshire, and Shropshire ; and the latter those which lie in the counties of Montgomery and Merioneth. The endowment to consist of a residentiary canonry of the value of £350 per ann., to be attached to the dignity. Archdeacons were consequently appointed in 1844, but did not enter upon the full exercise of their office until the death of Dean Luxmoore, the Chancellor, in 1854. 1 See p. 91 supra. 238 ARCHDEACONS. ARCHDEACONS OF ST. ASAPH. 1844. — Clough, Charles Butler, M.A., St. John's College, Cambridge; rector of Llanferras, 1821; and vicar of Mold, 1825-1844; Dean, 1854. 1854. — Wickham, Robert, M.A., Christ Church, Oxford; second class Lit. Hum., 1823; vicar of Gresford, and Examining Chaplain to Bishop Short, 1847. Author of " Is the Offertory without Com- munion required by the Church," a pamphlet, 1844; " The Rubrics of the Communion Service Examined," a pamphlet, 1845; and several archidiaconal Charges. ARCHDEACONS OF MONTGOMERY. 1844. — Clive, William, M.A., St. John's College, Cambridge; vicar of Welshpool, 1819-65 ; chaplain to the Duke of Northumberland, 1824; Hon. Canon of St. Asaph, 1849; Archdeacon of Montgo- mery, 1844; resigned 1861; rector of Blymhill, diocese of Lich- field, 1865. 1861. — Ffoulkes, Henry Powell, M.A., Balliol College, Oxford ; fourth class Lit. Hum., 1837; St. Matthew's, Buckley, 1840-57; rector of Llandyssil, 1857 ; Archdeacon of Montgomery and Canon Residentiary, 1861. CHANCELLORS. 239 CHANCELLORS OF THE DIOCESE. 135(5. — David de Englefield, "Canon. Assay., Vicarius Generalis, Epat' Assay, vacante, habuit cnstodiam spiritual ium a 3 Febr. ad 9 Nov. 1357. Reg. Islip. K." (W. A. in Wharton.) 14-32. — David Kyffin. 1507. — Robert ap Rhys. 1513. — Salusbury, Ffoulk, Dean, 1511. 1531. — Robert ap Rice, M.A., of Plas Iolyn. 1537. — Price, Ellis, of Plas Iolyn, second son of the above; LL.D. of Cambridge; Commissarie General of the diocese at the dissolution of the monasteries. 1546. — Griffith, Maurice, B.D.,a Dominican or Black Friar; LL.B. Oxford, 1532; vicar of Berriew and Archdeacon of Rochester, 1537; Bishop of Rochester, 1554-59. 1559. — Price, John, LL.D. 1570. — Meyrick, Edmund, LL.D., brother of Rowland Meyrick, Bishop of Bangor; siuecure rector of Corwen, 1560; Archdeacon of Ban- gor (and as such signed the Thirty-Nine Articles in the Convo- cation of 1562); prebendary of Bokenshull in Lichfield Cathedral. 1576.— Jones, Thomas, LL.D., All Souls' College, Oxford; Chancellor of Rochester, 1614. 1595. — Smith, George, LL.B., vicar of Llangernyw, 1574; sinecure rector of Northop, 1584; vicar of Owm, 1594. Died 1608. He is supposed by the compiler of Llyfryddiaeth y Cymra to be iden- tical with " Rosier Smith o Lanelwy, Athraw o Theologyddiaeth," who published on the Continent several Popish books in 1609, 1611, 1615, 1618; but by the editor of that work he is more cor- rectly believed to have been quite a different person. (Llyfrydd- iatth y Cymry, pp. 90, 91.) 1603. — Goodere, Samuel, LL.D. 1605.— Wood, Basil, LL.D., fellow of All Souls' College, Oxford, 1603; Chancellor of Rochester, 1618. 1627. — Griffith, William, LL.D., New College, Oxford ; Chancellor of Bangor, 1629. 1660. — Owen, Robert, LL.B., eldest son of the late Bishop Owen. 1661. — Jones, Sir Thomas, LL.D., Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas. 240 CHANCELLORS, 1670. — Powell, Robert, D.D., made fellow of All Souls by the Parli- amentary Visitors, 16-18; King's Chaplain and Canon of St. Asaph, 1660; rector of Whittington and Archdeacon of Salop, 1666. 1683. — Edwards, John, LL.D., rector of Knockin and of Llanymyn- ech, 1666; Prebendary of Meliden, 1674. 1685. — Wynne, Hugh, LL.D., fellow of All Souls'; deprived as a Non- juror. 1690. — Wynne, Robert, D.D., of the family of Garthewin; fellow of Jesus College, Oxford; and brother of William Wynne, M.A., fellow of that college, who augmented and re-edited Dr. Powel's " Translation of the History of Wales by Caradoc of Llancarvan." He became vicar of Gresford, 1690; Chancellor of the Diocese, 1690; Prebendary of Llanfair, 1691; Prebendary of Llannefydd, and Chancellor of the Cathedral, 1693; and sinecure rector of Llansantffraid-ym-Mechain, 1719. He wrote a " Discourse on the Martyrdom of King Charles I," published 1704; and drew up the " Short Narrative of the Proceedings against the Bishop of St. Asaph," 1702. 1743. — Salisbury, Sir Thomas, Knt., of Bachegraig, LL.D.; fellow of Trinity Hall, Cambridge ; Justice in Eyre, south of Trent, and Judge of the Admiralty Court, 1741. 1773. — Shipley, William Davies, M.A., son of Bishop Shipley; Dean, 1774. 1826. — Luxmoore, Charles Scott, M.A., son of Bishop Luxmoore; Dean, 1826. 1854. — Clough, Charles, Butler, M.A.; Archdeacon, 1844; Dean, 1854. 1859. — Bonnor, Richard Bonnor Maurice, M.A. Christ Church, Oxford. Dean, 1859. DEANS. 241 DEANS. 1210. — "Ithel fil. Alani," Decanus, witnessed Bishop Reyner's charter to Oswestry Hospital. (Eyton.) 1223. — David de Witinton attested a taxation of the vicarage of Oswestry. 1239. — R , witness to the Bishop Hugh's grant to the nuns of Llanllugan. (B. Willis, ii, 21.) 1211. — David, probably the same who. with Bishop Anian, attested a release of tithes in Kinnerley to Haughmon Abbey. (Eyton 's Shropshire, x, 373.) 1279.— Anian. 1293. — R , present at the institution of a clerk to the vicarage of Wrexham. 1299.— Anian. 1305. — Llewelyn, deputed, together with GrufFydd, the Archdeacon, to collect the subsidies demanded of the clergy by Edward I. (Llyfr C6ch, p. 82.) 1307. — Anian, "Anianus Decanus Assav. et L. Archidiac, ejusdem loci miserunt ad Pari, apud Carleol.; Madoc Goch, Can. As., et Howelum R. eccl'ie de Llanarmon." (Rot. Pari. 35 Edw. I, K.) He was also "Administrator Spiritualium in Sede Bangor vacante 1309." (Reg. Winchelsea, K.) 1339. — Llewelyx ap Madoc, promoted to the bishopric in 1357. (For the dispute as to the next appointment, see p. 63.) 1357. — Robert de Walsham, nominated by Edward Prince of Wales. „ — William de Spridlixgtox, promoted to the bishopric, 1376. 1376. — Alax de Stokes, named with Bishop Spridlington, as execu- tors to his will by the Black Prince. (Reg. Bockingham Epi. Line.) 1381. — Howel ap Madoc Kyffix, appointed guardian of the tempo- ralities of the see on the death of Bishop Child in 1389. (See his Return thereof, p. 61.) 1 39 7. — Collixgham, Hugh, Prebendary of St. Paul's, 1102. 1102. — Courtexay, Richard, a kinsman of Archbishop Courtenay; Precentor of Chichester, 1397-1110; Canon of York, 1103; and of Wells, 1108; Chancellor of Oxford, 1106, 1111, 1112; Dean of Wells, 1110; Bishop of Norwich and Archdeacon of North- ampton, 1113. 242 DEANS. 1404. — Holbeche, Hugh, rector of Northop and Warden of Flint Chapel \ Prebendary of Lichfield. 1418. — Blodwel, John, Canon of St. David's; appeared as Proctor for Bishop Langley, of Durham, at the Council of Basil, 1431. He resigned in 1441, owing to old age and infirmity; and died at Balsham in 1462, in the chancel of which church there is a monu- mental brass to his memory. He was succeeded in both his deanery and canonry by his kinsman. 1441. — Blodwel, David. 1462. — Tapton, John, Master of Clare College, Cambridge; Prebend- ary of Stoke Clare, Suffolk ; and also of Liddington, in Lincoln Cathedral. loll. — Salisbury, Ffoulk, Chancellor, 1513. He was also rector of Llanrhaiadr and Llandyrnog, in the diocese, and Prebendary of Llanfair in the Cathedral, of Bangor. 1543. — Puskin, Richard, rector of Bodvari, 1537; resigned, or more probably deprived by Queen Mary. 1556. — Griffith, John, LL.B., Treasurer of Llandaff and Canon of Salisbury. 1557. — Blayne, alias Griffith, Maurice, LL.B. " In veteri Registro: 4 Et nos Mauritius Blayne alias Gruff, in Leg. Bacc. Decanus Eccle- siae Cathedralis Elguens alias Asaphens., et Capit. Dat v. mense Augusti a.d. 1557.'" From the same book it also appears that he called himself Dean on Feb. 27, in the first year of Elizabeth. (AV. A. MS. in Warton.) But John Griffith is named as Dean, and as such confirmed the statutes of the Cathedral, 30th May, 1558. (B. Willis, ii, 134.) He died 1559, K. 1559. — Lloyd, Johannes, LL.B.; appointed April 4, 1559, but de- prived "ob contumaciam" (i. e., for his religion), in the church of All Souls, Stratford-on-Avon, Nov. 3. 1560. — Evans, Hugh, M.A., Braseuose College, Oxford ; Prebendary of Hoxton, in St. Paul's Cathedral; sinecure rector of Cwm,1570- 7 4; vicar of Northop, 1571-77; rector of Cerrig-y-Druidion, 1581- 87. He is named as one of the few " concionatores evangelici" in Bishop R. Davies's Return to Archbishop Parker, a.d. 1560. 1587. — Banks, Thomas, A.M., sinecure rector of Caerwys and Llan- gwm, 1582-84; sinecure rector of Pennant, 1583-88; canon, 1585-87; sinecure rector of Llansantffraid-yn-Mechain, 1585- 1600; sinecure rector of Llandrillo-yn-Edeirnion, 1600-34. He published a sermon in 1586. 1634. — Maurice, Andrew, A.M., Oriel College, Oxford, and chaplain of All Souls; comportioner of Llansannan, and vicar of Corwen, 1641; of all of which he was deprived during the Commonwealth, and died 1563 or 1564. DEANS. 243 1660.— Lloyd, David, D.C.L., fellow of All Souls'; Prebendary of Chester, and chaplain to the Earl of Derby. He was of Berth - lv yd, Montgomeryshire; became fellow of All Souls, 1617; sub- sequently chaplain to the Earl of Derby; rector of Trefdraeth, 1641; but exchanged it for Llangynhafal, 1642; and the same year he was made vicar of Llanfair, D.C., and Warden of Ruthin. He was also Prebendary of Chester. On the breaking out of the Rebellion he was deprived of all his preferments; but recovered them on the Restoration; was promoted to the deanery in 1660, and made one of the comportioners of Llansannan in 1662. "He was esteemed a good poet, and wrote several songs, sonnets, and elegies but his best known work was ' The Legend of Captain Jones,' a burlesque, first published in London, 1656, and fre- quently afterwards reprinted ; said to be an imitation of a Welsh poem called 'Richard Sion Greulon.'" (Eminent Welshmen.) 1663. — Lloyd, Humphrey, D.D., Bishop of Baugor, 1673. Born at Bodyfudden, in Trawsfynydd parish, he entered at Oriel, became scholar of Jesus, fellow and tutor of Oriel ; and when the King and court were settled in Oxford, chaplain to Archbishop Wil- liams, who gave him the prebend of Ampleford, in York Cathe- dral. On the death of his father he succeeded him as vicar of Rhuabon, 1646; lost his preferments during the civil war, but recovered them on the Restoration; was made Canon of St. Asaph, 1661; Dean, 1663; vicar of Gresford, 1673, in succession to his brother Samuel ; and the same year promoted to the bishopric of Bangor. He died in 1688. 1673.— Stratford, Nicholas, D.D., Bishop of Chester, 1689. Born at Hempstead, Herts, he became scholar of Trinity College, Oxford, 1652; fellow, 1659; Warden of the Collegiate Church of Man- chester, 1667-84; Prebendary of Lincoln, 1670; sinecure rector of Llansantfrraid-ym-Mechain, 1671; Dean of St. Asaph and chap- lain in ordinary to the King, 1673; rector of St. Mary, Alder- manbury, 1683; and Bishop of Chester, 1689. He published three sermons and several other works. 1689. — Bright, George, D.D. Born at Epsom, he became fellow of Emmanuel College, Cambridge ; rector of Loughborough, and chaplain to Mary, Princess of Orange; Dean of St. Asaph, 1689; died 1696. "Dr. Bright did collect and publish the first volume of Dr. J. Lightfoot's works, containing all those English books which had been put out by the said Lightfoot in his lifetime. 1684; folio. Mr. Strype published the second volume, with a preface and Appendix to the Life of Lightfoot by Dr. Bright ; which Appendix is larger than the Life itself." (A. \Noo&, Athen. Oxon., ii, 860.) He also published some sermons. (B. Willis.) 1696.— Price, Daniel, A.M., fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge; rector of Aspenden and Westmill, diocese of Rochester ; sinecure 244 DEANS. rector of Llansantffraid-ym-Mechain. "He was a relation of Bishop Jones; and being found guilty of simony in procuring this last, was deprived of it." (Proceedings against, the Bishop of St. Asaph, 25, 52.) 1706. — Stanley, William, D.D., nephew of Bishop Beveridge. He entered at St. John's College, Cambridge, 1663, and became fellow of Bennett College ; chaplain to the Earl of Essex ; rector of Rayne Parva, 1681; exchanged, in 1682, for St. Mary Magda- lene, Old Fish Street, London ; and this, again, for Much Had- ham, Essex ; Prebendary of Colington Major, in St. Paul's, 1684; chaplain to the Princess of Orange, 1687; Canon Residentiary of St. Paul's, 1689; Archdeacon of London in succession to Bishop Tennison, 1691-2; and Dean of St. Asaph, 1706, "which he accepted," writes B. Willis, " to set his uncle free from the power- ful solicitations of others," — a modest reason, amply confirmed by his subsequent refusal of three bishoprics. He afterwards accepted the Mastership of his old college (Bennett's), and, dying in 1731, was buried in St. Paul's Cathedral. He joined Bishop Fleetwood in procuring the passing of the Mortuary Act, 1712, and rebuilt part of the Deanery. Besides Sermons, he published anonymously, "A Discourse upon the Devotions of the Church of Rome, and those of the Church of England," 1685, 4to; and "The Faith and Practice of a Church of England Man," 1706, which was translated into Welsh by Edward Samuel, rector of Llangar; and re-edited, in English, in 1848, by the Rev. Robt. Eden, with " Notes and an Introductory Essay on the Leading Principles of the Church of England." 1731. — Powell, William, A.M., nephew of Bishop Fleetwood; edu- cated at Eton and St. John's College, Cambridge, he became vicar of Lambourne; sinecure rector of Llangwm, 1710-51; rector of Llanymynech, 1713-29; and vicar of Llanyblodwel, 1713-31; Dean, and sinecure rector of Hope, 1731. 1751. — Herring, William, D.D.. fellow of Clare Hall, Cambridge, and nephew of Archbishop Herring, who, when Bishop of Bangor, made him his chaplain; when Archbishop of York, made him Prebend- ary of Apesthorpe, in York Cathedral, 1744; and rector of Bolton Percy, 1747; and when translated to Canterbury, appointed him Dean of St. Asaph and Precentor of Salisbury. 1774.- — Shipley, William Davies, M.A., son of Bishop Shipley; rector of Ysceiviog, 1770-1826; vicar of Wrexham, 1771-1826; sinecure rector of Llangwm, 1772-75; Corwen, 1774-82; Llanarmon-yn-Ial, 1782-1826; Chancellor of the Diocese, 1773-1826. He published a " Sermon for the Benefit of Chester Infirmary," preached in Wrexham Church, 1790. 1826. — Luxmoore, Charles Scott, M.A., son of Bishop of Luxmoore, who, as Bishop of Hereford, appointed him rector of Cradley, DEANS. 245 vicar of Bromyard, and Prebendary of Hereford ; and, as Bishop of St. Asaph, added the sinecure rectory of Darowen, 1819; the Deanery and the Chancellorship, 1826. 1854. — Clough, Charles Butler, M.A., educated at Rugby and St. John's College, Cambridge; rector of Llanverras, 1821 ; and vicar of Mold, 1825-54; Archdeacon of St. Asaph, 1844; Hon. Canon, 1849 ; Dean and Chancellor, 1854. He published three Sermons. 1859. — Bonnor, Richard Bonnor Maurice, M.A. Christ Church, Ox- ford; third Classics, second Mathematics, 1825; Perpetual Curate of Trinity Church, Oswestry, 1837-42; vicar of Rhuabon, 1842- 59; Rural Dean, 1848; Hon. Canon, 1850; Dean and Chancel- lor, 1859; author of a Sermon on "Church Restoration," and of papers on the Diocesan Church Building and other Societies. K K 246 PREBENDARIES. PEEBENDAEIES OF FAENOL. THE PRECENTORS OF THE CATHEDRAL. 1239. — G... "Cantor Ecclesie Assavens." Witness to Bishop Hugh's appropriations of Llanfair-Caer-Einion to the nuns of Llanllugan. (B. Willis, ii, 24, App. III.) 1291. — Thomas, " Canonia Thome p'sbri in parochia ipsius Ecclesie et in Capella de Dymneychawn & Llangernyw. 1516. — Maddox, Robert. 1534. — Bretton (Bruton or Breiton), John ap Howel, signed the Decla- ration of the Dean and Chapter renouncing the supremacy of the Pope. 1538. — Burchenshaw, Maurice, A.M.; rector of Denbigh, 1543, and Canon of Wells. Bishop Parfew (or Wharton) charged this pre- bend, in 1539, with a pension of £10 a year, to be paid to his relative, J. Parfew, till he should be preferred to a sinecure of the same value. He was made Prebendary of Llannefydd, 1556. 1564. — Yale, Thomas, LL.D., Dean of Arches; Chancellor of Bangor, 1570. 1578. — Yale, David, D.D., rector of Llandegla, 1564; Prebendary of Chester, 1582; and Chancellor of that diocese, 1622. 1625.- -Dolben, David, D.D., Bishop of Bangor, 1631. Born at Segroit, 1581, he graduated at St. John's College, Cambridge; became vicar of Llangernyw, 1621 ; and Canon of St. Asaph, 1624. He was also vicar of Hackney, and promoted to the bishopric of Ban- gor, 1631, with which he continued to retain his prebend till his death in 1633. 1633. — Williams, Hugh, D.D., rector of Llantrisaint, Anglesea, 1626; comportiojier of Llandinam and Canon of Bangor, 1632; rector of Llanrhyddlad and Prebend of Vaenol,1633. He was the father of Sir William Williams, the Speaker, the founder of the families of Wynnstay and Bodelwyddan. 1671. — Lloyd, David, A.M., chaplain to Bishop Barrow. Born at Pant Mawr, and educated at Ruthin School and Oriel College, Oxford, he became rector of Ibston, 1658; but resigned it on being appointed Reader to the Charterhouse, 1659; was presented by Bishop Barrow to the vicarage of LlansantfFraid-ym-Mechain, and a canonry, in 1670; and the following year promoted to this pre- bend and the vicarage of Abergele, with the rectory of Llanddulas, 1672; but these two he exchanged, in 1677, for the vicarage of Northop, where he taught the Free School, and had daily service. He was the author of several works (of which a list is given in Wood's Athenoe Oj'(>niensr«),ihv best known of which were " Church PREBENDARIES. 247 Worthies, or the Lives of the Right Rev. Archbishops, the Rev. Bishops, Doctors, and Eminent Divines, since the Reformation " State Worthies, or the Statesmen and Favourites of England since the Reformation," a thick 8 vo, first ed. 1665; second, 1670; "Wonders no Miracles," 1666; and "Memories of the Lives, Actions, Sufferings, and Deaths, of those Noble, Reverend, and Excellent Personages that suffered by Death, Sequestration, Deci- mation, or otherwise, for the Protestant Religion and the great Principles thereof, Alliance to their Soveraigne, in our late intes- tine Wars from 1637 to the year 1666, with the Life and Mar- tyrdom of King Charles I," 1668. 1691. — Maurice, David, D.D., son of Dean Maurice; vicar of Llanasa, 1666-84; Prebendary of Meifod, 1666 ; rector of Gwytherin,1675; comportioner of Llanfair, 1677; vicar of Abergele and Bettws, 1681; Prebendary of Faenol, 1691; and sinecure rector of Llan- armon ynlal, 1695. "Florentem setatem in juventute erudienda contrivit, — hac in Ecclesia praedicando assidue fatigavit maturi- ores annos." (Epitaph in Bettws Church.) 1697. — Davies, John, D.D., of the family of Llannerch and Gwysaney, entered at Trinity College, Cambridge ; was made fellow of Peter House, and became rector of the family living of Kingsland, Here- fordshire ; vicar of Kerry, Precentor of St. David's, and Pre- bendary of Hereford and St. Asaph. 1733. — Tanner, John, A.M., brother of Bishop Tanner; vicar of Lowestoft, and Commissary to the Archdeacon of Suffolk. He published, in 1 744, an enlarged and improved folio edition of his learned brother's Notitia Monastica. 1760. — Marsden, John, D.D., student of Christ Church, Oxford; rec- tor of Llandyssil, 1760; rector of Bolton Percy, and Prebendary of Southwell. 1796. — Bagot, Walter, A.M., brother of the Bishop, rector of Blith- field and Leigh, Staffordshire. 1806.— Sneyd, Ralph, LL.B., sinecure rector of Corwen, 1796-1808. 1808. — Dean, John, B.D., sinecure rector of Corwen, both of which he resigned. 1809. — Cleaver, William, M.A., student of Christ Church, Oxford, obtained the Chancellor's prize for Latin verse in 1808, — subject, " Delphi"; and the following year was presented by his father to the prebend of Faenol and the sinecure rectories of Llanfor and Corwen ; the two former of which he held till his death in 1854, and the last till 1812. In 1811 he was collated to the rectory of Newtown; and exchanged it in 1814 for that of Denbigh, which he resigned in 1818. Mr. Cleaver was distinguished for his great charity and kind- ness of heart. (Johnes' Essay, 199, 219.) On his death the pre- bend lapsed to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. 248 PREBENDARIES. PREBENDARIES OF LLANNEFYDD. the chancellors of the cathedral. 1241.— David. 1291. — Ithel ap Davydd. " Canonia Ithael ap D'd in ipsa ecclesia et p'ventus sui ap' Kilfurn." (Cilowen et Cyrchynan 1) 1304. — Cynwric Llwyd. 1385. — John de Exeter. 1520. — Standish, Richard, LL.D. Camb.; rector of Standish, and a relative of the Bishop. 1552. — Williams, John. 1556. — Parfew, J. See under Preb. Faenol, 1539. 1559. — Whettels, Robert, presented by Queen Elizabeth on the de- privation of his predecessor. Bishop R. Davies describes him in his Return (1560) as "adhuc puer, de eruditione et habitatione nobis non constat"; and Bishop Thomas Davies, in his Visitation in 1570, passed sentence of deprivation upon him as being a mere layman. He appears, however, notwithstanding this, to have retained his stall till his death. 1577. — Lewen, William, LL.B., Dean of the Court of Arches. 1598. — Vaughan, William, D.D., vicar of Llanarmon-yn-Ial, 1567- 80; sinecure rector of Llanrhaiadr, 1574-90; comportioner of Llansannan, 1580-97; rector of Carreg-y-drudion, 1587-97; Llan- gwm, 1593-8; Prebendary of Meifod, 1596; Prebendary of Llan- nefydd, 1598. 1598. — Glynne, Richard, Prebendary of Llanfair in Bangor Cathedral, rector of Llantrisaint, and Archdeacon of Bangor, 1613. 1617.— Davies, John, D.D., the eminent Welsh Grammarian and Lex- icographer. He was born at Llanferras, and is said to have been educated at Ruthin School, under Dr. Parry; but it is more pro- bable, on the ground of chronology, that he took his degree at Jesus College, Oxford, first, and afterwards became an assistant master there. In 1604 he was presented by the Crown to the rectory of Mallwyd; and on the promotion of Dr. Parry to the bishopric, he was appointed his chaplain. Returning to Oxford in 1608, he was elected Reader of the Sentences at Lincoln Col- lege; and coming back, after a short interval, to his rectory, he was made a Canon in 1612; and rector of the neighbouring parish of Llanymawddwy in 1613; to which was added the sinecure rec- tory of Darowen, another adjoining parish, in 1615. Dr. Davies assisted Bishop Parry in bringing out his revised and corrected edition of Bishop Morgan's Bible in 1620, — an edi- tion which may even yet be called the standard Welsh version. PREBENDARIES. 249 In 1621 he published a Welsh grammar entitled "Antique Lin- guae Britannicae Rudimenta," 12mo; of which a second edition, in Latin, was published at Oxford, in 1809, by the Rev. Henry Parry, M.A., vicar of Llanasa. In 1632 he published his famous Dictionary, under the title, "Antiquae Linguae Britannicre Dicti- onarium Duplex," the first part being Welsh and Latin, the second Latin and Welsh. A second edition of the Welsh-Latin portion appeared at Amsterdam in 1645, but without the Hebrew and other comparisons. The Latin-Welsh portion was a revised and abbreviated edition of an elaborate work, full of quotations from Welsh authors, left in manuscript by Dr. Thomas Williams, a physician of Trefriw. Dr. Davies' Dictionary continued for two centuries the great authority on its subject, until it was super- seded by Dr. Owen Pughe's most valuable work. He also pub- lished a translation into Welsh of the Catechism and Articles, and also "Llyfr y Resolution"; all of which have passed through several editions, and the last of which has appeared under the new title of " Dyhewyd y Cristion." He also made a large col- lection of Welsh poems and proverbs, some of which were pub- lished in 1710 as "Flores Poetarum Britannicorum," and " Blod- euog Waithy Prydyddion Bryttanaidd" and others are preserved in the Bodleian Library and the British Museum. He died and was buried at Mallwyd in 1644, where his epitaph claims to be " in virtutis potius quani nominis memoria." {Eminent Welshmen and Lh/frydJiaeth y Cymru.) 1644. — Erskine, William, D.D., sinecure rector of Cwm, 1644-53. 1660. — Williams, John, A.M., vicar of Machynlleth, 1616-17; sine- cure rector of Northop, 1624; rector of Llanymynach, 1625-27; rector of Llanfyllin, 1627-31; vicar of Llanrhaiadr, 1625. De- prived of both his preferments; but on the Restoration he reco- vered them, and was promoted to this prebend. Died 1662. 1662. — Spark, Archibald, B.D. of the University of Aberdeen; vicar choral, 1632; Cauon, 1637; rector of Hirnaiit, 1637-8; and vicar of Corwen, 1637-9; vicar of Northop, 1639. Deprived, but re- instated at the Restoration; and promoted to this stall, 1662. 1669.— Ellis, John, D.D., Wadham College, Oxford. He was chap- lain of New College, 1661; Precentor of St. David's, 1678; rector of Llanddyfuan, Anglesea, and of Llanfor, 1668. Died in Shrews- bury, 1693; buried in St. Chad's Church. 1693.— Wyxxe, Robert, D.D., Chancellor of the Diocese, 1690. 1^43. — Duberdieu, John, A.M., vicar of Low Leyton, Essex. 1754.— Eyre, Venn, A.M., of Catherine Hall, Cambridge; rector of Stanbridge, Essex, 1737; Lecturer of Lyun Regis, Norfolk; Arch- deacon of Carlisle, 1756. 250 PREBENDARIES. 1777. — Watts, George, A.M., Hertford College, Oxford; vicar of Dura- ford, Wilts; of Uffington, Berks, 1769; chaplain at Dominique, 1772; rector of Catmore, Oxford, 1791. 1810. — Drake, James, A. M., Prebendary of Brecon and vicar of Warm- field, York. PREBENDARIES OF MELIDEX. THE TREASURERS OF THE CATHEDRAL. 1291. — "Canonia de Kefxerth presb'ri in ipsa ecclesia et proventus in Capella de Aldmelyden ad eandem canoniam pertinent." 1409. — Gowe, Robert, Canon of Windsor, 1402; Chancellor of Lich- field Cathedral, 1409. 1415. — Tyrell, William. 1465. — Cheshire, Roger. 1474. — Sharpels, Peter, seems to have exchanged, for some other pre- ferment, with 1476. — Chatterton, Edmund, Archdeacon of Chester, and Canon of St. Peter's, Westminster. 1500. — Flint, Gregory, executor to the will of Bishop Davydd ab Owen, 1512. 1534. — Welliford, Christopher. 1540. — Jennings, William, B.D., the first Dean of Gloucester, 1541. 1 5 5 4. — Brickenden, Richard. 1557. — Vaughan, Hugh, Canon, 1547; sinecure rector of Llansant- ffraid-yni-Mechain, 1556; Prebendary, 1557; but resigned in 1558, on a pension of £3 : 6 : 8; Canon of Bangor, 1560. 1558. — Ireland, Robert, LL.B., Canon, 1553; vicar of Denbigh, 1554. 1598. — Thomas, Roger, A.M., Canon. 1609.— Gwynn, David. 1624. — Lloyd, Robert, B.D., vicar of Wrexham, 1598. 1628.— Kyffin, John, S.T.B., vicar choral, 1620; vicar of Oswestry, 1625; rector of Manafon, 1635. 1635. — Puleston, Edward, A.M., rector of Castle Caereinion, and sine- cure rector of Hope, 1616; rector of Manafon, 1622. 1645. — Wright, Nicholas, D.D., vicar of Theydon, Essex. 1649. — Gwynne, David. 1661.— Thelwall, William, A.M., rector of Whitford, 1633. 1672. — Turbridge, Richard, A.M., vicar choral, 1664; Canon, 1671; vicar of Dymeirchion, 1672. PREBENDARIES. 251 1674. — Edwards, John, LL.D., rector of Knockin and Llanymynech, 1666; Chancellor of the Diocese, 1683. 1685. — Davies, Samuel, LL.D., Canon, 1667; vicar of Welshpool, 1668; vicar of Guilsfield, 1670. 1691. — Tench, Robert, A.M., rector of Llanwrin, 1676; Canon, 1690. 1701. — Price, John, A.M., vicar of Wrexham, 1686; Canon, 1693; appointed by the King during the suspension of Bishop Jones, but afterwards deprived as a N on- Juror. 1716. — Jones, John, B.D., fellow of Jesus College, Oxford, succeeded the above in both his prebend and his vicarage; sinecure rector of Darowen, 1716; exchanged for that of Hope, 1720. 1731. — Wynne, John, chaplain to Bishop Hare; rector of Cerrigydrud- ion, 1725; sinecure rector of Corwen, and Canon, 1727; rector of Llanymynech, 1731. He was of Garthmeilio. 1716. — Bouchery, Gilbert, A.M., son of the Rev. Weyman Bouchery, rector of Little Blakenham, Suffolk; fellow of Clare Hall, Cam- bridge, 1636; and curate of Northolt under Dr. Lisle, who, on being promoted to this see, made him his chaplain, and presented him to this prebend, the sinecure rectory of Llansantffraid-ym- Mechain, and the rectory of Llanymynech ; which last he resigned in 1718, on the translation of Bishop Lisle to Norwich, and his own collation to the vicarage of Swaffham, Norfolk. Prebendary Bouchery left by his will, dated 11 Feb. 1783, in trust to the Dean and Chapter of St. Asaph, the sums of £1,000 Three per Cents., for the improvement of the stipend of the curate of Meliden ; and £1,400, Three per Cents., the interest to be equally divided between four poor benficed clergymen of the dio- cese, nominated by the Bishop. 1 787. — Milner, Henry Stephen, LL.B.,son of Sir William Milner, Bart., Christ Church, Oxford, 1781; fellow of All Souls, 1785; rector of Dunton, Bucks, 1788; rector of Thriberg and" Ad wick-le -Street, Yorkshire, 1831. PREBENDARIES OE LLANFAIR. FIRST COMPORTION. 1291. — Davydd ap Llywarch. "Canonia D'd ap Lowarch in ipsa ecclesia et p'ventus in capella de Llanweyr ad eand' canone p'ti- nent." 1391.— Chicheley, Henry, LL.D., Archbishop of Canterbury, 1 414-31. He was of New College, Oxford; Archdeacon of Salisbury, 1402; Chancellor of that cathedral, 1404; Bishop of St. David's, 1408 ; Archbishop of Canterbury, 1414. Archbishop Chicheley, besides endowing the collegiate church 252 PREBEND AKIES. and hospital at Higham Ferrers, his native place, founded Bernard and All Souls' Colleges at Oxford ; contributed to the finishing of the Divinity School there; and enriched his own cathedral at Canterbury with costly ornaments, repaired and replenished the library, and built a great tower called the Oxford Tower. ^ 1406. — Kyffin, Howel. 1534. — Crayford, John, D.D., first of Cambridge (Queen's College), then of Oxford; fellow of New, 1519; Proctor at Cambridge, 1522; Canon of Christ Church, Oxford, 1525; D.D. of Cambridge, 1535, and Vice Chancellor; Prebendary and Chancellor of the Cathedral of Salisbury, 1444; Archdeacon of Berks, 1545; Pre- bendary of Chermister and Bere, in Salisbury Cathedral ; Pre- bendary of Winchester, and Master of University College, Oxford, 1546. 1547. — Clapham, Thomas. 1559. — Clapham, David. "Adhuc puer, de eruditione et habitatione nobis non constat." (Bishop Davies' Return; Br. Willis, 138.) 1566. — Rose, Adam. 1586. — Williams, Arthur, rector of Llanllwchaiarn. 1621. — Berkeley, John, S. T. P., rector of Newtown, 1613; rector of Llanfyllin, 1614. 1623. — Mostyn, Simon, S. T. B., vicar of Ysceifiog,1614; Canon, 161 7 ; vicar of Rhuddlan, 1618; vicar of Cwm, 1623. 1624. — Kynaston, Ralph, vicar of Kinnerley, 1629. 1630. — Salad yne, John, A.M. 1660. — Lloyd, John, M.A., brother of Humphrey Lloyd, Bishop of Bangor. He was rector of March wiail, 1641; and after the Resto- ration appointed to this prebend; made Warden of Ruthin, 1663, and Archdeacon of Merioneth ; sinecure rector of the first portion of Llansannan, 1666. 1668. — Godwin, Nathaniel, A.M., rector of Cransford, Suffolk. 1682.— Price, John, S.T.P., fellow of New College, Oxford; rector of Hawarden, 1670. He was of the Rhiwlas family. (Monument in Hawarden Church). 1684. — Price, Henry, A.M., Head Master of Ruthin School. He was deprived for refusing to take the oaths of allegiance to William and Mary. 1690. — Marsh, Narcissus, D.D., Bishop of Ferns and Leighlin; Arch- bishop of Armagh, 1702. Born at Hannington, Wilts, he entered 1 I insert this from Browne Willis; but I have little doubt that he was mistaken in supposing Llanfarchell (" Pastor fuit ecclesice de Llanfarchell") to have been Llanfair-tal-haiarn. Tt should be Denbigh. PREBENDARIES. 253 at Magdalen Hall, Oxford ; became fellow of Exeter, 1673; chap- lain to Bishop Ward of Salisbury, and afterwards to Lord Claren- don; Principal of St. Alban Hall, 1673; Provost of Trinity Col- lege, Dublin, 1682; Bishop of Ferns and Leighlin, and vicar of Gresford, 1690; resigned his vicarage the same year, on being- promoted to the archbishopric of Cashel ; from which he was translated to Dublin in 1694; and thence again, in 1702, to Armagh. Whilst Archbishop of Dublin he built and endowed a noble library near the Palace of St. Sepulchre. At Drogheda he endowed with £20 a year an almshouse for the widows of de- cayed clergymen. Within his own diocese he restored many churches at his own expense, and bought several impropriations, which he restored to the Church. He gave to the Bodleian Library many oriental MSS., and was the author of " Manuduc- tio ad Logicam," " Institutions Logicse," an " Essay on the Doc- trine of Sounds," and a Charge to his clergy. 1691. — Thomas, John, A.M., rector of Penegoes, 1689. He wrote an able "Answer to J. O.'s1 'Argument for Ordination by Presbyters without Bishops.'" This "Answer" was highly approved by Bishop Lloyd of St. Asaph and Bishop Humphreys of Bangor, and. was posthumously published, under the editorship of the Rev. Dr. George Hickes, in 1711. 1696. — Jones, John, D.D., of Trinity College, Cambridge; Dean of Bangor, and rector of Llanllechid. 1727.— Wynne, Thomas, A.M. 1741. — Jones, Hugh, A.M., chaplain to Bishop Maddox; rector of Llanferras, 1725; Canon, 1739; vicar of Gresford, 1743. 1764. — Newcome, Peter, LL.B., Queen's College, Cambridge; rector of Shenley, Herts ; and nephew of Bishop Newcome, who collated him, in 1755, to a prebendal stall in Llandaff ; and in 1766 to this one, which, however, on being collated to the sinecure rec- tory of Darowen, he resigned, in 1766, in favour of his younger brother. Mr. Newcome was the author of the " History of St. Alban 's Abbey," and the last lecturer at St. Paul's on Lady Moyer's foundation. 1766. — Newcome, Henry, A.M., fellow of Queen's College, Cambridge; Junior Proctor, 1760; rector of Castle Caereinion, 1761; and vicar of Gresford, 1764. He was chaplain to his uncle. 1803. — Robson, George, M.A., vicar of Chirk, 1804; and rector of Erbistock, 1805. (Johnes' Essay, p. 198.) Eev. James Owen of Oswestry. LL 254 PREBENDARIES. PREBENDARIES OF LLANFAIR. SECOND COMPORTION. 1291. — Ithel Vychan. "Canonia Ithael Vachan in ipsa ecclesia et proventus in capella de Llanveyr Dalhaeayn ad eand' canon' p'tinent." 1514 (?) — Pydleston or Pulestone, Robert. 1517. — Pydleston or Puleston, Hugh, vicar of Wrexham, 1520-66; sinecure rector of Llanrhaiadr-yn-Mochnant, 1533-66; Cwrn, 1547- 60; and Hope, 1557. 1575. — Powel, David, D.D., the learned Welsh scholar and historian. Born in Denbighshire, and graduated, in 1572, at Jesus College, Oxford (newly founded), he became vicar of Rhuabon and Pre- bendary of Meifod in 1570; rector of Llanfyllin, 1571-78; vicar of Meifod, 1579; sinecure rector of Llansantffraid-yn-Mechain, 1588. In 1584, when chaplain to Sir Henry Sidney, Lord Pre- sident of the Marches of Wales, he completed and edited Hum- phrey Llwyd's unfinished translation of " Caradawg of Llangar- van's History of Wales." In 1585 he published his " Annotationes in Itinerarium Cambrise, scriptum per Sil. GiraldumCambrensem"; "Annotationes in Cambrise Descriptionem per Sil. Giraldum," and " De Britannica Historia recte intelligenda Epistola," all in one volume 8vo; reprinted by Camden, 1603, and re-edited by Sir Richard Hoare, Bart., 1806. In the same year (1585) he also published " Historia Britannica," or the British history written by Ponticus Virunius; which is an epitome of Geoffrey of Mon- mouth, and was reprinted in " Rerum Britannicarum Scriptores Vetustiores," Lugduni, 1587. Dr. Powel was one of those who rendered great assistance to Dr. William Morgan in his transla- tion of the Bible into Welsh, 1588; and he was, at the time of his death, engaged in compiling a Welsh dictionaiy. 1599. — Price, Ffoulk, D.D., rector of Cerrigydrudion, 1597; vicar of Gresford, 1609; rector of Llandrinio, 1613; sinecure rector of Cwm, 1616. 1632.— Price, Elis, A.M., vicar of Rhuddlan, 1633. 1674. — Edwards, John, vicar of Cwm, 1633. 1677.— Maurice, David, D.D., Prebendary of Faenol, 1691. 1691.— Wynne, Robert, S. T. B., Chancellor of the Diocese, 1690, and of the Cathedral, 1693. 1693.— Lloyd, Griffith, S. T. B., fellow of Jesus College, Oxford; vicar of Llansantffraid-yn-Mechain, 1682-92; sinecure rector, 1694; and Prebendary of LlandafF. 1696. — Parry, Henry, rector of Llandderfel, 1675. PREBEND ABIES 255 1705. — Ffoulkes, Humphrey, D.D., rector of St. George, 1702; rec- tor of March wiail, 1709; sinecure rector of Llanfor, 1713. "I have writ some 1 Dissertations on the Religion, Literature, Polity, and Laws of the Middle Ages in "Wales' " (writes Dr. Ffoulkes to Bishop Maddox, to whom he proposes to dedicate them). " The first volume containing other Dissertations, inscribed to my tutor, Bishop Wynne, is printing off." (MS. Book B.) 1737. — Duberdieu, John, A.M., Prebendary of Llannefydd, 1743. 1743. — Swyxtox, John, A.M., Wadham College, Oxford, and chaplain of Christ Church. 1777. — Baker, Thomas, A.M., Exeter College, Oxford, and afterwards of Merton ; Prebendary of Exeter. 1803. — Horseley, Heneage, M.A., son of the Bishop; vicar of Gres- ford, 1802; vicar of Chirk, 1803; and rector of Castle Caereinion, 1804. (Johnes' Essay, p. 199.) PREBENDARIES OF MEIFOD. THE SACRISTANS OF THE CATHEDRAL. 1291. — Bleddyx apAdda. "Canonia Bledyn ap Adaf in eadem eccle- sia et p'ventus alii omnes ad eandem canoniam spectantes, tax- antur £4:6:8." 1360 (I) — William de Laxgeburg, d. 1366. 1366. — Henry de Spoxdox, rector of St. John Zachary's, London. 1494 (?)— Webb, Thomas. 1494. — Willars, William. 1534. — Owex, David, rector of Whittington, 1532; vicar of Oswestrv, 1534. 1558. — Price, John, LL.B., Chancellor of the Diocese, 1559. 1570. — Powel, David, D.D., Prebendary of Llanfair, 1575. 1575. — Roberts, John, A.M. 1596. — Vaughax, William, Prebendary of Llannefydd, 1598. 1598. — Williams, Peter, rector of Llauerfyl, 1587; vicar of Xsceiviog, 1590; Canon, 1595 ; rector of Manafon, 1596 ; rector of March- wiail, 1598; sinecure rector of Llansannan, 1599: vicar of Rhu- abon, 1600. 1614.— Kyffix, Edward, vicar of Whitford, 1601. 1617.— Morgax, Evan, B.D., vicar of Llanasa, 1602 ; vicar of Mold, 1612; sinecure rector of Caerwys, and Comportioner of Llansan- nan, 1614; rector of Denbigh, 1615. 1621. — Evans, Richard, vicar of Llaurwst, 1618; vicar of Tremeir- chion, 1619; vicar of Welshpool, 1622; rector of Halkiu, 1626; 256 PREBENDARIES. Llanasa, 1633. Deprived by the Puritan approvers. (Antea, p. 104.) 1666. — Maurice, David, A.M., Prebendary of Faenol, 1691. 1677. — Clopton, Thomas, A. M., nephew of Bishop Barrow; Master of Oswestry School, 1672; sinecure rector of Cilken, 1673; Canon, 1675; sinecure rector of Llanrwst, 1677, and Prebendary; but resigned this on being made rector of Castle Caereinion, 1678. 1678. — Pugh, Thomas, vicar of Berriew, 1664. 1678. — Clopton, Thomas, A.M., a second time; but resigned both it and Castle in 1688, in exchange for the rectory of Christleton (vide p. 190) with 1688. — Mostyn, John, rector of Llanycil, 1686; rector of Castle Caer- einion, 1688; rector of Llangynyw, and sinecure rector of Whit- ford, 1690. 1730. — Lloyd, Hugh, A.M., vicar of Llanasa, 1716; vicar of Mold, 1717; rector of Llangynhafal, 1729. 1749. — Morgan, John, B.D., chaplain to Bishop Dmmmond, priest of the Chapel Royal, sinecure rector of Corwen, 1750. 1773. — Worthington, William, D.D., Jesus College, Oxford. Born in Merionethshire, and educated at Oswestry School, he was appointed vicar of Llanyblodwel, 1729; sinecure rector of Dar- owen, 1737-51; vicar of Llanrhaiadr-yn-Mochnant, 1745; sine- cure rector of Hope, 1751-74; and of Llanfor, 1774. He was chaplain to Bishop Drummond, who, on his translation to York, made him a Prebendary of that Cathedral also. Dr. Worthington was a learned, a voluminous writer, and the author of "An Essay on Redemption;" "The Scripture Theory of the Earth," a sequel to the former ; " Historical Sense of the Mosaic Account of the Fall vindicated ;" " Instructions concern- ing Confirmation;" "A Disquisition concerning the Lord's Sup- per ;" " The Evidences of Christianity, being the Boyle Lectures for 1766, 7, 8," in 2 vols.; some special Sermons ; an "Eireni- con ;" and "An Enquiry into the Case of the Gospel Demoniacs;" with an Essay on Scripture Demonology. 1779. — Brown, William, rector of Newtown, 1775; vicar of Berriew, 1793; vicar of Guilsfield and Meifod, 1794. 1819. — Luxmoore, Charles Scott, M.A., son of the Bishop ; Dean and Chancellor of the Diocese, 1826. 1826. — Luxmoore, John Henry Montague, M.A., St. John's College, Cambridge, brother of the above ; sinecure rector of Whitford and perpetual curate of Moreton, 1823 ; rector of March wiail, 1824; sinecure rector of Llanarmon-yn-Ial, 1826. (Johnes' Essay, 1832, p. 217.) He wrote "Instruction in the Catechism of the Church," 16mo.; and a duoglot "Instruction in the Fasts and Festivals of flic Church," 16mo., the Welsh by the Rev. Evan Evans, vicar of Llanarmon-yn-Ial. CANONS CURSAL. 257 CANONS CUKSAL. CANONIA PRIMA. DAVID AP HOWEL. 1535. — David ap Howel, vicar of Llanbrynmair ; vicar of Gresford, 1537. 1546. — White, William. 1547. — Cuthbert, I. 1549. — Lewis, Jeffrey. 1558. — Davies, Richard, had been deprived, in 1553, of " canonia ter- tia" for being married. 1564. — Jones, David. 1566. — Kyffin, Jeffrey, LL.B., vicar of Llanrwst and rector of Llan- di'inio, 1551. 1585.— Banks, Thomas, A.M., Dean, 1587. 1587. — Lloyd, William, A.M., sinecure rector of Llanrhaiadr-yn-Moch- nant, 1590. 1601. — Nicholas, David, presented by Lord Keeper Egerton, sede vacante. 1612. — Davies, John, D.D., Prebendary of Llannefydd, 1617. 1617. — Lloyd, Richard, D.D., Lincoln College, Oxford; vicar of Aber- gele, 1611; comportioner of Llansannan and vicar of Gresford, 1613; rector of Marchwiail, 1614; vicar of Rhuabon, 1617; rector of Ysceifiog, 1621. 1660. — Powel, Robert, D.D., fellow of All Souls, by the Parliament- ary Visitors, 1648; became afterwards Archdeacon of Salop, rec- tor of Whittington, Chancellor of the Diocese, and one of the King's chaplains. 1681. — Jones, John, B.D., vicar of St. Martin's, 1665; vicar of Llan- silin, 1667; rector of Selattyn, 1682. 1710. — Davies, Richard, A.M., Peter House, Cambridge. He was of the family of Gwysaney and Llanerch ; vicar of Rhuabon and rector of Erbistock, 1 706 ; Precentor and Canon of St. David's, and sinecure rector of Cilcain, where he rebuilt, in 1746, the north aisle of the church, which had been burnt down on Christmas Day 1532. At Rhuabon also he built some almshouses in 1740, and endowed them with £30 a year ; besides leaving .£200 to the parish ; to which must be added £100 to Peter House, Cam- bridge, for the purchase of advowsons ; £40 to the Diocesan 258 CANONS CURSAL. Widows and Orphans' Fund ; and £20 to complete the Library at St. David's. Browne Willis, in the dedication of his Survey of Bangor, ac- knowledges his obligations to Mr. Davies " for diverse very valu- able transcripts relating to the Welsh sees, particularly for a considerable part of his ' Review of St. Asaph,' inserted in his Survey of Bangor " pp. 339-71. 1748. — Lloyd, David, rector of Llanddoget, 1720-35; rector of Gwyth- eryn, 1738-53; rector of Llanycil, and vicar of Llanyblodwel, 1753-60; rector of Cerrigydrudion, 1760. 1763. — Jones, John, A.M., rector of LlansantfFraid Glan Conway, 1743; rector of Llanrwst, 1756. 1779. — Lewis, Ambrose Thelwall, A.M., rector of Llandegla, 1751; rector of Gwytherin, 1753; rector of Cerrigydrudion, 1778. 1784. — Chambres-Jones, Edward, M.A., vicar of Llannefydd, 1772; vicar choral, 1777; vicar of Llansannan, 1782. 1817. — Heber, Reginald, M.A., Bishop of Calcutta, 1823. Bishop Heber was born at Malpas Rectory, 1783 ; educated at Whit- church and at Neasdon; entered at BrasenoseCollege,Oxford,1800; obtained the Prize Poems for Latin verse, " Carmen Seculare," 1801; English verse, "Palestine," 1803; and the English essay, " The Sense of Honour," 1805; fellow of All Souls; Bampton Lec- turer, 1815; Canon of St. Asaph, and rector of Hodnet, 1817; Uni- versity Preacher, 1819; Preacher of Lincoln's Inn, 1822; Bishop of Calcutta, 1823-6. He was the author of many Sermons preached in England and in India ; Hymns for public worship (his well known missionary hymn, " From Greenland's icy Mountains," was composed for a service in Wrexham Church) ; " The Divinity, Personality, and Office of the Holy Spirit," being the Bampton Lecture, 1815; and a "Life of Bishop Jeremy Taylor," prefixed to a new and complete edition of his works. 1823. — Luxmoore, John Henry Montague, M.A., Prebendary of Mei- fod, 1826. 1827. — Williams, William, M.A., vicar choral, 1794; rector of Caer- wys, 1816; rector of Ysceiviog, 1826-36. CANONIA SECUNDA. ARTURI BULKELEY. 1525. — Bulkeley, Arthur, LL.D., Bishop of Bangor, 1541. Born in Anglesea, and educated at Oxford, he became rector of Llan- ddeusant, in his native county, 1525; rector of St. James Gar- iickhithe, London, 1531; Bishop of Bangor, 1541. CANONS CUIISAL. 259 1557. — Maurice ap Thomas, sinecure rector of Llansannan, 1557. 1558. — Vaughan, Hugh, sinecure rector of LlansantfFraid yn Mechain; Prebendary of Meliden, 1557. 1560. — Wynne, Rice, alias Rice ap Thomas, rector of Eglwysfach, 1558. 1(502. — Prys, Edmund, M.A., author of the Welsh Metrical Version of the Psalms. Born at Gerddibluog, in Llandecwyn, he graduated at St. John's College, Cambridge ; was made rector of Festiniog, 1572; Archdeacon of Merioneth, 1576; rector of Llanddwywc, 1580. Besides his version of the Psalms, Archdeacon Prys assisted Dr. Morgan in his translation of the Bible into Welsh ; and to him Dr. John Davies of Mallwyd dedicated his Welsh Grammar. 1624. — Dolben, David, M.A., Prebendary of Faenol, 1626; Bishop of Bangor, 1631 1626. — Morris, Evan. 1637.— Spark, Archibald, B.D., Prebendary of Llannefydd, 1662. 1662. — Lloyd, Humphrey, A.M.; Dean, 1673; Bishop of Bangor,1675. 1663. — Wynne, Edward, D.D., Chancellor of Bangor. He graduated at Cambridge; was made rector of Llanymawddwy, 16-14; and after the Restoration, rector of Llanarmon, near Pwllheli, and Llangeinwen in Anglesea; rector of Llanllechid, 1662; Canon of St. Asaph and Chancellor of Bangor, 1663; rector of Llaneugrad, 1668. He was nephew to Bishop Owen, grandson to Bishop R. Morgan of Bangor, and had been curate to Dr. Davies of Ma- llwyd. He founded a school at Holyhead, besides other acts of charity, and was the author of " Trefn Ymarweddiad y Gwir Gristion," first ed. 1662; second, 1723-4. 1670. — Roberts, Philip, vicar of Darowen, 1664; rector of Bodvari, 1668. 1675. — Edwards, Robert, vicar of Corwen, 1653; vicar of Whitford, 1661. 1727. — Wynne, John, Prebendary of Meliden, 1734. 1731. — Powel, Peter, A.M., rector of Llanycil, 1725; vicar of Llan- rhaiadr yn Mochnant, 1735. 1747.— Price, Thomas, vicar of Cilcain, 1739; rector of Caerwys, 1 740; vicar choral, and rector of St. George, 1750; rector of Cerrigy- drudion, 1757. 1760. — Lewis, Robert, A.M., vicar of Pennant, and rector of Llan- gynog, 1744; rector of Nannerch, 1746; vicar of Corwen, 1747; vicar of Mold, 1749. 1792. — Williams, Hugh, M.A., chaplain to Bishop Bagot ; rector of Llangynyw, 1790 ; vicar of Corwen, 1792 ; exchanged for rectory of Halkin, 1797. He was also rector of Clocaenog, which he ex- changed for Llanelidan, 1796. 260 CANONS CURSAL. 1809. — Williams, Rowland, M.A., chaplain to Bishops Cleaver and Luxmoore. Educated at Ruthin School and Jesus College, Ox- ford, of which he was a scholar, he became Second Master of Bangor School ; and on Bishop Cleaver's translation to St. Asaph he was made his examining chaplain, and vicar of Cilcain, 1807; rector of Halkin and Canon, 1809; vicar of Meifod, 1819; rector of Ysceifiog, 1836. He contributed many papers to the Gwyliedydd and Cambro-JBriton, and was one of the four clergy selected by the Bishops to correct the Welsh Book of Common Prayer in 1840. CANONIA TERTIA. RICARDI HARRISON. 1536. — Harrison, Richard, D.D., sinecure rector of Whitford, 1540. 1540. — Davies, Richard, deprived for being married. 1553. — Ireland, Robert, Prebendary of Meliden, 1558. 1560. — Jones, Henry, LL.D., All Souls' College, Oxford ; sinecure rector of Llansannan, 1561; rector of Llanrwst, 1573. He was consulted by Queen Elizabeth in the case of Leslie, Bishop of Ross, who, having come to her as ambassador from Mary Queen of Scots, fomented a rebellion against her. (B. W., i, 345.) 1592. — Owen, Hugh, vicar choral, 1576. 1599. — Holland, John, A.M., vicar of Guilsfield, 1586. 1639. — Langford, William, A.M., Hart Hall, Oxford; Head Master of Ruthin School, 1626-8; rector of Heneglwys, 1630; vicar of Welshpool, 1632; rector of Llanerfyl, 1637; sinecure rector of Llanfor, 1644. Deprived, by the Committee of Sequestrators, of all his preferments save Llanfor, which he appears to have retained through the influence of Mr. Ed. Meyrick. Restored to Welsh- pool, 1660; rector of Castle Caereinion, 1664. 1658. — Wynne, Robert, A.M., rector of Cerrigydrudion, 1666. 1 702. — Jones, Thomas, son of Bishop Jones, vicar of Bettws yn Rhos, 1702; sinecure rector of Cwm, vicar of Llanfair Caereinion, and vicar of Llanrhaiadr yn Mochnant, 1 705. 1720. — Wynne, Thomas, vicar of Ysceifiog, 1697; rector of Llanrwst, 1714. 1728.— Powell, William, A.M., Dean, 1731. 1731. — Worthington, William, A.M., Prebendary of Meifod, 1778. 1741. — Jones, Robert, vicar of Rhuddlan, 1727. 1759.— Lloyd, Robert, A.M. (of Cefn), Prebendary of Hereford, and vicar of Vowchurch in that diocese. CANONS CURSAL. 261 1777. — Williams, Edward, A.M., chaplain to Bishop Shipley; vicar choral, 1759; vicar of Nantglyn, 1765 ; vicar of Llansantffraid- yn-Mechain, 1770; vicar of Llanrhaiadr-yn-Mochnant, 1779; rector of Mallwyd, 1783. 1792. — Holland-Edwards, Howell, M.A., chaplain to Bishop Bagot ; rector of Llanrwst, 1799, which he resigned in 1830, on being- appointed Prebendary of Westminster. He was the founder of St. Mary's Church, Llanrwst, CANONIA IV. JOHANNIS GRIFFITH. 1536. — Griffith, John, sinecure rector of Llanbrynmair. 1548. — Gethin, Jeffrey. "Galfridus Gethin, Artium Magister, Cano nicus ; rector de Llanbrynmair (Ludimagister de Denbighe.") Ret. 1560. 1580. — Barton, Godfrey, made Canon before he was twelve years of age; but deprived, as a layman, both of it and his sinecure of Llansannan by T. Davies, 1566. 1581. — Vaughan, William, D.D., Prebendary of Llannefydd, 1598. 1595. — Williams, Peter, Prebendary of Meifod, 1598. 1598. — Griffith, William, A.M., rector of Cemmaes, 1587; sinecure rector of Darowen, 1591. 1662. — Ffoulkes, William, M.A., sinecure rector of Cwm, 1660-1; exchanged for Llanbrynmair and rectory of Llanfyllin, 1661. 1679. — Williams, William, rector of Llansannan, 1663; St. George, 1668; vicar of Northop, 1672; rector of Llanddulas, 1674; rector of Bodvari and vicar of Abergele, 1675; vicar of Rhuddlan, 1678. 1681. — Evans, John, rector of Newtown, 1666 ; Head Master of Oswestry School, 1678; rector of Berriew, 1686. 1681. — Adams, Thomas, A.M., rector of Whittington; author of Ser- mons before the University of Oxford, edited by Dr. Sacheverell. 1718.— Wynne, Meredith, vicar of Llannefydd, 1705; comportioner of Llansannan. 1728. — Patrick, Robert, Master of Oswestry School; rector of Cem- maes, 1717; rector of Mallwyd, 1733. 1739. — Jones, Hugh, Prebendary of Llanfair, 1741. 1741. — Worthington, William, B.A., Prebendary of Meifod, 1773. 1773. — Humphreys, Humphrey, A.M., Prebendary of Salisbury and rector of Cerrigydrudion, 1763. M M 262 CANONS CURSAL. 1783. — Stodart, William, vicar of Bettws-yn-Rhos, 1758; vicar choral, 1769; vicar of Abergele, 1777. 1794. — Clough, Thomas, rector of Halkin and vicar of Llangernyw, 1783; rector of Denbigh, 1797; rector of Hirnant, 1799; vicar of Nantglyn, 1807. 1815. — Cleaver, John Francis, M.A., son of Bishop Cleaver, Christ Church, Oxford; first class; second, Mathematics, 1808; sine- cure rector of Corwen, 1812; rector of Newtown, 1814; exchanged for the vicarage of Great Coxwell, Berks, 1815. CAN ONI A V. ADAM BEKENSALL. 1536. — Bekensall, Adam. 1540. — Warham, John. 1556. — Bostock, Lancelot ; deprived the same year. 1560. — Hughes, Robert, Proctor for the Chapter in the Convocation of 1562 (p. 87); rector of Llanycil, 1561. 1583.— Vaughan, J. 1611. — Lloyd, Richard, Canonia Prima, 1617. 1630. — Parry, William. 1631. — Griffith, George, D.D., Bisho^i of St. Asaph, 1661. 1660. — Rogers, William, B.D., sinecure rector of Cwm. 1664. — Maurice, David, A.M., Prebendary of Faenol, 1691. 1666.— Vaughan, Thomas, A.M. 1675.— Clopton, Thomas, A.M., Prebendary of Meifod, 1677. 1677.— Davies, Samuel, LL.D., Prebendary of Melideu, 1685. 1685. — Eyton, Owen, A.M. (of Plas isa Corwen), sinecure rector and vicar of Corwen, 1665; sinecure rector of Llanarmon-yn-Ial,1687; treasurer of Bangor Cathedral, 1689. 1705. — Edwards, John, A.M. 1711. — Kynaston, Roger, rector of Llanymawddwy, 1707; rector of Llanfyllin, 1711; rector of Llanfechain, 1718. 1735.— Wynne, William, D.D, fellow of All Souls', Oxford; chaplain to Bishop Tanner ; vicar of Llanrhaiadr-yn-Mochnant, 1733; rec- tor of Llanfechain, 1735. 1760. — Price, John, D.D., fellow of Jesus College, Oxford, Prebendary of Ely, and vicar of Evesham, 1741; rector of Denbigh, 1749; sinecure rector of Llangwm, 1751. 1772. — Evans, David, vicar choral, 1734; rector of Llanerfyl, 1737 ; rector of Llanymynech, 1776. CANONS CUKSAL. 263 1787. — Jones, John, A.M., rector of Knockiu, 1761; vicar of Llan- santffraid yn Mechain, 1 783. 1798. — Strong, Samuel, rector of Newtown, 1772; rector of March - wiail, 1775. 1816. — Luxmoore, Charles Scott, M.A., Prebendary of Meifod, 1819; Dean and Chancellor, 1826. 1819. — Wingfield, Rowland, M.A., vicar of Llanllwchaiarn, 1799- 1801; vicar of Rhuabon, 1801-42. CANQNIA VI. RADULPHI DE BR1KEHEVED vel BIRKENHEAD. 1535. — Brikeheved vel Birkenhead, Ralph. 1554. — Twistleton vel Twyston, Thomas. 1570. — Vaughan, William. 1592. — Morris, Ellis, rector of Llanycil, 1583. 1598.— Thomas, Roger, A.M., Prebendary of Meliden, 1598. 1623. — Ellis, David, vicar of Caerwys, 1606; vicar of Northop with Flint, 1608. 1624. — Holland, John, rector of Llansantffraid Glan Conway, 1613; vicar of Llansaiman, 1614; rector of St. George, 1617. 1660. — Brigdale, William, M.A., vicar of Llanrwst before the Com- monwealth, and after the Restoration ; Precentor of Bangor, and rector of Llanbedr y Cenin cnni Caerhnn. 1690.— Tench, Robert, A.M., Prebendary of Meliden, 1691. 1693.— Price, John, M.A., Prebend of Meliden, 1701. 1722. — Parry, Edward, A.M., vicar of Oswestry, 1713. 1737. — Humphreys, J. 1740. — Jones, R. 1 760. — Wynne, Wm.,D.D. (from Canon V), rector of Llanvechain,l 735. 1776. — Davies, Edward, rector of Manafon, 1760. 1793.— Clough, Roger Butler, M.A., vicar of Thakeham, Sussex ; ex- changed for Gwyddelwern, 1791; vicar of Corwen, 1797. 1833. — Parry, Henry, M.A., Jesus College, Oxford ; vicar of Llauasa, 1798. Edited Dr. John Davies' Latin-Welsh Grammar, 2nd ed. Oxford, 1809. (Supra, p. 249.) CANONIA VH. GALFRIDI RUTHIN, 1535. — Ruthin, Jeffrey. 1552. — J. ab Howel or Powel, vicar of Llanrwst ; vicar of Llanger- nyw, 1551. 15 75. — Smith, George, LL.B., Chancellor of the Diocese, 1595. 264 CANONS CUESAL. 1608. — Kyffin, Thomas, vicar of Welshpool, 1600; vicar of Berriew, 1608. 1614, — Griffith, Ithel, rector of Caerwys, 1596. 1616. — Morgan, Evan, B.D., Prebendary of Meifod, 1617. 1617. — Mostyn, Simon, A.M., Prebendary of Llanfair I, 1623. 1622. — Salisbury, Reginald, A.M. 1633.— Griffith, J. 1660.— Ellis, Edward, B.D. 1670. — Lloyd, David, A.M., Prebendary of Faenol, 1671. 1671. — Turbridge, Richard, A.M., Prebendary of Meliden, 1672. 1672. — Wilding, Thomas, rector of Selattyn, 1666. 1678.— Wynne, Peter, A.M. 1683. — Vaughan, Edmund. 1697. — Thelwall, Orlando, rector of Aberhafesp, 1690; vicar of Guils- field, 1694. 1702. — Jones, Maurice. 1706. — Humphreys, Thomas. 1718. — Richards, Thomas, rector of Llanfyllin, 1718. Published a Sermon for Christmas Day, and some Latin hexameters on the death of Queen Caroline, dedicated to Bishop Maddox. 1727. — Wynne, John, M.A., Prebendary of Meliden, 1734. 1731. — Powell, William, M.A., Deau. 1746. — Parry, Randolph, vicar of St. Martin's, 1745-7; vicar of Cor- weu, 1747; but exchanged for Llanyblodwel, 1747-53; rector of Llandyssil, 1753; vicar of Guilsfield, 1755. 1 769. — Havard, Benjamin, B.D., fellow of Jesus College, Oxford ; vicar of Holywell, 1763. 1773. — Mostyn, Thomas (of Mostyn), A.M., student of Christ Church, Oxford; rector of Llanycil, 1780; rector of Christleton and Pre- bendary of Chester. 1776. — Warrington, George (of Pentrepant), vicar of Hope, 1778; rector of Plealey, in the diocese of Lichfield, 1793. 1830. — Roberts, Thomas Griffith, M.A., of Brasenose College, Oxford; first class in Litt. Hum., 1815. He was the son of Thos. Roberts, M.A., Head Master of Ruthin School, 1789-96, where he was himself educated, and became rector of Llanrwst, 1830, and Ex- amining Chaplain to Bishop Carey. HONORARY CANONS. 265 RESIDENTIARY CANONS. 1854. — Clive, Wm., M.A., Archdeacon of Montgomery, resigned 1861. 1854. — WickhaMj Robert, M.A., Archdeacon of St. Asaph. 1860. — Jones, Hugh, M.A., Jesus College, Oxford; third class, Litt. Hum., 1836; fellow, 1839 ; vicar of Holywell, 1844; Rural Dean; Hon. Canon, 1850; Residentiary Canon, 1860; rector of Llanrwst, 1868. Author of "The Christian's Example" (eight Sermons preached in Lent 1848); a Sermon on " The Evil of Consenting to Popery," 1849; a Visitation Sermon, "Our Warfare and our Weapons," 1855; and "A Collection of 400 Psalms and Hymns for Public Worship." 1861. — Davies, Morgan, M.A., Wadham College, Oxford; third class, Litt. Hum., 1826; rector of Penegoes, 1836; rector of Caerwys, 1849; rector of Llanrwst, 1852; Hon. Canon, 1854; Rural Dean; Residentiary Canon, 1861; Examining Chaplain to Bishop Short. 1861. — Ffoulkes, Henry Powell, M.A., Archdeacon of Montgomery. 1868. — Wyxne-Edwards, Robert, M.A., Brasenose College, Oxford; third class, Litt. Hum., 1846; perpetual curate of Gwersy lit, 1852; rector of Llanfihangel yn Ghwnfa, 1858; vicar of Meifod, 1860; Hon. Canon, 1865; Residentiary Canon, 1868; Examining Chap- lain to Bishop Short. HONORARY CANONS. 1849. — Clough, Charles Butler, M.A., Archdeacon of St. Asaph, 1844; Dean and Chancellor, 1854. 1849. — Clive, William, M. A., Archdeacon; Residentiary Canon, 1854. 1850. — Boxnor, Richard Bonnor Maurice, M.A., Dean, 1859. 1850. — Joxes, Hugh, M.A., Residentiary Canon, 1860. 1854. — Maude, Joseph, M.A., Queen's College, Oxford; first class, Math, et Phys., 1826; vicar of Chirk, 1852; Rural Dean; Ex- amining Chaplain to Bishop Short. 1854. — Davies, Morgan, M.A., Residentiary Canon, 1861. 1855. — Wynne-Eyton, Robert, M.A., Brasenose College, Oxford; B.A., 1810; vicar of Llangollen, 1816; vicar of Northop, 1849; Rural Dean, and Proctor in Convocation for the clergy of the diocese. 1855.— Cunliffe, George, M.A., Balliol College, Oxford; B.A., 1817; rector of Petton in the diocese of Lichfield, 1822; and vicar of Wrexham, 1826. 1855.— Glyxne, Henry, M.A., Christ Church, Oxford ; rector of Hawarden, 1834; Rural Dean, 1851; Proctor for the Chapter in ( 'on vocation. 266 HONORARY CANONS. 1858. — Williams, David, M. A., Jesus College, Oxford; rector of Nan - nerch, 1845; Diocesan Organising Secretary for the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, and Proctor in Convocation for the clergy of the diocese. Translator into Welsh, for the Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge, of" The Book of Nature;" " Schism ;" " Spring Morning," by the Bishop of Oxford ; and compiler of" Cennadaethau Eglwysig" (Church Missions), for the S. P. G. 1858. — Williams, Robert, M.A., Jesus College, Oxford ; fourth class, Lit. Hum., 1839; rector of Llanfyllin, 1850; Rural Dean, 1861. Author of a " History of the Parish of Llanfyllin," in " Mont- gomeryshire Collections," 1870. I860.— How, William Walsham, M.A., Wadham College, Oxford ; third class, Litt. Hum., and B.A., 1845; M.A., 1847; ad eund., Dur- ham, 1848; rector of Whittington, 1851; Rural Dean, 1853; Proctor in Convocation for the clergy of the diocese. Author of "Plain Words," 1st Series, 1859, 80,000; 2nd Series, 1861, 50,000; 3rd Series, 1870, 6,000; "Practical Sermons," 1861, 9,000; "Lent Sermons on Psalm li," 1860, 9,000; and many single Sermons ; "Evening Psalter Pointed for Chanting," 1862; "Canticles Pointed with appropriate Chants," 1862; "Prayers for Schools," 1862; " Three All Saints' Summers," 1861; " Pastor in Parochia," 1868, 2nd edit.; and a " Commentary on the Four Gospels," for the S. P. C. K., two editions, 1870; second 5,000; and, in conjunction with Bishop Morrell, "Psalms and Hymns for Public Worship," with a Supplement, 200,000. 1860. — Meredith, James, B.A., Trinity College, Dublin, 1824; vicar of Hope, 1836; vicar of Abergele, 1848 ; Rural Dean. 1865. — Wynne Edwards, Robert, M.A., Residentiary Canon, 1868. VICARS CHORAL. 267 VICAKS CHOKAL, OE M1NOE CANONS, OF THE CATHEDRAL, AND VICARS OF THE PARISII OF ST. ASAPH. 1291. — Kenewr ap Bleddyn „ Meyfel „ Cynwrig ap Ad pa „ Philip „ Adda ap Madoc 1512.- -Galfrid Gregory 1535. — Dayydd ap Ieuan „ John Barker „ Hugh ap Ieuan „ Galfrid ap Llewelyn 1538. — Richard ap Meredith 1540. — Reynold, J. 1547.— Thomas, P. 1556. — Rhys ap Joan 1557. — Phenton, Thomas „ Lloyd, J. „ R. ap> Ieuan Meredith „ Lloyd, J. 1560. — Galfrid ap Robert Wynne, Griffith 1566.— Davies, William „ Oliver ap Thomas 1 5 70. —Lloyd, Evan 1573. — Holland, Thomas 1576. — Owen, Hugh1 1578.— Evans, Hugh 1581. — Christian, J. 1582. — Jones, J. 1587. — Roberts, Hugh 1607. — Ireland, John 1610.— Parry, Gabriel2 1613. — Gwyn, Lewis 1616. — Lloyd, Lewis 1616. — Lloyd, Samuel 1617. — Evans, Rowland „ Barker, Thomas 1618. — Prichard, William „ Griffith, W. 1620.— Kyffin, John3 1623. — Edwards, J. 1626. — Jones, Maurice „ Edwards, W. 1629.— Tarrant, W. 1632.— Spark, Archibald* 1635.— Griffith, W. 1637.— Pierce, J. 1639. — Evans, Edward 1640. — Roberts, G., deprived „ Jones, D., ditto „ Morris, Humphrey,5 ditto „ Bynner, W.,6 ditto 1662. — Roberts, J. 1663. — Clark, W. 1664. — Turbridge, Richard,7 1665. — Ffoulkes, R.8 1668. — Jones, Robert 1669. — Otty, Thomas 1671. — Buttery, W. 1672. — Gilbert, J. 1678.— Rowland, T. „ Ray, W. 1683. — Higgons, J. 1684. — Price, W. 1686. — Jones, Morgan 1687. — Davies, Edward 1692.— Salisbury, W. 1 Canon, 1592. 2 Eector of Llandegla, 1608; vicar of Abergele, 1613; comportioner of Llan- sannan, 1616. 3 Prebendary of Meliden, 1628. 6 Restored 1661; vicar of Cemmaes,16C>8. 4 Preb. Llannefydd, 1662. * Prebendary of Meliden, 1672. 8 Restored 1G60; v. of Cwm,1662. 6 Vicar of Llandrillo yn Rhos, 16fi0. 268 VICARS CHORAL. 1692. — Atkinson, William 1746. — Stodart, Samuel0 1697. — Lloyd, Robert 1750. — Price, Thomas7 „ Lewis, Thomas 1756. — Jeffreys, John 1702. — Babington, Joseph 1757. — Evans, David 1704. — Ffoulkes, Hugh, B.A., 1759. — Williams, Edward8 Trim Coll., Oxf.1 1760.— Owens, Dauiel 1705. — Morrice, Andrew 1763. — Williams, Evan 1707. — Edwards, Thomas 1769. — Stodart, William9 1709. — Evans, Thomas 1775. — Williams, Peter 1719. — Jones, Thomas 1776. — Whitley, Peter10 „ Babixgton, Josiah2 1777. — Jones, Edw. Chambres11 1 734.— Evans, David3 1 778. — Kyffin, H. 1736. — Williams, Jeffrey1 1781.— Thomas, Robert 1737. — Myddeltox, Ffoulk 1782. — Maurice, Robert12 1738. — Jeffreys, Thomas5 J 794.— Willi ams, William13 1741.— Davibs, W. 1801. — Strong, George, P. C. Disserth; vicar of Llansannan, 1817. 1816.— Jones, John, M.A., v. Rhuddlan, 1819; r. Llandderfel, 1828. 1820. — Hughes, Thomas Lewis, M.A., rector of Penegoes, 1828. 1827. — Owex, William Hicks, M.A., Magdalen College, Cambridge; B.A. 1823; Deacon, 1824; Priest, 1825; vicar of Tremeirchion, 1829; Rural Dean. 1828. — Joxes, John, M.A., rector of St. George, 1829. „ Wynne-Edwards, Thomas, M.A., Jesus College, Oxford ; B.A. 1818; Deacon, 1819; Priest, 1821; vicar of Rhuddlan, 1827. 1836. — Wyatt, William Robert, M.A., Brasenose College, Oxford ; second class, Lit. Hum., 1822; Perpetual Curate of Disserth, 1836; Perpetual Curate of Moreton, 1860. 1854. — Lewis, Lewis, M.A., Jesus College, Oxford; fourth class, Lit. Hum., 1841; fellow; rector of Denbigh, 1855. 1855. — Brown, Thomas, B.D., St. David's College, Lampeter; Hebrew Scholar, 1840; Deacon, 1841; Priest, 1842. 1860. — Sturkey, John, B.D., St. David's College, Lampeter; Burton Scholar, 1841; Assistant Tutor; Deacon, 1845; Priest, 1846. 1 Vicar of Llandrillo yn Edeirnion, 1709. 2 Eector of Cwm, 1722. Browne Willis acknowledges his obligations to Mr. Babington for much information and assistance in compiling his Survey of St. Asaph. » Canon, 1772. » Canon, 1783. 4 Rector of Halkin, 1757. 10 V. of Nantglyn, 1778; V. Cwm, 1788. ■ Vicar of Bettws yn Rhos, 1742. 11 Canon, 1784. c Rector of Llandderfel, 1763. 12 Vicar of Rhuddlan, 1S00, and rector 7 Rector of Cerrigydrudion, 1757. of Llanbedr, D. C. 8 Canon, 1777. a Canon, 1827. AX ECCLESIASTICAL ACCOUNT OF THE PARISHES OF THE DIOCESE, ARRANGED IX ALPHABETICAL OR DEE, ACCORDING TO THEIR DEANERIES, VIZ., ST. ASAPH, CAEDEWEN, DENBIGH, DYFFRYX CLWYD, HOLYWELL, LLAXFYLLIN, LLANGOLLEN, LLANRWST, MOLD, OSWESTRY, PENLLYN AND EDEIRNION, POOL AXD CAER- E1NION, AND WREXHAM. NX THE DEANERY OF ST. ASAPH, CONTAINING THE PARISHES OF ST. ASAPH, BODELWYDDAN AND ST. MARY'S CEFN, BODVARI, CAERWYS, CWM, DISSERTH, GWAUNYSGOR, LLANASA, MELIDEN, PRESTATYN, NEWMARKET, RHUDDLAN, RHYL AND TREMEIR- CHION. This Deanery is a part of that which was called " Englefield" in the " Taxatio of Pope Nicholas," a.d. 1291 ; and " Tegyngil" in the "Valor Eccles. 26 Hen. VIII," a d. 1535; which was subdivided, by an Order in Council dated 13th Dec. 1844, into those of St. Asaph and Holywell. ST. ASAPH, OR LLANELWY. This parish derives its Welsh name from the river Elwy, on the banks of which the exiled Cyndeyrn founded his missionary collegium about a.d. 560 ; and it appears in Domesday, a.d. 1088, — the first bond fide historical notice of it, — under this form, as " Llanuile," with the vills of " Charcan, Bodugan, and Chilven," the present townships of Cyr- chynan, Bodeugan, and Cilowen. As in the case of the diocese and the Cathedral, its designation after the name of St. Asaph may be assigned to about the middle of the twelfth century; since which time both names have coexisted side by side to the present day. This parish is a fair illustration of what has been said, in the opening part of this work, of the character and extent of the earliest parishes of the diocese ; for when the wide district, of which the spiritual charge had been entrusted to its collegium, was subdivided into smaller cures with their respective personce, it seems to have been defined as nearly co- extensive with, though rather larger than, the present mother parish ; for it appears, from an Enquiry held in 1607, that even so late as 1572 the inhabitants of the towmships of Meifod, Kinmel, and Dinor- ben (now in St. George's parish), were considered to be parishioners of St. Asaph ; that those of Meifod were bound, as such, to repair a certain portion of the churchyard wall ; and that " the parson of Faenol paide vis. vuid. to the parson of Llansansior for ministering and saying service to those of Kinmel and Dynorben."1 The several portiones, or special tithes, of which the original endow- ments consisted, formed in the first instance part of the common fund 1 Piers Roberts' Diary. 272 THE DEANERY OF ST. ASAPH. of the college, and then of the Cathedral Chapter; and later still, when its members had special prebendce assigned to them, of the bishop, dean, precentor, and treasurer ; by whom in time vicarii were appointed, not only to take the cure of souls in the parish, but also to represent them as vicars choral in the Cathedral ; and in augmenta- tion of whose scanty stipend, four-fifths of the tithes of the distant Gwyddelwern were assigned. The Taxatio of 1291 notices five priests here " et apud Gwyddelwern"; the stipend of one of them, Kenewr ap Bledyn, being returned as £4 : 6 : 8, and that of the rest as £3 : 6 : 8 each. A few years later, on Sept. 20th, 1310, Bishop Llewelyn ap Ynyr (de Bromfield), who took so prominent a part in remodelling the Cathedral services, made a new arrangement for the parish, assigning the cure of souls " infra quatuor cruces" to the four vicars, and giving up, it would seem, for that purpose, almost all his own share of the tithes.1 The singular expression, "infra quatuor cruces," has nothing- material to explain it f but is illustrated by the arrangement that prevailed until the new parish of Bodelwyddan, in 1860, took the senior vicar's district; and Cefn, in 1865, that of the second vicar; still leaving the rest of the cure to the remaining two.3 The portion of tithes divisible among the vicars in 1535 (Valor Eccles. 26 Hen. VIII) was returned at £11 : 18 : 0;* hemp and flax being at that time culti- vated, and forming part of the titheable produce. The recent Com- mutation Returns give the following result : 1 " Concessio decimarum et proventum (quatuor partium) parochie de Llanelwy quattuor vicariis choralibus pro inservienda. cura infra quattuor cruces, exceptis et episcopo reservatis decimis frumenti et oblacionibus quat- tuor temporum." (Llyfr Coch, 48a, 97b.) 2 Pennant states, in his Tours in Wales (iii, 164), that "at Vaenol, Brin- polin, and Wyg Fair, had been chapels of ease to St. Asaph ; and three out of the four vicars did duty at them in turn"; and Browne Willis, still earlier, writes of Capel Ffynnon Fair as " formerly served by the vicars of St. Asaph, for ease of the neighbouring inhabitants." There is also a tradition that there had once been a chapel of ease or oratory in Cae Pren Yw, on the farm of Faenol Bropor; but the crosses (" quattuor cruces") have long ago disap- peared. 3 This new provision for the spiritual wants of the parish, combined with the recent modification of the Cathedral Chapter, seems to obviate the neces- sity of continuing the present system of four independent vicars deriving their main stipend from a distant parish, — a system which, under the changed circumstances of the age, is generally felt to be unfair to Gwyddelwern, and prejudicial to St. Asaph itself; and which it would he to the advantage of both to reform, by appointing in this parish, for spiritual purposes, one vicar with a competent stipend (for which the Commissioners already derive suffi- cient local tithes and rents); adding, for charitable trusts, the new incum- bents; and restoring to Gwyddelwern a larger share of its own tithes. i Sec pp. 190, 200. THE DEANERY OF ST. ASAPH. 273 £ s. d. Bodelwyddan* - - 371 11 0 to Preb. Faenol. Faenol* - - - 397 9 2 ditto. Pengwern* - - - 237 1 10 ditto. Meriadog and Wigfair - 292 0 0 to the Dean. ~., 0 , „ -d, ,n (111 0 0 to the Dean. Cilowen, Bodeugan, & Khyllon - * * * ~ - , -, ( 111 0 0 toEccles.Com.for the lapsed Preb. of Llannefydd. Cyrchynan - - 65 0 0 to the Eccles. Com, for ditto. Talar, Brynpolyn, Gwernglef- C 32 0 0 to the Bishop. ryd, and Gwerneigron - I 268 0 0 to the vicars choral. All the above tithes, except those of the four vicars, have subse- quently lapsed, on the death of their then holders, to the Ecclesiasti- cal Commissioners,1 who have since then sold those of Bodelwyddan, Faenol, and Pengwern, to form the endowment of the new parish of Bodelwyddan ; and have transferred those of Meriadog and Wigfair, for a like purpose, to St. Mary's, Cefn. The whole thirteen townships, however, with their area of 10,404 acres, of the rateable value, £19,146 : 4 : 7, and a population of 3,592, are still included in the parish for all civil purposes ; though ecclesiastically it is limited to the remaining eight, with an area of 3,444 acres, and a population of 2,359. The church, like most of those in the Vale of Clwyd, consists of two equal and parallel aisles, separated by clustered pillars, and known respectively as " Eglwys Cyndeyrn" (Kentigern) and " Eglwys Asaph." The general character is Perpendicular ; and its most striking feature, the handsome roof of the south aisle, is probably due to the restora- tion that followed Owen Glyndwr's destructive visit. Its preservation during the troubles of the Commonwealth may, perhaps, have been owing to the circumstance of the Wigfair seat being in that portion of the church, and the owner apparently a sympathiser with the Crom- wellian party, who excepted Wickwer " when they plundered St. Asaph and parishe, and made greate spoyles."2 The north side is occupied by a gallery, in which is the organ presented by the Dean and Chapter in 1834, and rebuilt in 1864. In the south wall of the chancel is a rude double piscina. The windows contain no stained glass ; but in 1614 there was an inscription on that of the chancel stating that "opus vitreum et lapideum factum fuit et finitum a.d. 1524." The church is pewed throughout, and has the pulpit, reading, and clerk's desks in three tiers on the south wall, between the door and lancet- window.3 Piers Roberts, in noticing a christening before morning prayer, or high service, on the 6th March, 1630, records that " Mr. vicar Jones, vicar choral, made ye firste sermon in Welshe in the then * Each of these three townships also pays <£1 : 1 : 0 to the parish clerk. 1 To whom also has been transferred property in lands (about 274 a. 3 r. 34 p.) and houses, of the rateable value of about ,£1,200, formerly a part of the episcopal and capitular estates. '•> Supra, p. 203. :i Its restoration is now being undertaken. 274 THE DEANERY OF ST. ASAPH. p'ishe churche of St. Asaph or Llanelwy, by my Lord Bishop's order and decree."1 The order of Bishop Owen was renewed by Bishop Griffith in 1664 ; but how long it continued to be observed, does not appear. At present the Sunday and week-day duties are performed by the four vicars in succession, except the occasional services of wed- dings and funerals, at which each vicar officiates for his own district. The principal monuments in the church are those of the families of " Lloyd of Keven," " Lloyd of Wickwer," " Humphreys of Bodlewiddan," "Foulkes of Gwerneigron and Vaynol," and " Foulkes of Meriadog." A few early floriated crosses may be seen in the church and the churchyard ; and in the latter lies the celebrated, self-taught linguist, Richard Robert Jones, best known as " Die Aberdaron," who died here in 1843. This also is probably the resting-place of "Sion Tudyr," the bard, who lived at Wigfair, and died in 1602. A new Cemetery and chapel, built on land given by the Bishop, was consecrated in 1848. The charities are very considerable, the chief donor having been a Mrs. Elizabeth Williams, who in 1729 left in trust to the vicars several lands and tenements in St. Asaph and Tremeirchion, now known as the " Waun Farm," for schooling and educating poor children, and clothing poor people, of this parish. The following table will shew the present investment and annual value of the charities : A. R. P. £ s. d. Waun Farm 85 1 14 - - 66 10 0 >» » 40 3 152 - - 26 0 0 » »» detached ... 1 3 19 - - 1 0 0 y* >> Talsarn field in Pentreucha 3 2 18 - - 4 4 0 >> >> Allotment on Maen Efah - 0 3 26 - - 0 10 0 Rent-charge on Pentreucha farm, created in 1774 by Robert Ffoulkes of Gwerneigron, the then owner, to be paid to the schoolmaster - - - - - - - 500 Interest of ,£180 (i. e. £200 minus legacy duty) left in 1828 by Mr. John Hutchinson to the Grammar School - 8 15 6 Ditto of £485 :8: 7, left by Bishop Barrow, in 1680, New 2\ per Cents, (boys' school, £6 : 12 : 8; alms women, £5:10:0) - 12 2 8 Ditto of £521 : 12 : 6 Consol. Fund, 3 per Cent. Annuities, pro- ceeds of sale of 3 a. 2 r. 24 p. in Pengwern T. to Sir H. Wil- liams in 1866 - - - - - - - 15 12 0 Ditto of £100 Consolidated Charities3 in the Savings' Bank 3 0 6 1 Supra, pp. 201, 202. 2 Though reckoned as part of the Waun Farm, this is supposed to be the charity left by Thomas Pierce to clothe the poor. 3 E. g., 1681, Mary, vch. Eobt. Griffith, £10; 1696, Wm. Roberts, £10; 1720, Margaret Lloyd, £20 ; 1724, Alice Morris, £10; 1726, Ellen Lloyd, £20; 1732, Eev. Wm. Lloyd, £100; 1735, Bishop Tanner, £10; 1736, Eev. Eichd. Lloyd, £10; 1750, Susannah Lloyd, £20; 1776, Eev. Eobt. Lloyd, £60; Thos. Price, Penycefn, £20. See Gilbert's Eeturns, 1786; Charity Eeports, 1837; and the list on the gallery in the church. THE DEANERY OF ST. ASAPH. 275 Interest of =£100, ditto, on St. Asaph and Conway roads* -.£4 0 0 Ditto, o€60 ditto, Consol. 3 per Cent, vested in official trustees* Eent of 11a. Or. 27p. in Pentre farm,1 now paid to the Alms- houses - - - - - - - - 25 0 0 £100 were left by the Rev. Dr. Marsden, Prebendary of Faenol, 1795, for the poor of Faenol, Bodelwyddan, and Pengwern j and about £500 have been invested by Bishop Short, 1870, in the new Water- Works, whereby at present fifty-two poor families receive a gratuitous water-supply. A share in an educational endowment by the Rev. Dr. George Smith, Chancellor of the Diocese, 1595, and founder of Northop School, has been for some time in abeyance, owing to its conditions. The Almshouses were founded by Bishop Barrow in 1680, received a bequest of £140 from Bishop Tanner in 1735, a further endowment in 1745, and were rebuilt by Bishop Bagot in 1795. The widows, eight in number, are appointed by the Bishop, the Dean, and the families of Cefn and Llannerch. The Grammar School appears to have been always intimately con- nected with the Cathedral, and probably represents the Diocesan Grammar School to the "power scolers," of which certain fines were assigned in the injunctions of Bishop Gold well,2 a.d. 1556. Bishop Hughes, in his will, 16 Oct. 1597, made a conditional bequest of lands and moneys in its favour ; but the condition was not complied with, and the bequest was lost. Bishop Barrow, in 1 680, bequeathed £200 towards it, and intended, had he lived, to have built a School-house. It was probably held at first in some part of the Cathedral ; but in 1638 "a Schoolhouse roome or lofft was made and finished in the lower ende of the p'ishe churche, by Edward ap Ieun, Dafydd and others."3 At a later period it was held in the Chapter House, and later still in the Cathedral Close, until the present Schoolroom was built in 1780. About the year 1818 it was merged in a National School ; but, the arrangement being unsatisfactory, it was subse- quently discontinued, and is no longer exclusively a Grammar School, but rather a good Commercial School, in which twenty-four boys from the parish are educated free, in consideration of the £35 per ann. added by the Vicars to the special endowments. The school building consists of one large room and a class-room ; but there is no accom- modation for the Master or for boarders. The appointment of the Master lies with the Vicars, and the office is at present held by W. Easterby, Esq., LL.D., London. The Commission of Inquiry into the Endowed Schools of North Wales, which is now sitting, proposes to convert it into a Latin or secondary school ; and a local inquiry is also * In trust for the poor of Wigfair and Meriadog. 1 Bought, in 1745, with .£150 left by Thomas Humphreys, Esq., of Bodel- wyddan, and Eev. Dr. John Davies, Prebendary of Faenol, for catechising the children and the better support of the almsworaen. 2 See p. 84 supra. 3 piers Roberts' Diary. ' 276 THE DEANERY OF ST. ASAPH. being made into the parochial charities, with a view to increase its endowment, and revive it as the old Grammar School. The handsome new National School, with its rooms for Boys and Girls, Class-room, and Master's House, was erected, in 1863, at a cost of about £1800, on a site near the Cathedral, in lieu of the previous Schools which were built by subscription in 1831 ; and of which the Boys' School has been converted into cottages, and the Girls' is now known as the Infants' School. The east front of the Palace was built in 1791 by Bishop Bagot, and the west front in 1831 by Bishop Carey. The Deanery was re- built by Dean Luxmore in 1830 ; and the Canonry built by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners in 1857. No house has been provided for the vicars, most of whom have held cures elsewhere also. A list of the Vicars has been already given at p. 267. BODELWYDDAN. The three Townships of Bodelwyddan, Faenol, and Pengwern in St. Asaph, with an area of 4,109a. 3r. 29p., and a population of 630, were gazetted as a separate parish, August 3rd, 1860. The Rectorial Tithes, commuted at £1006 2s., and previously attached to the Pre- bend of Faenol in the Cathedral Church, lapsed, on the death of the Rev. William Cleaver, the last holder of that dignity on the old foundation, to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, who sold them to the Lady Margaret Willoughby de Broke, to form the endowment of the beautiful Church, founded by her to the memory of her husband, on the stipulation that until the expiration of an existing lease for three lives, made on the 12th August, 1828, the immediate endowment should be £200 per ann. \ and that the patronage should be vested in Sir Hugh Williams, Bart., and his heirs for ever. The Church, dedicated in the name of St. Margaret, was consecrated August 23rd, 1860 ; the foundation-stone having been laid July 24th, 1856. It is of the style of the best period of the Decorated, and con- sists of chancel, nave, and aisles, west tower, surmounted by a spire, and an octagonal vestry in the angle between the chancel and north aisle. x The material of the main portion of the fabric is the local limestone, rough or dressed according to position, the plain facing of the interior of the nave being of cream-coloured Talacre stone, whilst Belgian red marble, Irish black marble, alabaster, veined and white, and Caen stone artistically wrought and choicely carved, combine to produce an admirable richness of effect throughout. The nave, of five bays with north and south aisles, has its massive piers formed of clustered shafts of Belgian red marble, resting on bases of the native stone, with capitals of the same material, richly carved with the passion flower and with oak and ivy leaves ; capped by a deeply moulded abacus of marble. Above the piers, in the spandrils, are shafts of Belgian red marble on richly-carved corbels, each of which St. Margaret's, Bodelwyddan. THE DEANERY OF ST. ASAPH. 277 exhibits a coronet, and on the south side one of the letters of the name " Henry Peyton W. de B. ;" and on the north that of " Margaret W. de P>.," thus quietly but indelibly impressing its monumental charac- ter."1 The hammer -beam roof, with its arched principals and collars and cusped spandril pieces, is lighted up with a clerestory of small trefoiled openings, not seen from the exterior, and by lucernes at a higher point. The lower part of the tower is made to serve as a kind of antechurch or porch ; over which, carried by double polished columns of Anglesea marble, is a gallery with a light open front or parapet ; and through the lofty arch above it is seen the great west window filled with stained glass. The chancel has a more ornamental character in all its details. Ogee crocketed canopies rising from shafts and corbels, and projecting to form niches, run along the three sides, more elaborately enriched where the reredos occurs. Alabaster, varieol in tint, is used for the backs of the niches at the sides, Lan- guedoc marble for the shafts, and picked white alabaster for the capi- tals and corbels, the bases being Purbeck marble. The arcades or niches at the sides have the canopies of Caen stone, whilst alabaster is used for those of the reredos. The roof principals are carried by clustered wall shafts. These last are of rich red Griotte marble, with a thin fillet of Irish black in each hollow, making each red shaft stand out in greater richness of form and colour. The ceiling is formed into square panels by moulded ribs, with rosettes and bosses at the intersections, and springs from an enriched cornice of which the lower mouldings are carried dowm to the capitals to form a square head or label, with spandrils over the wall arches above the windows. Each arched principal rib is formed with a cusped trellis work filling-in of what may be called the web, and with mouldings and the ball floor on the inner edge, corresponding with the projection of the capital from which it springs. The chancel is seated stall-wise, and the nave has open seats, in each case with appropriate panelling and ends. The reading-desk is well-designed, but the gem of all the beautiful wood -carving is the exquisite workmanship of the pulpit of rich and picturesque design, presented by the Misses Williams, sisters of the founder. The font, of white Carrara marble, representing t wo children2 holding a shell, is the gift of Sir Hugh Williams. Lady Williams contributed the Com- munion-plate. The pavement, owing to the abundance of room (the seats hold only two hundred and eighty), is a noticeable feature of the edifice, and of a trellis pattern : — The borders being of Irish black and rouge-royal marble polished, the dots of Irish black and the squares in the nave of Portland stone rubbed, but in the chancel of Sicilian marble, 1 This is also effected by the two portraits on each side of the west win- dow ; and it may be added that the Queen and Bishop Short are also repre- sented, in the same way, on the east window. 2 Portraits of the donor's two youngest daughters. 00 278 THE DEANERY OF ST. ASAPH. which is also the material of the steps both to it and to the Sacrarium. Shafts of polished Aberdeen granite support the western doorway. The chief features of the tower and spire, which rise to the height of two hundred and two feet, are the batter, or slight inclination in- wards of the tower-buttresses, the windows and bands of pierced work, which give so much lightness to the spire, and the line of pinnacles about its base, which combine architecturally to carry the thrust into the buttresses, and aesthetically to lead the eye from the vertical line of the one to the sloping line of the other. The church contains some good stained glass by O'Connor, also the gift of the Misses Williams. In the chancel, the east window has five, and the rest three lights each, with geometrical tracery. Five are filled with stained glass representing different incidents in the Life of our Lord; one on the north side being a memorial to the Rev. W. Williams-Edwards, died 1829 ; and another on the south to Sir John Hay Williams, died 1859. The east window of the north aisle, when approached or receded from, has a curious kaleidoscopic effect ; that of the south aisle is filled with armorial insignia. The circular window at the w?est end is also filled with coloured glass, and the two side windows of the tower contain figures of St. Kentigem and St. Margaret. The architect was Mr. John Gibson, of Westminster, and where every detail has been so carefully earned out, it may interest to know that Mr. Earp executed the carved work of the pulpit, the chancel bosses, and the stall ends ; Mr. Grey, of Leamington, the roof and seats of the nave ; Mr. Harmer, the carved Caen and alabaster wTork of the chancel ; Mr. Peter Hollings, the font ; Mr. John Thomas, the greater portion of the fabric ; and Messrs. Holme and Nicol, of Liver- pool, the spire. Handsome Schools for Boys and Girls, with Houses for Master and Mistress, an excellent Rectory, and a model Village were all added at the same time by the munificent founder at a vast outlay, and with a free ungrudging hand. Incumbents. 1860. — Williams, David, M.A., Jesus College, Cambridge, Gatford Scholar B.A., 1817, R. Llandwrog 1836-60, Rural Dean of Arfon, 1856-60. 1865. — Lewis, William Hancock, M.A., Jesus College, Oxford, Scholar, B.A., 1851. 1865. — Williams, William Rees, M.A., Sidney College, Cambridge, 21st Wrangler and B.A., 1843 j D., 1845 ; Pr., 1853 ; Principal of Carnarvon Training College, 1856-65 ; Chaplain to Dowager Lady Willoughby de Broke, 1858-66. THE DEANERY OF ST. ASAPH. 279 st. mary's, cefn. The two townships of Meriadog and Wigfair, forming part of the parish of St. Asaph, but lying in the county of Denbigh, with an area of 2,850 a. 1 r. 16 p., a gross estimated rental of £3,626 : 7 : 4, and rateable value . of £3,366 : 1 : 3, with a population of 613, were gazetted as a new parish by an Order in Council, 7th Feb. 1865; and on the 4th of April it was endowed by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners with the tithes of the said townships, commuted at £292 per ann., formerly belonging to the deanery of the cathedral church, but which had lapsed to them on the death of Dean Luxmoore. The living, which is in the patronage of the Bishop, was by a subsequent Order in Council, 29th June, 1866, constituted into a rectory. The church, St. Mary's, consecrated by Bishop Short, Sept. 3rd, 1864, is built in the Early English style of the beginning of the thir- teenth century, from the designs of Mr. B. Ferrey, F.S.A. Its plan is cruciform, and consists of apsidal chancel, nave, north and south transepts (the former screened off as a vestry, the latter intended for the school children), and a south porch. The material, even to the marble steps and columns of the chancel, with their foliaged capitals, is the native limestone quarried and worked upon the spot ; save only the groined roof of the chancel, which is of Bath, and the pulpit of Rhuabon, stone. It is floored throughout with encaustic tiles (by Maw); and those of the reredos, bearing the appropriate fleur-de-lis, give warmth and colour to the whole. The nave has an open roof, and the seats are free and unappropriated. The font, of white Carrara marble, representing a kneeling angel bearing a scallop-shell, emblem- atic of the Christian's pilgrimage, is a copy of that at Copenhagen, by Thorwaldsen, was executed by his pupil, Stein, and is the gift of Sir W. Williams Wynn, Bart. The Communion plate was presented by the Earl of Powis ; the alms-dish by W. W. E. Wynne, M.P.; the altar-cloth and harmonium by Mrs. Williams- Wynn. The Duchess Dowager of North umberland added the standards for lighting the nave ; and Mrs. Howard of Wigfair, the corona, pulpit, and desk-lights. The church contains also much excellent memorial -glass by Lavers and Barraud. The five lancets of the chancel, to the memory of Col. Herbert W. Williams- Wynn, presented by Lady Williams- Wynn and by Miss Lloyd, represent respectively the Infancy, the Mockery, the Crucifixion, the Resurrection, and the Commission. Those at the west end (two lancets surmounted by a rose-window) are a memorial to the late Edward Lloyd of Cefn (died 15th Nov. 1848), by his widow and daughters. The lancets represent our Lord as the " Light of the World," and as " Blessing little Children."1 1 In addition to these special gifts, ,£200 were subscribed by the Church Building Society, and <£ 100 by each of the following contributors: Bishop Short, Duchess Dowager of Northumberland, Dowager Lady WiUoughby de 280 THE DEANERY OF ST. ASAPH. This church may be regarded as, in a great- measure, a memorial to him by whose influence and exertion it was mainly brought into ex- istence, but who was suddenly cut off before the building was actually begun. The foundation-stone was laid, in March 1863, by his eldest son ; and Sir Watkin, desirous to carry out his brother's wishes, and to give it at the same time still more of a memorial character, under- took all additional costs, and completed it at a further outlay of some £1,500; the total cost being near £3,000. The School, built in 1858 by Col. and Mrs. Williams Wynn, was further enlarged in 1863, and was used for divine service for the three months preceding the consecration of the church. In Wigfair (Mary's grove), in this parish, is the once famous Ffyn- non Fair, or Holy Well, with the ruins of the chapel that formerly enclosed it.1 The strong spring of pure cold water that here bursts forth from the fissured and cavernous limestone formation, early acquired and long retained, like the sister wells at Holywell and Cwm, the popular veneration. The present form of the well is a square with three of the sides formed into salient angles ; and at each point once rose a pier supporting arches and canopied work, as at Holywell. This was enclosed in the west end of a cruciform building, the eastern and longer arm of which was no doubt the chancel. The southern arm, or transept, seems to have been the earliest portion of the edi- fice; there being still a small window looking east, the heads of the three lights of which, and a doorway close by, possess Decorated characters; the rest of the chapel being of the late Perpendicular style. Here, as appears from Piers Roberts' Diary, marriages continue to have been solemnised (sometimes, indeed, clandestinely) so late as 1640, by the vicars choral of St. Asaph; and from one of the entries we further learn that the 20th of August was "the wake-day there." Browne Willis, writing in 1720, says that it had " formerly 'been served by the vicars of St. Asaph, for ease of the neighbouring inhabitants" (i, 27). It is not known when it ceased to be so, whether at the Reformation or during the Commonwealth. An attempt was made to restore it in James the Second's time. It forms the subject of Mrs. Hemans' poem on " Our Lady's Well," and has given a dedication to the new parish church. Rector. — 1864. Thomas, David Richard, M.A., Jesus College, Oxford ; scholar, 1852-9; second class Mod., 1855; first Goldsmith Exhib. ; third class and B.A., 1856; D. 1857; P. 1858; curate of Rhuddlan and St. Asaph, 1857-9; curate of Selattyn, 1859-64. Author of "A Sermon on the Burial Service," Oswestry, 1859; "Two Memorial Ser- mons," St. Asaph, 1864; " Esgobaeth Llanelwy, a History of the Dio- cese of St. Asaph," London, Part I, 1870. Broke, Mrs. Lloyd, Miss Lloyd, Colonel Herbert Williams- Wynn, M.P. (and site for the church), Sir Hugh Williams, Bart., and Mrs. Howard. The total subscriptions amounted to nearly =£1,400. 1 Described and illustrated in the Archwologia Cambrensis, ii, p. 261, 1847, by II. L. J. THE DEANERY OF ST. ASAPH. 281 BODVARI. Tins place, situate on the Roman road from Deva to Conovhim (Ches- ter to Caerhun), and supposed to be identical with the Vari of Anto- ninus' Itinerary, is generally thought to derive its name from that of a Roman general, Varus; but it may, perhaps, be more correctly identified in Diheufar, Deifar, or Diar, the founder of the church,1 whose name occurs in the early legend of St. Winifred, and whose well continued long famous not only for its annual processional service on Ascension Day, but also for a less laudable custom derived, there need be little doubt, from the heathen rites with which the Roman soldiers worshipped ^Esculapius, their god of health.2 The parish consists of the two townships of Bodvari, in Flintshire, with an area of 1,449 acres, and population of 383; and Aberwheeler, in Denbighshire, with an area of 3,313 acres, and a population of 430. The first notice of it appears to occur in Domesday, a.d. 1088, which mentions " Dissard, Boteuuaril, and Ruargor,"3 with the important addition, "ibi in dominio ecclesia cum presbytero." Five years later, in a.d. 1093, we read that "William de Punterleya (qu. Pounderling) gave to the monks of St. Werburgh's, in Chester, Batavari, the church and manor and wood of Leston, for beacons and domestic fuel."4 In the Taxatio of 1291, " ecclesia de Bottervarnn taxat' £4:6:8; decim' 8s. 8d"; and there is no notice of the impropriation, which had, doubt- less, fallen through in the intervening troubles. The next notice is of great importance as shewing that the tithes of Aberwmeeler were already in the Bishop of St. Asaph's hands ; and that he allowed 40s. per ami., ecjiiivalent to a curate's stipend, to the rector of Bodvari for attending to the spiritual interests of the inhabitants of that town- ship.5 The date of this appropriation would seem to connect it either with the confiscation of Maesmynan, the residence of Llewelyn, the last Prince of Wales, or with Edward the First's grant of Coedymyn- 1 Eees' Welsh Saints, p. 276. 2 "About three hundred yards from the church is Diar's or Deifer's Well, to which they go in procession on Ascension Day, and read the Litany, ten Commandments, Epistle and Gospel." (Bishop Maddox's MS. Bk.) " Here, too, the poorest person in the parish used to offer a chicken, after going nine times round the well, — a cockerel for a boy, and a pullet for a girl." And here also "children were dipped to the neck at three of its corners, to prevent their crying in the night." 3 I must, however, confess to some doubt on this point, as it seems to me that we have here forms of the name Rhyl (Bod-yn-y-Ehyl), a wide district at that time, and probably Rhiwy s Vic. Llanrwst, 1697-1702. 340 THE DEANERY OF CAEDEWEN. 1739. — Ingram, Richard, B. A.1 1794. — Davies, Morgan 1747.— Wynne, William, A.M.2 1807.— Davies, Walter, M.A.3 1760. — Davies, Edward 1838. — Hughes, Daniel 1851. — Lewis, Thomas, M.A., Jesus College, Oxford; Deacon, 1831; Pr. 1832; P. C. Capel Gannon, 1835; V. Llanbrynmair, 1838-51. NEWTOWN. The dedication of the church and the Lady- Well near the town, both hand down the name by which this place wTas earliest known, " Llan- fair-yug-Nghedewain" {St. Mary's in Caedewen). Thus in Pope Nicho- las' Taxatio, a.d. 1291, under " Decanatus de Kedew^eyn" we have "Eccl'ia de Llanwoyr taxat' £5; decima, 10s."; whereas in the Valor Eccles. of Henry VIII, a.d. 1535,4 it appears under its modern name of Newtown; the change having been due, according to a tradition, to the burning of the old town, and the building of a new one in its place. This parish consists of three divisions or townships, viz. Upper, Lower, and Southern; with an area of 2,736 a. 1 r. 13 p., rateable value of £12,735, and population, 3,692, chiefly engaged in the manu- facture of flannels. The living is a rectory, in the patronage of the Bishop of St. Asaph, of the commuted value of £512, with a glebe house built in 1814, and 3 a. 2 r. 27 p. of glebe land. The old church (St. Mary the Virgin) "was built of rubble stones from the bed of the river Severn, and consisted of a double aisle with a tower surmounted by a wooden belfry at the north-wTest angle. The altar, which was an oak chest with a marble slab on the top, and pre- sented by William Evance, rector in 1768, was placed at the east end of the north aisle ; and near it an altar-piece, painted and presented by Dyer the poet. Subject, "The Last Supper."5 The roof, which was of oak richly moulded, was supported between the aisles by five octagonal oak pillars." A Montgomeryshire antiquary,6 writing in 1832, supplies the further information that there were in the church a gilt partition containing various curious devices, and an antique Font, reported to have been brought from Abbey Cwmhir; also a beautiful screen brought from thence by Sir Matthew Pryce. From a Report made by the Rural Dean in 1729 we further learn that the 1 Promoted from Llandegfan and Beaumaris to Llannefydd V. 1737-9. - V. Llanbrynmair, 1740-8; R. Llangynhaf'al, dioc. Bangor, 1750-61. Author of several Welsh poems. 3 Gwalter Mechain. See Llanwyddelan rectovs, sub ann. 1803. 4 "Rectoria de Nova Villa valet clare coeuntibus annis viijii. xvs. Od. dec. xvijs. vjd. 5 Newly rediscovered at the Rectory, 1871. 6 Richard Llwyd of Llanerch Brochwel, in his Topographical Notices, 1832. THE DEANERY OF CAEDEWEN. 341 Communion plate was extraordinary good, the gifts of Sir John Pryce, Bart., and Arthur Pryce, Esq., in the year 1726 ; and from another in 1 732, that among the Church plate was " a silver bason (the gift of the same baronet) for ' Xtianing'; that the altar was of marble ; that workmen were then busy in making the seats uniform"; and that "all the duties in the Church were performed in English, but there used to be a Welsh sermon once a month, and ye second lesson in Welsh, but this was laid aside by Mr. Evans, the late rector, though many in the parish were for Welsh." For the screen, which was transferred in 1856 to the New Church, where it forms a kind of reredos, I cannot do better than quote from the description contributed by Mr. D. Walker,1 of Liverpool, to the Montgomeryshire Collections, 1870 : " The carving and panels are in an excellent state of preservation, and, although dark with age, still bear the tool-marks as fresh as when cut. The enriched and interlaced cornices have traces of colour — vermilion and gold — with which it was at one time decorated, the effect of which, when standing as a rood, must have been considerably heightened by the light through the per- forations of the exceedingly rich and varied panelling. The cornices are carved in a remarkably free and characteristic manner ; the top cornice represents a conventional treatment of the leek, the middle cornice the vine, and the lower entwined palm leaves ; the execution of the work is such that deep relief is obtained, whilst the tendrils and stems are delicate and well undercut. The variety of the panels is very curious, some of the designs being particularly quaint, and very few alike ; the hand of the artist is apparent in every line, and it is gratifying to find that so excellent and interesting a monumental remain has escaped mutilation. The date of the work is evidently that of the fourteenth century." From a comparison of measurements, Mr. Walker is convinced that it could not have belonged to Abbey Cwmhir ; and that the commonly received opinion to that effect cannot be correct. The illustration2 on the next page gives an excellent idea of the massive tower, with the wooden belfry by which it was surmounted, both of which still survive, as well as of a portion of the north aisle. The willow tree, which appears in the illustration, was grown from a cutting brought by Sergeant -Major Dolby from that planted over Napoleon's grave at St. Helena. Close by lie the remains of the celebrated Robert Owen, the philanthropist, or, as he is better known, the Socialist, who was buried here in his native place in 1858. The Church itself, which is now in ruins, is about to be restored as a chapel of ease to its new mother church. The new Church, which is also dedicated in the name of St. Mary, 1 To whom I am indebted for the permission to have the accompanying photo-lithograph, taken from a beautiful drawing of it as restored. 2 From the pencil of the late Rev. H. Longueville Jones, through the kind- ness of the editors of the Arch. Camb., vol. for 1864, p. 255. Y Y 342 THE DEANERY OF CAEDEWEX. and is in style partly Norman, partly Early English, from the designs of Mr. Thomas Penson, was consecrated Sept. 13th, 1847, and the following year was made the parish Church. In plan, it consists of nave, with north and south aisles, a small sacrarium, or chancel, and a western tower, beneath which is the principal entrance ; the material being white brick, and the cost about £4,600. Internally three large galleries run round its three sides, and the pulpit and desk rise in tiers from the central aisle. The western gallery is occupied by the organ; and the church, which is pewed throughout,1 will seat six hun- dred. The screen, which was removed hither at the expense and under the direction of the Rev. J. P. Drew, now "lines the chancel on three sides within the altar -rails ; the lower or arcaded portion having been cut down so as to fit under the east window, and the central space divided to receive the Communion-table. The length of the screen, as now fixed, is 32 feet 4 inches, beiug about 10 feet less than when in its original position across the nave of the old church. The moulded supports under the lower cornice have also been reduced almost 4 feet in height, but the upper portions remain unaltered."2 The old octagonal font and a monument to the Pryces 1 Upon the Report of a Commission issued in 1848, certain of these pews w«r« assigned by the Bishop in lieu of others in the old church. 2 Montgomeryshire Collections, 1870, p. 212. THE DEANERY OF CAEDEWEN. 343 of Newtown were also removed hither from the old church. So also in 1868 was the fine peal of six bells, originally the gift of the New- town family, and recast by Rudhall of Gloucester in 1727. The organ, by Willis of London, was erected in 1849, and cost £600. The present National School was built at the same time as the church, at a cost of £1,031. Till about the year 1830 a school was held in the Town Hall, and endowed with the interest of £63 of Offer- tory money, which, owing to a dispute between the minister and churchwardens about its disposition, the Bishop of St. Asaph had assigned, in 1748, for this purpose ; and of £20, at that time in the hands of Charles Humphreys. Owing, however, to rent being de- manded, about the above date, for the use of the room, the school was discontinued, and the endowment (£4 3s. p. a.) transferred to a mistress who kept a private school, in consideration of instructing eight children nominated by the clergyman ; but it is now applied to a similar purpose in the National School. The principal (£83) is secured by bond on the Montgomeryshire Turnpike Trust. A charity called " Griffiths' Newtown National School and Night- Lodging Charity," founded by one Griffiths, a waiter, wTho died in Lon- don in 1843, arising from money invested by him in the funds, and amounting to £61 14s. per ami., has been disposed of by a scheme authorised by the Court of Chancery in the following manner : £30 to the schoolmaster's salary, and the remainder to the rent and taxes of a house hired for the purposes of the school and the night-lodging, and their requirements. As to the school, the will provides for the education of twenty poor boys, who are to be supplied with books, etc.; and, when the funds admit, an outfit, which they are to wear on Sundays only, in the school and at the parish church. The " Night- Lodging" provides a bed for poor decent Welshmen not having the means of paying for such. Littleton Lloyd, in 1734, left £10, the interest to be paid to the rector for preaching a sermon on Good Friday " as long as the Severn runs." The other charities, which are distributed among the poor at Christ- mas, are as follow : 1738. — Jones, William, a rent-charge on Ty-yn-y-cwm, now part of Caedafor in Llanllwchaiarn parish, 10s. 1815.— Evans, Elizabeth, £300 in £3 per Cent. Annuities, £8 15s. Other charities, now lost, were mentioned on tablets in the church, as below : 1713. — Anonymous, £10 (interest thereof paid till 1833); ditto, £5. 1734.— Edwards, Catherine, £10. Powell, David, £10. 1769. — Evance, William, clerk, rector, £2 2s. p. a., charged on his estate in Moughtre, but supposed to have been voided by the Statute of Mortmain. 344 THE DEANERY OF CAEDEWEN. RECTORS. 1537.— Richard ap Gruffydd1 1546. — Heram, Nicholas 1556. — John ap Rice 1560. — Jenkins, Thomas2 1582. — Owen, William 1583. — Price, Thomas 1592. — Morgan, Humphrey 1613. — Berkeley, John, A.M.3 1614. — Gwynne, Lewis4 1617. — Lloyd, Simon5 1631. — Griffith, George6 1632. — Madryn, Hugh, A.M. 1640.— Lewis, Eubule, A.M.? [Barket, Nathanael Rogers, Hugh8] 1666.— Evans, John9 1688.— Edwards, J.™ 1691. — Forrester, George 1702.— Baxter, J. 1718. — Richards, Thomas11 1718. — Babington, Joseph12 1719. — Evans, Evan 1732.— Parry, Thomas 1732.— Evance, William 1772. — Strong, Samuel13 1775. — Brown, William14 1794.— Williams, William, A.M.15 1796. — Lewis, Edward 1811.— Cleaver, William, A.M.16 1 " 23 Hen. VIII, 24 Jan., Montgomery. Vaynor Ugch in the parishe of the New Towne. A grant of f lands called Doll-y-bonte, which lyeth there, by Sir Richard Gr. priest, for the purpose of erecting a mill there, and ' to find a priest to singe in the new chapel of the church of the New Towne, and to praie the kinges grace, and for all christell soules.' — 32 Hen. VIII. Van- ior Ucha in the New Towne. A grant of certain lands, houses, chattels, there being. A water mill, a ' walke mill' there and appurts'. And in Pentre- yr-Efel. The Teyle houses there, by Sir Rich. Griff, priest, to the use and behoof of Mr. Richard ap Price, vicar of Kerry, and Sir Morris ap David, chaplaine of the New Towne, et al's to praie for soules of certain persons deceased ; also to praie for my soule, and my father and mother th'r soules, and all Xten soules." (Land Rev. Bolls, N. Wales, iii, fo. 38, in Montgomery- shire Collections, vol. ii, p. 368.) 2 V. Llanllwchaiarn, 1560; R. Llanmerewig, 1564 (vide -p. 333). 3 Preb. Llanfair, R. Llandyssil, 1622. 4 V. Llanrhaiadr, 1616; R. Denbigh, 1621; R. Manafon, 1660. 5 V. Llansilin, 1615. 6 Bishop of St. Asaph, 1660. 7 Deprived by the Committee of Sequestration, 1646. 8 Barnet and Rogers were put in during the Commonwealth. On the Restoration, the latter being a Congregationalist or Independent was ejected by the Act of Uniformity. 9 Head Master of Oswestry School, 1678; Canon of St. Asaph, 1681; V. Berriew, 1686. 10 R. Llanfyllin, 1691. 11 R. Llanfyllin and Canon, 1718. 12 Vic. chor. 1702. 13 R. Marchwiail, 1775 ; Canon, 1798. 14 Preb. Meifod, 1779 ; V. Berriew, 1793. 15 R. Llanfyllin, 1774-1813; R. Llangadfan, 1796. 10 Prebendary of Faenol and sinecure R. of Corwen and Llanfor, 1809. He built the Rectory house. THE DEANERY OF CAEDEWEN. 345 1814. —Cleaver, John Francis, 1815. — Foxton, George2 A.M.1 1844.— Edwards, John, M.A.3 1870.— Williams, John, St. Bees; Deacon, 1862; Pr. 1863; Cnrate of Holy Trinity, Ripon, 1862; St. Mary's, Bootle, 1865; St. Mark's, Wrexham, 1869. TREGYNON. " Ecclesia de Tresheno est appropriate Hosjyitalariis et ideo non taxa- tnr," is the account given in Pope Nicholas' Taxatio, a.d. 1291; the particular establishment to which it belonged being that of the " Knights Hospitallers of Halston," near Oswestry. But when, and by whom, the appropriation was made is not known. It was, however, most likely the grant of some local chieftain who joined the Order during the Crusades. In the Valor Eccles. of 1535, " Rectoria de Trigumon appropriatur com'endar' de Hawston prout postea patebit"; a promise not fulfilled, as there is no distinct mention of it under the account of that Commaundry. After its dissolution the tithes de- scended by grant, purchase, and marriage, into the possession of the late Lord Sudeley; from whom they were acquired, in 1863, for the benefit of the cure, by virtue of a grant of £1,000 from the Ecclesias- tical Commissioners, to meet a benefaction of the same value from himself as impropriator. Their commuted value is £90. The living- is a rectory, in the patronage of Lord Sudeley, and is of the value of £181 : 9 : 6 per ann.; derived partly from the above tithes, and the rest from the following sources : £ s. d. Rent of Cefn-Hir farm in Gladestry4 - - - 45 0 O „ Cerrig- Arthur farm in Manafon5 - - 24 0 0 Rent- charge upon the Blayney (now Lord Sudeley 's) property 20 0 0 Interest of £84 : 13 : 4, Queen Anne's Bounty - - 2 9 6 £91 9 6 There are four townships, Tregynon, Aberhale, Llanfechain, and 1 Sinecure R. Corwen, 1812, and Canon, 1815. 2 By exchange with J. F. Cleaver for Great Coxwell vicarage, Berkshire. He was also vicar of Queensborough in Leicestershire, and of Twyning in Gloucestershire, where he resided. 3 St. Peter's Coll. Camb. Author of a pamphlet on the Corn Laws and two sermons on special occasions. 4 Purchased in 1780 for £650, made up of an allotment of £200 from Queen Anne's Bounty in 1775 ; to which the impropriator, Arthur Blayney, Esq., added £200; which was met by an additional £200 from Queen Anne's Bounty, and increased by another .£50 from himself. 5 Bought, in 1829, for £824; the sum, with interest, of four lots which fell to Tregynon in 1815. 346 THE DEANERY OF CAEDEWEN. Pyllau, embracing an area of about 6,300 acres, of the rateable value of £4,210, with a population of 703. The church, which, like the parish, has followed the founder's name, Cynon, is a small modern edifice rebuilt about 1790, in the form of a parallelogram, with a gallery at the west end, and a belfry of sound and massive timber containing one bell dated 1795. The font is new, octagonal in form, and has its panels foliated ; the roof is ceiled, the pulpit and desks in tiers, and the body of the church pewed. A tab- let at the east end commemorates many members of the Blayney family (the former owners of the Gregynog estate) from 1595 to 1709; and there is an expressive monument to the memory of Arthur Blay- ney, a considerable benefactor to this church, who died in 1795, on which a female is represented in a mourning attitude, surmounted by a funeral urn, and holding in her hand a pelican's nest, with the young ones feeding on their mother's breast. It is by J. Bacon, R.A. The School is supported and managed by the Hon. H. H. Tracy, M.P. The Charities. — Mr. Ffoulkes, a rent -charge of 10s. per ann. on Buck's Land in Llanwyddelan. Unknown, 3 a. 2 r. 29 p., "the Old House on Cefn Twlch"; also 3 a. 2 r. 2 p. adjoining the above.3 Weaver, Arthur, Esq., £5 p. a., and four nominations to the Bet- tws Almshouses. Blayney, Arthur, Esq., £6 6s. p. a. Miss Blayney of Shrewsbury, £30, which sum was expended in building upon Nos. 1 and 2 above. PERPETUAL CURATES. 1842. — Morgan, Richard Williams, St. David's College, Lampeter. 1863. — Jenkin, Evan Alfred, A.M., Gonville and Caius College Cambridge; Deacon, 1854; Pr. 1858. Formerly Curate of Devizes. 1 Said to have been "originally built on the waste, and improved by the parish." 2 Morris Morris Syer, of the Bronhavod estate, is said to have given about an acre and a quarter, known by the name of " The Poor Man's Piece," in the middle of Neuaddlwyd farm ; and this was exchanged, by an award of the Enclosure Commissioners in 1815, for the above piece. 3 Author of " Verities of the Church," 1849 ; " Ida de Galis," 1850 ; " Vin- dication of the Church of England against Koine," 1851 ; " Raymonde de Monthault," 1853; " Christianity and Modern Infidelity," 1855 ; "Church Pamphlets," 1855; "North Wales, or Venedotia," 1856; "Cambrian His- tory," 1857. THE DEANERY OF CAEDEWEN. 347 MOUGHTKE.1 This is a mountainous parish consisting of the two townships of Moughtre-llan and Esgair-geiliog, and embracing an area of about 5,500 acres, of which some 3,000 acres were enclosed from the moun- tain waste in 1797. Its rateable value is £2,479, and the population 526. In the time of Giraldus Cambrensis it is believed to have formed a portion of the parish as well as the lordship of Kerry, and owing to that circumstance2 to have continued under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of St. David's until its recent transfer, in 1862, to this diocese. In 1237 Bishop Beck, of St. David's, appropriated it to the support of one of the twenty-two prebends in the collegiate church of St. Mau- rice, which he founded at Abergwili ; its value at the time, as given in the Taxatio of Pope Nicholas,3 being £3:6:8, minus 6s. 8cZ. for tenths. In accordance with this the Valor Eccles. of Henry VIII gives, under " Moghtre," the return, " Thomas Longe, prebendarius ibidem ex collacione Ep'i Meneven' sub ecclesia collegia? de AVguilly valet com'unibus annis clare £1 7s.; inde xa 2s. 8Jd" And so it con- tinued until 1541, when " Henry VIII, thinking Abergwili an impro- per place for hospitality, and that some of the revenues of it might be much better employed, annexed it to his newly erected college at Brecknock."* Thenceforward a portion of the tithes formed the endow- ment of the prebendary of Moughtre in "the College of Christ in Brecknock," the cure of souls being discharged by a perpetual curate, whose income was derived partly from the remainder, and partly from other sources. A Return made in 1 742, which gives ,£32 to the former, and £8 to the latter, had reference probably to the tithes alone, which have been commuted at £137: 7: 10 J, five sixths of which in 1863 were attached to the perpetual curacy: besides which there were annual £ s. d. Bents of land in Moughtre . . . . . 20 0 0 „ „ Carno . . . . . . 10 0 0 „ „ Radnorshire . . . . . 16 0 0 Interest on £905 : 4 : 8, Queen Anne's Bounty . . 27 3 0 Part of Kerry tithes paid by Ecclesiastical Commissioners . 3 10 0 .£76 13 0 1 A lias Moch-dre, the hamlet on the Moch, the small stream that flows down the valley; cf. Moch-nant. By an oversight this account was omitted in its proper place, p. 340. 2 See under Kerry, p. 320. 3 As no notice is there taken of the appropriation, it is evident that it had not yet taken effect. 4 Tanner's Notitia. 348 THE DEANERY OF CAEDEWEN. On the death of the last prebendary (Jackson), his portion lapsed to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, who have subsequently assigned it to the perpetual curacy, raising his income to <£214 gross. There is no glebe house, but there are funds now available for building one. The patronage, which had previously attached to the prebendary of Mochtre, and the jurisdiction, which had hitherto been in the Bishop of St. David's, were by the recent Act both transferred to the Bishop of St. Asaph. The church (All Saints, Nov. 1), which has been well and hand- somely restored,1 at an outlay of about £1,1 00,2 and was reopened on the 27th June, 1867, consists of nave, chancel, and sacrarium, raised above each other by steps ; north vestry, south porch, and western bell-gable. The most striking feature, internally, is the handsome old Perpendicular roof, of fifteenth century work, with its moulded ribs and principals, its well carved bosses, its angel-corbels, and its wall- plates resting on carved heads. The octagonal font is also of similar date, and has the Tudor flower within a quatrefoil on each of its panels. The church is open-seated throughout, and the chancel fur- nished for the choir; the altar-rails handsome, and the Communion Table of open framework. The encaustic tiles throughout are the gift of the Rev. F. W. Parker, and the oak lectern the offering of his friends at Welshpool. The chancel window (Perpendicular), of three lights, is filled with memorial glass to Thomas Drew of Newtown (ob. 1855), and represents the Crucifixion. The west window, also of three lights, in memory of Jane and Susannah Hamer of Glanhafren, repre- sents the Baptism of our Lord. A beautiful black-letter copy of the Welsh Prayer Book of 1664, which had long lain disused and neg- lected here, has lately been contributed to complete the series in the Cathedral Library of the diocese, where it has found an appropriate sanctuary. Other editions of 1690 and 1730 shew that at that time at least a considerable portion of the population were Welsh in thought and language as well as origin. The following extracts from the parish records, relative to alterations in the old church, are of some interest, and deserve to be recorded here : "Jan. 9th, 1789. — The vestry agreed to build a new gallery from the singing gallery across the church, to join the old gallery; and all the seats under the old gallery to be removed, and benches to be fixed there in their room, and to regulate the seats in the said church in the following order. "May 15th. — Seats made in the chancel, north and south sides. " 1790. — The seats to be made uniform, and regulated after the rate of one seat for every fifteen pounds tax, and so on in proportion; each seat to be one yard wide, and three feet and a half high." 1 Under the care of E. Haycock, jun. 2 Principal contributors : <£400 and east window by Major Drew, ,£200 and west window by Miss Hamer of Glanhafren. THE DEANERY OF CAEDEWEN". 349 PREBENDARIES OF MOUGHTRE. 1535. — Longe, Thomas 166 .—Thomas, Hopkin 1666.— Wood, Jacob Morgan, Charles 1765. — Probert, William Davies, Richard 1804. — Jones, John 1820. — Jenkins, John1 1830. — Jackson, Jeremiah2 PERPETUAL CURATES. 1774. — Williams, John 1808.— Wingfield, Charles, V. Llanllwchaiarn, 1801-51 1822.— Powell, Evan, V. Llanbister, 1839 1863.— Parker, Fred. William, M.A., R. Aberhafesp, 1870 1870.— Tompson, John Edward, M.A., Ch. Ch., Oxford; Deac. 1860; Pr. 1861; Curate, successively, of Bettws, Sealand, and Castle Caereinion. 1 V. of Kerry, 1807. 2 V. of Elm with Emneth, dioc. Ely. 2 Z 350 THE DEANERY OF DENBIGH.1 Was formed by the subdivision of the deanery of " Rhos and Rhyfon- iog" (Taxatio of Pope Nicholas, a.d. 1291) or " Rhos" (Valor Ecclesi- asticus, Henry VIII, a.d. 1535) into those of Denbigh and Llanrwst, by an Order in Council dated Dec. 13th, 1844, and gazetted Feb. 4, 1845. It embraces the parishes of Abergele, Bettws-yn-Rhos, Den- bigh, St. George, Henllan and Bylchau and Trefnant, Llanddulas, Llanelian, Llanfair Talhaiarn, Llangernyw and Llanddewi, Llanne- fydd, Llansannan, Llysfaen, and Nantglyn. ABERGELE. This large parish, stretching as it does from the Elwy to the sea, and from the Foryd to Llanddulas, is yet but a portion of an earlier and more extensive ecclesiastical district which embraced not only the present parishes of Abergele, Bettws, Llanddulas, and Llangws- tenyn, but also, if we may believe a reasonable tradition, supported by geological evidence, a considerable tract of land to the north, which at some period or other (said to be about the eighth or ninth century) was overwhelmed by the sea.2 The present extent of the parish is 1 In entering here on the history of the parishes in the county of Denbigh I have much pleasure in drawing attention to a kindred work by Messrs. Lloyd Williams and Underwood, architects, in illustration of the Denbighshire Village Churches, a prospectus of which has just been issued ; and which, apart from its general interest, will have a special value for the possessors of this history, as illustrating the accounts here given of them. 2 This is not the place to enter into a discussion of this question ; but it may be well to note that the statement of the inscription on an old stone in the churchyard wall (whatever the original wording may have been, or the date to which it belonged), that " there lay the body of one whose dwelling had been three miles to the north," is countenanced by a general belief that many other parts of the coast, from the Point of Ayr, in Llanasa, to Cantre 'r Gwaelod, near Harlech, have been destroyed by the sea, — by the disap- pearance of old landmarks, except at low water, — by the existence of sub- merged peat-mosses, with the trunks of great trees still in them, along parts THE DEANERY OF DENBIGH. 351 9,001 acres, and its rateable value .£18,316. The townships are twelve in number, viz. Abergele (or Tre 'r dre), Towyn (Upper and Lower), Bodoryn, Bodtegwal, Hendregyda, Dolganed, Serior, Bryn- fianigl, Nant Diubengron, Garthgogo, Gwryeh, and Penrhyn Dulas. The population, according to the Census of 1871 (just taken), which will henceforward be followed in this History, is 3,193. The earliest ecclesiastical notice we have connects this place with Elfod,1 who is said to have granted some land, if not the site itself, for the church ;3 and if the name of the Holy Well (" Fynnon Eflo"), near Bryncoch, be, as has been supposed, a corruption of Elfod, then we may fairly conclude that this Elfod, who bore a prominent part in the early history of the British Church, was the evangelist and founder of the church of this place; and that its dedication to St. Michael was, though of an early, yet subsequent date.3 The great tithes of the parish may have been, from the first, a portion of the common fund of the Cathedral Chapter; and they must have belonged to it before their appropriation to the office of the archdeacon, which was probably due to the influence of the noble house of Brynffanigl, one of whose members was bishop of this see a.d. 1210-49. The Taxatio of Pope Nicholas (a.d. 1291) simply states that "Ecclesia de Abergeleu cum capelld sua scilicet Langustenyn est annexa prebende archidiaconi" and gives the value of the archdeacon's stall, — " Canonia arcbid' in ipsa ecclesia et capellis suis...2ma cum rectoria ecclesie de Abergelen, que est annexa dignitati sue archidiaconati," as £31 : 6 : 8, minus £3:8:8 for tenths ; the vicarial tithes being returned as worth £10, decima £1. At this time it would seem that there was no house for the vicar, and that he accordingly did not constantly reside ; for in a Chapter holden in the parish church of St. Asaph, in "capella nostra de Llanelwy," in a.d. 1301, one David ap Kynwric was appointed to the vicarage on the condition that lie should build a suitable house, and reside therein f and from another entry of about the same date, or perhaps a little later, it would appear that the vicar's proportion of the tithes was one fourth,5 which is rather less than the propor- tion given in the Taxatio of 1291, as well as in the Valor Eccles. of of the sea-line, — and especially by the abatement of quit-rent for Gronant- is-y-mor, made to Bishop John Trefor II on that very ground. 1 Bishop in Holyhead ("Esgob ynghaergybi, in Bonedd y Saint"), after- wards Archbishop of North Wales (p. 18). 2 " Yr Esgob Elfod a roddes lain o dir i'r Eglwys ar yr afon Gele." 3 There are two other wells in the parish, closely connected with its early history, viz. Ffynnon y Saint and Ffynnon Dyfr (i. e. Deifr). u Y Groes lwyd" (the holy cross) bears a like relation. 4 "Duximus memorandum quod David ap Kynwric habeat vicariam, quam tenuit Kynwric Lloid, in ecclesia de Abergeleu, et quod ibi sufficienter edifi- cet et personaliter resideat." (Llyfr Coch.) 5 ** Licencia rectoris cuidam ad scholas D'm'e cum concessione rectorie de Abergeleu, c-xcepta qxiarta parte que est vicar iiy {Llyfr CCch, 20b.) 352 THE DEANEKY OF DENBIGH. 1535,1 where the "rectoria" is returned as of the gross value of £40; and the"vicaria"of £13:6:8 gross, or£12:9: 8 net; tenths, £1 :4:11§ to the King. In both returns, as nearly as can be, it is one third ; and this is what it appears in the commutation, where £1,487 were assigned to the Bishop in virtue of the archdeaconry held in commen- dam (now in the hands of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners,2 who also hold some houses and cottages and four acres of glebe belonging to the rectory), £490 to the vicar, and £12 to the parish clerk, in lieu of the bell-sheaf (or " ysgub y gloch"). The vicar has, moreover, a good house, built in 1851 at a cost of £1,095, and one acre of glebe. The church, which is dedicated to St. Michael (Sept. 29), follows the usual type of the churches of the Vale, and consists of two large and equal aisles of seven bays ; the two easternmost of which were once screened off for the chancel, with chancel-aisle or chantry, now curtailed to the narrow compass of a few feet. A square tower, which was raised six feet higher, and greatly improved by the insertion of new windows and the addition of buttresses in 1861, stands at the west end of the north aisle ; and the long outline of the south side is broken by a somewhat ill shaped modern porch. A curious doorway, of Cyclopean construction, formed of four large stones, and having a rudely carved head at the apex, has been closed up at the west end of the south aisle, and some early incised tombstones have been set up for their better preservation in the porch. Internally it is pewed throughout \ an organ occupies the west end, and the pulpit and desk rest against the north wall. The pillars and arches were scraped and cleaned, and the oak principals of the roof repaired, in 1858. 3 The font dates from the Restoration, being inscribed with the wardens' initials, 1663. There is a good deal of painted glass. Some fragments of early work, chiefly heads, are preserved in the vestry window ; and the east window of the north aisle, which is Perpendicular, and of handsome design, is filled with memorial glass to the Lloyds of Gwrych. It was set up in 1857, and represents the patron saint of the church overcoming the dragon.4 The chancel-window in the south Rectoria valet in Decimis grani et fceni ,, agnorum, lanae Oblacionibus et dec' minutis Diversis porcionibus (p. 199, n.) Terra glebata £29 14 4 3 1 19 4 2 Vicaria. £10 0 0 1 13 4 1 12 10 0 0 6 £40 0 0 il3 6 8 2 They have promised an endowment of .£300 p. a., contingent on the amount of the population, to a new district which it is proposed to form at Tywyn, where Mr. Bamford-Hesketh is now building a school, and intends to build a new church at his own expense. c The cost of this was ,£316, chiefly defrayed by the Pentremawr family. 4 Tainted by Forest and Bromley, Liverpool. THE DEANERY OF DENBIGH. 353 aisle, which is of similar form, has been filled with emblematic sub- jects to represent the virtues of Justice, Temperance, Fortitude, Charity, Faith, Hope, and Truth, painted by Mrs. Jones-Bateman of Pentremawr to the memory of her husband, obiit 1849. A three -light window on the north side has for its subjects the Last Supper and the Agony. It is memorial to members of a family of Hughes, ob. 1816, 1854, and 1860. Near it has recently been inserted another, to which a mournful interest attaches on account of the terrible catastrophe by which the Rev. Sir Nicholas Chinnery and his wife, to whose memory it has been erected, lost their lives on the 20th Aug. 1868. In it is represented our Lord "Bearing His Cross," "Cruci- fied," and " Rising again." In the churchyard also a monument of Aberdeen granite has been erected to mark the enclosure in which lie buried the thirty-three persons1 who were then burnt to death through the ignition of some casks of paraffin on goods' trucks which slipped on to the line near Llanddulas, and came into collision with a pas- senger train. Near the same spot are also buried seven bodies that were washed ashore when the Ocean Monarch (emigrant ship) went on fire in the Bay, and 178 out of the 396 persons on board perished on 24 Aug. 1848. In the church are monuments to the families of Gwrych, Llwyni, Nant, Pentremawr, etc.; and a handsome brass has been set up to the memory of the Rev. Richard Jackson, who was vicar of this parish for fifty-three years, during the incumbency of no less than eight successive bishops of St. Asaph. He died in 1847, a^-ed eighty-eight. Indeed, one notable feature of the parish is the extraordinary number of octogenarians who figure in the Register. The tower contains six bells, — a small one dated 1723, and five others, one of which is inscribed "Abraham Rudhall of Gloucester cast us all, 1730"; but the rest were recast,2 in 1844, by Taylor and Sons, Loughborough, one of them bearing the words, " Os meum annuncia- bit laudem tuam"; and another, " Heddwch, dedwyddwch a chymmyd- ogaeth dda." Among the Communion plate is a silver paten given by Bishop Barrow in 1685, and two flagons presented by vicar Stod- dart in 1778. A portion of the west end of the church was divided off, about eighty years ago, for a vestry and schoolroom ; and there the school continued to be held until 1836, when a new school was erected in connexion with the National Society, on a site given by Sir John Hay Williams, Bart. These schools have again been superseded by some beautiful new ones for boys, girls, and infants, with class-room, lavatory, and master's house attached ; which have been built at the sole expense of Mr. Bamford-Hesketh of Gwrych, who is also building a new school at Tywyn, and purposes erecting a newT church for the 1 Among them were Lord and Lady Farnham, Sir Nicholas and Lady Chinnery, Judge Berwick, Capt. Priestley Edwards, W. Henry Owen, etc. 2 They are said to have been cracked in sounding the alarm of the fire which destroyed Kinuiel in 1841. 354 THE DEANERY OF DENBIGH. benefit of that portion of the parish. Two sums of £100 each were left to the school by Bishop Fleetwood and Mrs. Carter of Kininel respectively; but having got into the hands of a Mr. Roberts, an attorney, who became bankrupt, there remains only the sum of £29, now in the National and Provincial Bank at Denbigh. A further sum of 10s., being the interest of £10 left for the same purpose by Mr. Edward Hughes of Tymawr Ucha, is annually paid by the tenant of that farm. Some benefactions1 enumerated on a tablet in the church, and amounting to <£170,2 were laid out at interest with Dr. Jones, the vicar, who on his death left a tenement called Penucha, in Tywyn, towards paying the interest. The present acreage is 10 a. 11 p.; the gross value, £14:11 : 5; and rated at £13 10s. p. a.; besides 1 a. 39 p. sold to the Chester and Holy- head Railway Company, in 1845, for £149 5s., which, together with interest, has been invested in Consols., amounting to £205 : 8 : 3, for the benefit of the poor. VICARS. 1537. — Gethyn, John 1556. — Roberts, John3 1570. — Hugh ab Owen Bishop Hughes in com. 1582. — Vaughan, John 1611.— Lloyd, Richard, B.D.4 1613.— Parry, Gabriel, B.D.5 [1653. — Caster, Thomas6 1657.— Conant, John, D.D.<] 1662.— Pugh, Henry, A.M.8 1672.— Lloyd, David, A.M.9 1 6 75. — Williams, William10 1 One of ,£20, by Mad. Cath. Parry of Hendrefawr, has been lost. 2 Including £60 each from Wm. Evans of Plas-ucha, and Peter Ffoulkes, of Cadwgan, gent.; and £2o from Grace Mellas of Glanywerglodd ; and smaller sums. 3 Deprived, but restored by Bishop Goldwell. 4 Vicar of Gresford, 1613; Canon I, 1617. 5 R. Llanrhaiadr-yn-Mochnant, 1608; V. Henllan, 1609; V. Denbigh, 1613; Master of Ruthin School, and Precentor of Bangor. 6 Put in by the Committee of Approvers. 7 Dr. Conant, Rector of Exeter College, Oxford, 1649, and Regius Professor of Divinity, 1654, was ejected in 1662; but afterwards conforming, became a minister at Northampton, and was appointed in 1667 Archdeacon of Nor- wich, and in 1681 Prebendary of Worcester. Six volumes of his Sermons were edited by Bishop Williams in 1699. 8 "Jacobus filius Henrici Pugh, vicarius de Abergele," was baptised in 1658; and " Henricus filius Henrici Pugh, vie." in 1659; so that Mr. Pugh, and not Mr. Gabriel Parry, must have been the deprived vicar ; or, as is not unlikely, these and some other entries inserted in the new Register directly after the Restoration, related to things of which private records had been kept during the troubles of the preceding period. ,J Prebendary of Faenol, 1671 (v. p. 246). w V. Rhuddlan, 1678; Canon IV, 1679. THE DEANERY OF DENBIGH. 355 1684.— Maurice, David, D.D.1 1 702.— Williams, Peter 1706. — Griffiths, John2 1716.— Jones, Thomas, D.D." 1848. — Meredith, James, B.A. Pr. 1825; vicar of Hope, Canon of St. Asaph, 1860. 1742. — Anwyl, Lewis4 1776. —Williams, Evan5 1777. — Stodart, William, A.M.6 1794. — Jackson, Richard, M.A. , Trim Coll., Dublin; Deacon, 1824; 1836-48 ; Rural Dean, 1854; Hon. BETTWS. This parish, which is in outline long and narrow (about seven miles by two and a half), is divided into the five townships of Peniarth, Bodlyman, Maesegwig, Cilcen, and Trofarth; with an area of 6,263 acres; 1 r. 13 p. of the rateable value of £4,304; population, 796. It has already been stated that this was originally a portion of the district subject to the mother church of Abergele ; and as is so often the case with places of this name, whatever its real derivation and meaning7 may be, takes the dedication of the mother church, St. Mi- chael, and has shared the same fortunes ; for although in the Taxa- tion of 1291 it is returned as distinct from it, with its "rectoria" taxed at £6 : 13 : 4 ; " decima," 13*. 4c/.; and " vicaria" at £4 : 2 : 1 ; " decima," 85. 2 JcZ. ; the rectory soon afterwards, like that of the mother church, became appropriated to the archdeaconry, and is so returned in the Valor of 1535, its value being £5; whilst the vicar- age is reckoned at £12 : 15 : 3 clear, " minus £1 : 5 : 6 J pro decima Regi." The commuted value8 is £180 : 9 : 10 to the Bishop as Arch- deacon,— now the Ecclesiastical Commissioners ; £399 : 6 : 2 to the vicar, and £8 85. to the parish clerk. There is also an excellent 1 Son of Andrew Maurice, Dean of St. Asaph, and himself Prebendary of Faenold, 1691. 2 K. Llanelian, 1683; V. Llangernyw, 1689. 3 Son of Bishop Jones; Canon III, 1702. 4 Previously P. C. of Yspytty. 5 Vicar choral and schoolmaster at St. Asaph, 1763; V. Llanasa, 1775. 6 V. Bettws, 1758; vicar choral, 1769; Canon, 1784. 7 Besides the name " Bettws yn Rhos," from the deanery in which it is situated, and " Bettws Abergele," from its relation to that parish, it was also called, in former times, "Bettws Wyrion Wgan," apparently to distinguish it from Bettws y Coed, which was also called "Bettws Wyrion Iddon." (P. 317) 8 In a terrier of 1729-30 it is stated that the rector had a portion of the tithes of Llaethfan township in Llanelian ; and that the occupier of " Croes Engan," which is partly in Bettws, partly in Llansantffraid, sometimes pays all tithe-lambs to this parish, sometimes to Llansantffraid, a just division being not yet fixed. 356 THE DEANERY OF DENBIGH. vicarage house, built in 1861, on a new site, at a cost of about £1,700 (of which £900 were borrowed from Queen Anne's Bounty), in lieu of the old one1 begun by vicar Jones, and finished by his successor,2 together with four acres of glebe. The old parish church having become very dilapidated, was taken down, and the foundation-stone of the new one laid July 19, 1838. 3 In 1853 the sittings were rearranged, and a new pulpit and desk set up; and in 185-4 the chancel-apse was laid with encaustic tiles, and new altar-rails erected.4 The church consists of nave with chancel- apse and a western gallery ; and has a tower capped by two peculiar steeplets of foreign character at the west end. The seats are open, and will hold 426, of which number 222 are free and unappropriated. The east window, of three lancets, is filled with memorial glass to " Mary wife of J. Lloyd Wynne, ob. 1844," and has for its central subject the Crucifixion, with the Birth and Baptism in the north light, and the Resurrection and Ascension in the other. Another window, on the north side, represents the Annunciation, and is a memorial to Frances Haggitt, who died at Coed Coch, aetat. eighty-one. The font was presented by Mr. C. Francis, of London, on the reopening of the church in 1839. The old one lies in the churchyard. The lectern and sedilia are of oak. At Trofarth, a portion of the parish distant about four miles and a quarter from the parish church, a school was built in 1865, at a cost of <£428 : 12 : 4; and a further sum of £256 was invested for an en- dowment ;5 so that it serves the double purpose of a school on week- 1 The site of this has been added to the churchyard, and was consecrated in 1870. 2 "Vicar Jones and Vicar Sampson Joined their pence to build this mansion." As from the quotation given in Browne Willis, — "Stare nequit uno cardine tanta domus," — this mansion would appear to have been of more than usual pretension, it may be interesting to quote from the description given of it in the terrier of 1729-30 : " The Vicarage measures thirteen yards in length on the outside of the walls, and four yards and a quarter in breadth within the walls, and contains a narrow hall or passage, parlour, and a kitchen ; all ceiled and plastered, and the two former floored with lime, with an upper room above each. Joining and across to which is a brewhouse measuring nine yards in length on the outside, and three yards in breadth within the walls ; the bay next the house being parted from the rest by a partition, and serves for a buttery, and has a lumber-room above it ; being all in good repair, and thatched with straw." 3 The outlay was £756 : 15 : 8, towards which the local subscriptions were .£324; the C. B. S., £150; and the St. Asaph C. B. S., ,£100; Rev. H. Hoi- land Edwards, .£50 ; and the deficiency by Mr. J. Lloyd Wynne, .£52 : 13 : 4. The architect was Mr. J. Welch. 4 These improvements were made by the Coed Coch family. h Invested in the Delhi Railway Capital Stock. The chief items in the THE DEANERY OF DENBIGH. 357 days, and a church on Sundays. The site was given by Mr. Brown- low Wynne of Garthewin. The new School, in lieu of the old one at Bryivygroes, was built in 18G1 at a cost of £918 18s., on a site given by Mr. J. Lloyd Wynne in addition to a subscription of X150.1 It has a considerable endow- ment arising from a proportion of £3.1 10s. p. a., the rental of Ty- ucha, Maenau (given by Archdeacon Jones, of Bryneisteddfod, in exchange for Gyder, Dolwyd, and Rhydysaeson, in LlansantfFraid parish ; which had been purchased in 1749 for £180, of which sum £100 belonged to the School,2 and £80 to the poor3); £10, the rental of Aelwyd-ucha, on Moelfra Mountain, (37 a. 27 p.) allotted to the School in 1831; and the interest of a moiety of £700 left in 1816 by the Rev. Robt. Anwyl, vicar of the parish.* A rent-charge of £5 p. a. on Penfford-deg, left by Mrs. Griffith, was discharged in 1832 by the acceptance of £100 from Mr. Hesketh of Gwrych; and of that sum £54 : 13 : 4 were expended in building some cottages for the poor on an allotment, and the residue in re- building the house on Dolwyd Farm, which had been destroyed by fire. The rent of three cottages at Tae'r-borth is £1 6s., and another at Bronllan 10s.; and there is also a rent-charge of 10s. on Penybryn, left by Edward Hughes. These sums, together with the proportion from Ty-ucha, Maenan, are disposed of in aid of the Clothing Club and other helps for the benefit of the poor. VICARS. 1537. — John ap Vachan or Vaughax5 1542. — Robert ab St. Edward 1564. — Powel, John6 Hughes, Bp. in commendam 1577. — Owen, Hugh 1599. — Williams, Owen 1628.— Lloyd, Robert? 1638. — Powell, Edward, A.M. 1639. — Pritchard, Robert8 total of £684 : 12 : 4 were £200 by J. Lloyd Wynne of Coed Cock ; £156, share of proceeds of a bazaar at Coed Cock ; £60 by tke Rev. J. Bovdger of Pen- nant; and £50 by tke Rev. H. E. Heaton, vicar. 1 Otker sums were, £140 from tke sale of old Sckool ; £78, Rev. H. E. Heaton; £25 parisk money; and £257, Privy Council. - Of tkis sum, £50 was given by tke Rev. Dr. Jones, late vicar; £10 eack by Mr. Roberts and Mr. Jokn Wynne ; tke rest in smaller sums. 3 Including £50 by Mrs. Ffoulkes of Gwyndy-ucka, and £20 by Anne Ffoulkes of Trofartb. 4 Invested in 3£ Consols, in 1853. One kalf tke interest to tke sckool- master kere ; and tke otker kalf between tkose at Abergele, Nannerck, and Llandrillo in Edeirnion. 5 Sinecure R. Llandyssil. 6 Vic. Llanrwst, 1537; R. Llanddoget and V. Llangernyw, 1551 ; Canon, 1552 ; V. Llanasa, 1564. 7 V. Llanasa, 1614; V. Ckirk, 1615; V. Llanrwst, 1619; V. Cwm, 1620; R. Llandyssil, 1625. ■ R. Mallwyd, 1(111. 358 THE DEANERY OF DENBIGH. 1641.— Price, Richard, A.M. 1666.— Jones, David1 1684.— Owen, Oliver2 j 684. —Maurice, David, D.D.3 1702.— Jones, Thomas, D.D.* 1717. — Roberts, Sampson5 1727. — Wynne, Richard, A.M. 1738. — Edwards, George 1742. — Jeffereys, Thomas6 1746. — Price, James 1758. — Stodart, William, A.M.7 1793.— Williams, Peter8 1799.— Evans, Edward 1811 .— Anw yl, Robert9 1815.— Howard, Richard, D.D.10 1818.— Mason, John, M.A.11 1826.— Phillips, Robert12 1851.— Evans, Evan, B.A.13 1858. — Humphreys, Owen Jones, A.M.14 1859. — Heaton, Hugh Edward, M.A., Jesus Coll., Oxford; Scholar; B.A. 1844; Deac. 1845; Pr. 1846; Curate of Mold, 1845-52; P. C. Llangedwin, 1852-9. DENBIGH. The earliest name of this place was Caledfryn ("the rocky hill");15 a name which, true to the genius of Welsh topology, is accurately de- scriptive of its natural features, and belongs to a period when these were its chief characteristics ; but one which gradually gave way to the military title of Dinhych ("the hill-fort"),16 from the time that its strong position and strategic importance began to be realised.17 It is 1 Vicar choral and R. Llansantffraid, G. Conway, 1640. Deprived. 2 V. Llanasa, 1684; R. Halkin, 1694. 3 V. Llanasa, 1666; V. Abergele, 1684; Prebendary of Faenol, 1691. 4 V. Abergele, 1716 (q. v.) 5 j*. Llanelian, 1689-1727. e Vic. chor. 1738. ' Vic. chor. 1769; V.Abergele, 1777; Canon, 1783. 8 Vic. chor. 1775, and Master of the Grammar School. 9 R. Llandrillo in Edeirnion, 1776; R. Nannerch, 1799; chaplain to Lord Kirkwall. 10 R. Denbigh, 1818; R. Beamaris, 1826; V. Llanrhaiadr, 1843. 11 R. Bodvari, 1812-18. Author of Welsh Sermons, 2 vols., 1830. 12 R. Llanycil, 1819-26. Compiler of Casgliad o Salmau a Hymnau, 1853. 13 V. Pennant-Melangell, 1826; V. Llanarrnon-yn-Ial, 1831. 14 R. Llanddulas, 1849 ; R. Caerwys, 1859. 15 E. g. " Caledfryn yn Rhos," the rocky hill in the country of Rhos, the moorland. w The first syllable is common to many similar positions in the neighbour- hood, e. g., Dinorben, Dinhengron, Dincolyn, Dinmeirchion, Dinmael, etc. The second is of unknown, or at least of greatly disputed, meaning. " Din- bych-y-Pysgod" is the Welsh name for Tenby. 17 If one may hazard a conjecture as to this time, it would be that follow- ing on the departure of the Strath Clyde Britons from the Vale, — an event which would make room for the transfer to this new home of the settlement or tribe which had previously held sway at its older namesake in the hills, — THE DEANERY OF DENBIGH. 359 to this twofold aspect, the civil and military, that we must look for the clue to its earlier ecclesiastical history; for whilst wre have the latter represented in St. Hilary's, the ancient garrison chapel within the walls ; the parish church of St. Marcella, or Llanfarchell (now "Whitchurch), more than a mile from the town, belongs to a period unaffected by, because anterior to, its foundation. In ecclesiastical documents, which are of a more conservative character, the name Denbigh, for the parish, hardly occurs before the middle of the four- teenth century. Thus in the Taxatio of 1291 it is " ecclesia de Land- warchell taxatur £4 10s., dec. 9s."; and in a document1 of 1294, " Llanwarchell juxta Denbigh"; and it is not till the grant of the ad- vowson to the Bishop of St. Asaph, in 1335, that we have "ecclesia de Denbigh"; whilst, again, in a notice of the celebrated Archbishop Chicheley the earlier name is still employed, — " Pastor fait ecclesie de Lanvarchell," c. a.d. 1400; and in the Valor Eccles. of 1535 it is " Rectoria de Denbigh alias Saynct M'cell." From which time Den- bigh is the only name used. The terms of the above grant, as it is called, imply that there had been a dispute as to the right of patronage, and are in reality an acknowledgment of the Bishop's right2 of presentation to the rectory. As to the vicarage there appears to have been no doubt. Their respective value, as given in the Valor, were M s. d. £ s. d. " lleetoria valet dare, 15 2 2...inde pro decima parte Regi, 1 10 2f Vicaria „ „ 8 10 2 „ „ „ 0 17 Of." Besides which there was " Libera capella infra Castrum de Dynbigh ex fundaeione Domini Regis (£8; decima, 16s.)"; which, I think, must clearly be St. Hilary's, or the garrison chapel ; of which it is stated in De Bokeley's Survey, made in the year 1334, that "they find one chaplain to celebrate divine service in the Chapelle of Dynbiegh within the walls, for the lord, his predecessors and successors in perpetuity." The erection and reparation of this chapel devolved upon the free and native tenantry of the commote of Isaled from the time of the sovereign princes of Wales.3 There were other chapels also before the Reformation ; but none of the others equally meet the description. Such was the domestic or " Yr hen Ddinbych," — on the line of the Eoman road from Bodvari, by Ys- trad, to Penygaer, near Cerrig-y-drudion, where four such roads met each other. 1 "Collacio Ecclesie de Llanwarchell juxta Denbigh Wmo. de Dymbych per eundem Ep'um (Llewelyn ap Ynyr, de Bromfield) in die Epiph. 1294, Cons. 2o." — Llyfr Cuch. 2 " Recognovimus advocationem Rectorise et jus Lewelini Episcopi As- sav et ecclesise suse predicta) remisimus, et quiete clamamus." (Browne Willis, Append, xxvm, 76.) 3 "Williams, Records of Denbigh, p. 211. 300 THE DEANERY OF DENBIGH. private chapel within the Castle, which is thus described in a survey taken in 1562 : " Next to that tower (Badness), in the east part, is a fair chapel called ' The Queen's Chapel,' seven yards in length and five in breadth; fair, vaulted with stone, and covered with lead."1 Some of the springers of the vaults, with their carved corbels, are still visible ; but whether they be those of the actual chapel, or the crypt beneath, admits of some doubt. Leland, again, writing about 1540, mentions another, — "a chapelle of ease, in the middle of the new towne, of St. Anne. One Fleming was the builder of this ; and yet it is caulled 'Capelle Fleminge, and yt is of a good largenes."2 Besides these there was the Chapel of the Carmelite, or White Friars, at the east end of the town, which, although then within the parish of Henllan, was practically in Denbigh,3 but does not require our consideration here. And Camden, writing about the year 1607, fur- ther notes that " the church (St. Hilary's) not being large enough, they have now begun to build a new one where the old towne stood ; partly at the charges of their Lord Robert Earl of Leicester, and partly with the money contributed for that use by several well dis- posed persons throughout England."4 The foundation-stone was laid on the 1st of March, 1579 (St. David's Day), and the work was car- ried on under the direction of Bishop Wilson of Winchester; but Leicester, having incurred the hatred of the people by his tyranny, stopped its further progress ; and the money which was collected to complete it, being lent to the Earl of Essex when he passed through on his Irish expedition, was never repaid, and the church was never finished. It consisted of a nave 180 feet long, with two aisles of equal length ; was 75 feet wide, and is said to have been nearly completed. The pillars as well as the walls were standing in the time of Bishop Tanner (1731-5) ; but the stones were being carried away by the inhabitants. The fine ruin between St. Hilary's and the Castle House is all that now remains of what is said to have been the first Protest- ant ecclesiastical building commenced in the kingdom, and to have been intended to supersede the Cathedral at St. Asaph ! 1 Williams, Ancient and Modern Denbigh, p. 95. To this and the Records of Denbigh I would express ray obligations for the greater part of the informa- tion contained in this brief account. 2 Leland's Itinerary, v, 61. " There was an Almas-House hard by the Chappie of Ease, 'ex saxo quadrato,' of squared or hewn stone, made by Fleming, but now yt is desolate." Mr. Williams believes that "the old houses in Highgate, built with hewn stone and with fragments of sculptured cor- bels, are the old almshouse"; and also states that a remnant of the founda- tion wall of St. Anne's Chapel may be seen in the cellars of the Chirk Castle Arms. (A and M. Denbigh, p. 324.) Subsequent alterations, however, have concealed it from view; unless one large stone, high up in the wall, be what he referred to. 3 It has recently been transferred to it. 1 Camden's Britannia, ii, 810. THE DEANERY OF DENBIGH. 361 The rectory and vicarage, which had shared the tithes in the pro- portion of two -thirds and one -third, were united by Bishop Barrow's Act in 1678; and their present value, according to the commutation, is £400; to which a rent charge of £65 was added, with the transfer of a portion of the parish of Henllan, in 1855. The rector has also an excellent new house built in 1864 at a cost of £2,300, and a quarter of an acre of glebe. The area of the parish is 1,472 acres; its rateable value,£9,359 15s.; and the population of the ecclesiastical parish, 4,563, inclusive of the part recently added from Henllan. Patron, the Bishop. There are three churches in the parish : (1.) LLANFARCHELL,1 alias WHITCHURCH.2 This is a large church of Perpendicular character, and of the Clwydian type, consisting of two equal and parallel aisles separated by light octagonal pillars. There is no division, internal or external, to dis- tinguish the chancel from the nave ; the handsome screen, which in early Welsh churches supplied the place of the chancel-arch, having been removed, — the central portion to mark the entrance to the tower at the west end of the north or chancel-aisle, and other portions used as a reredos and as ornamental bands upon the altar-rails. The hammer-beam roof of both aisles is of good design and workmanship, and is set off with much quaint and curious carving. The hammer- beams themselves have lost their ornamental corbels ; but their pen- dant posts rest upon stone corbels between the springers of the arches, sculptured with shields and with animal and human figures. The rafters also end in bosses of grotesque animal forms. There are two exceptions, however, on the north side of the north aisle, which pro- bably have a historical significance : one of them a mitred head, which may represent the munificent Chicheley, the founder of Bernard's and All Souls' College at Oxford, and the beautifier of his own cathedral at Canterbury, who had been at one time pastor of this parish ; whilst the other, a female head wearing a crown, may have been intended to honour Margaret Countess of Derby, — a noble church builder in the fifteenth century, the period of this work. The wall-plate has a hollow groove ornamented with grotesque figures of animals; which, 1 Marchell, in the sixth century, is said to have been the sister of Dihaer and Tyrnog, the founders of the neighbouring churches of Bodvari and Llan- dyrnog. She also gave a name to Ystrad Marchell, where the Abbey of Strata Marcella, or Ystrad Marchell, was afterwards founded, near Welsh- pool; and had a chapel named after her at Llinrwst, "Capel Marchell." 2 This is a comparatively modern name, for it is nowhere met with before the Reformation, and is probably derived either from its external colouring, or its fair proportions within. The supposition that it was so " called from having been a conventual church of the White Friars," is not borne out by fact, as it never was such. 362 THE DEANERY OF DENBIGH. however, have become much obscured by successive coats of white- wash. The east windows have the same Perpendicular form and tracery, but the southern one is of greater height. Those on the south side have no foliated tracery, but their labels terminate in bosses of corresponding character to those of the roof ; one of them, a shears, representing probably the guild or " Companye of Taylors"; and two others, the Tudor rose and the fleur-de-lis, indicating their age. Those of the north side are of an older period. An inscription formerly existing in one of the windows of the church, testified to the existence here of an almost forgotten pastime which enjoyed something of the reputation of the old guilds, — " Orate pro John Smallwoode, Mater of Misrule, and all other young men caused this window to be glazed."1 The bell, which is inscribed " Canwn fawl i'r Arglwydd, 1683," was brought down, it would appear from the Vestry Book, from St. Hilary's.2 Some of the monuments are of much historic interest. In the porch one of the rare portrait-brasses of that age, to the memory of Richard Myddelton, Governor of Denbigh Castle during the reigns of Edward VI, Mary, and Elizabeth (ob. 1575), represents him with his nine sons3 behind him, and his wife with her seven daughters, all in a kneeling posture ; and beneath, some quaint lines rehearsing his virtues. In the church a mural monument commemorates the learned antiquary, Humphrey Llwyd, M.A., of Brasenose College, Oxford, and M.P. for Denbigh, 1563. He is represented in a Spanish dress, and kneeling ; but the monument is not worthy of the varied and exten- sive learning of the man.1 On a richly coloured altar-tomb, in ala- baster, standing in the middle of the south aisle, near the east end (probably at one time a family chapel to Lleweni), are recumbent effigies of Sir John Salusbury of Lleweni, commonly known as " Sir John y Bodiau," who is represented as a knight in full armour ; and "Dame Jane, his wiefF," by his side. On one side of the tomb are 1 A member of this family lies buried in the churchyard of St. Asaph, under a stone which bore a shield with a lion rampant, and the inscription, " Hie jacet Eanulfus de Smalwode." For an account of the "Lord of Misrule," see Brand's Popular Antiquities, hi, 497. Bohn. 2 The lead roof of the tower and eastern end of the south aisle was removed hither, in 1672, from the Burgess or Exchequer Tower of the old Castle, which had been the county prison when the assizes were held at Denbigh. 3 Several of these became very distinguished men. William, the third son, a sea captain, was the first to translate the Psalms into Welsh Metre, and wrote Barddoniaeth, or the Art of Welsh Poetry. Sir Thomas, the fourth, became Lord Mayor of London, founder of the Chirk Castle family, and, with Eow- land Heylin, went to the joint expense of the first portable edition of the Bible and Prayer Book in Welsh, 1630; and Sir Hugh, the sixth, who brought the New River to London. 1 For his life and writings, sec Williams' Eminent Welshmen. THE DEANERY OF DENBIGH. 363 figures of their eight sons, and on the other of their four daughters. At the head and foot are quartering^ and armorial bearings. He died in 1578, and this tomb was erected by his widow ten years after; but the date of her death, which she left blank, was never after- wards put in. Near this is a mural monument to Hester, the daughter of Sir Thomas Salisbury, and wife of Sir Robert Cotton of Comber- mere, who died in 171 0.1 On the western wall a marble tablet has been set up by the Gwyneddigion Society in honour of " Thomas Edwards, Nant, Bardd rhagorol yn ei oes," obiit 1810, best known as " Twm o'r Nant."3 In the churchyard lies the first man to set up a printing press in Denbigh, Thomas Jones, the author of an English - Welsh Dictionary, Drych y Mertkyron, etc. Of the other monuments it need only be added, that tombstones of a more Christian type, and the planting of flowers and shrubs, promise to give a more decorous and reverent appearance to the burial-ground, which was enlarged in 1811 and 1858; and consecrated, the first by Bishop Cleaver, the latter by Bishop Short.3 Owing to the distance of this church from the town, St. Hilary's has long supplanted it as the parish church ; and no services, except funerals, have been held here since the repeal of the Test and Corpo- ration Acts in 1828, up to which time the corporate officers used to attend once a year to take the Sacrament in it as the actual parish church. (2.) st. Hilary's.4 This is the " Libera Capella" of the Valor Eccles., 26 Henry VIII, and was originally the garrison chapel of the Castle,5 but also used by the English families introduced into the town in connexion therewith. After the Reformation, however, and the consequent dissolution of the Abbey and of St. Anne's Chapel (which was most likely served by the members of the Abbey), it became the only church in the town ; and we find that each of the seven incorporated companies or guilds 1 She was the ancestress of that distinguished soldier, Field Marshal the Right Hon. Viscount Combermere, G.C.B., G.C.H., K.S.I., who was born at Lleweni in 1773, died 1865. 2 He was brought up as a mason, but possessing a strong poetic genius, chiefly of a Hudibrastic or satirical type, he became distinguished for the composition and acting of interludes, comic pieces, and dramas. His prin- cipal work was Gardd o Gerddi. He has been called the Cambrian Shake- speare, but Butler (Hudibras) is nearer his type. 3 The land on this occasion (1 a. 1 r. 20 p.) was given by Mr. Hughes of Kinmel. 4 Eleri (Hiiarius, St. Hilaire, St. Helier, St. Hilary) had churches at Llan- rhos and Pennant Gwytherin. 5 The tradition is that the garrison chapel was what is now the chancel, and that the room below, or crypt, was the guard-house. 364 THE DEANERY OF DENBIGH. of mercers, hammermen, glovers, weavers, corvisors, tanners, and tailors, paid <£4 per annum to have Matins, or Morning Prayers, read here in Welsh every Sunday morning for the benefit of their servants.1 The toll of oatmeal sold within the borough was also given to the clergyman for reading prayers here on Wednesday morning, before the opening of market; on which occasion the aldermen, warners, and watchers of the guild attended. And legacies were left for catecheti- cal lectures during Lent, and a Welsh sermon at Easter.2 The church consists of chancel, nave, and west tower, coeval with the Castle; and a north aisle added in the last century. Leland notices it as in his time (c. a.d. 1540) "very large and well servid," and adds that in it "every Sunday prayers are made for Lacey and Percy";3 in the former of whom we may, doubtless, recognise its rebuilder, and in the latter a liberal benefactor. It appears to have suffered very considerably during the siege of the Castle by the Par- liamentary forces, for in 1670 a "ley" or tax of £60 was imposed by the " Court of Convocation" upon the inhabitants and landholders of the parish for its repair;4 and nine years later one of the windows was removed, and the roof repaired. The font dated from the same period, 1662. In 1713 it wxas ordered in vestry " that benches should be set up in the waste ground of the said chapel, for the use of the common people of the parish ; and locked pewTs for the better accom- modation of the gentlemen, tradesmen, and other principal inhabit- ants." This was followed in 1737 by another order, to close the south door, and substitute a convenient window ; and that Rees Ffoulkes, gent., be at liberty to set up a seat in the vacant space next adjoining the one he already had. About the same time it was also ordered that the singers should erect a gallery on the north side, between the arch and the body of the chapel, over the common seats, of ten feet high ; and that they be allowTed what old timber, wainscoat, and other materials, that be useless in the said chappell." And in 1769 per- mission was further given them to "enclose that part of it where they now sing, in the south isle,5 and make it to their own liking, at their 1 In 1749 the services were twice daily in English, and thrice on Sundays. Welsh at nine a.m., and English at eleven and three. (MS. Book Z.) The Welsh morning service has only been discontinued within present memory. 2 The lectures were discontinued in 1827, and two sermons given every Sunday instead ; but the oatmeal-tax was no longer paid. 3 Henry de Lacey began to rebuild the Castle in 1284. Henry Percy (Hot- sjmr) was Governor 1377-1403. i " Ffor as much as it had lately fallen down." This may have been the roof, or perhaps the north aisle; but could not have been the chancel or nave, which are of a much older date. 5 This helps to fix the date of the north aisle between 1736 and 1769, and corresponds with a manuscript note of Bishop Tanner: "Too small and dark. New isle to. be built." (Z.) THE DEAN KEY OE DENBIGH. 365 own expense, but not to claim it as their own private property." Of the four bells, one is inscribed in old English letters, " Dominus tecum"; one, "God save His Church, 1684"; and another, the war- dens' names and the date 1758 ; in which year the pulpit and reading- desk were also erected, but they have since been removed and re- modelled twice, 1827 and 1831. In 1811 a proposal was made to bnild a south aisle and erect a gallery at the west end, — the latter only was carried out ; and in 1813 an organ was set up in it, the gift of Lord Kirkwall, M.P. for the borough. The same year, too, some of the free seats therein were sold by auction for nearly £500. The last outlay was about £200, in 1854, laid out on external repairs. Internally the church is occupied throughout with pews of very ordi- nary character; but one oak standard of the Tudor period, now at the west end of the north aisle, survives to shew the excellent work- manship that once adorned the stalls of the choir. The Communion Table has also some handsome carving of the Jacobean period, and bears the date 1628. The Glastonbury chairs were presented in 1848. The altar-cloth is part of an early "dorsal,"1 on which the sacred monogram is inwoven, surrounded by glories, and interlaced with the motto, " Spes mea in Deo est, 1330," the whole surrounded with a border of flowers. It was brought here from Whitchurch, and is said to have been rescued from the spoils of the Abbey.2 On each side of the chancel-arch are two squints, *. e., openings to enable per- sons in the nave or aisles to see the elevation of the Host at the high altar. These openings, though common in some parts, especially in the neighbourhood of Tenby, are very rare in this diocese. The arch itself is early Pointed, like the priest's door and the windows of the chancel and the south aisle, those on the north side being round- headed. Beneath the chancel is a crypt, in which the grammar school was held until of late. Owing to the want of free accommodation, and to the great difficulty of access to this church, a new one is being built in Henllan Place ; the corner-stone laid by Miss Mesham, July 6th, 1871.3 (3.) st. david's, Or, as it should perhaps be called, "Neiv St. David's" in contradis- tinction to the unfinished edifice near the castle, was built from the 1 The hanging behind the choir-stalls, or an altar. An illustration of it appeared in the Gentleman 's Magazine for 1846. 2 An inventory of the " stuffe delyvered to the Bishop of Saynt Assaph" at the Dissolution, mentions, among other things, "j olde vestement, syngle, of grene, with a red offeras with starres, iiiid.j a little clothe to hange before the roode, id. ; a coveringe with imags, viiicl." (Arch. Camb., 1871, xlii.) 3 Architects, Messrs. Lloyd Williams and Underwood. Plan, — chancel, nave, and side-aisles j accommodation, 700; estimated cost, ,£4,500 ; total subscriptions, £3,970; e. g., Miss Mesham, £800 and organ (£300) ; P. H. Chambres, Esq., £500 towards site ; twelve donors of £100 each ; St. Asaph Church Building Society, £150, etc. 3 B 366 THE DEANERY OF DENBIGH. plans of Mr. Thomas Penson, on a site given by Captain Mostyn, R.N., of Segroit, begun in 1838, and consecrated by Bishop Carey, 13th December, 1840. It consists of a nave (having at the west end and both sides a gallery), a small apse, a vestry on the south side, and a tower at the west end, which, however, was not finished until 1858,1 and was originally intended to have been surmounted by a spire. The church is pewed throughout, to accommodate 828, of which 426 are free ; and the pulpit and desk stand in tiers in the central. An organ, the gift of Jane Lloyd, of Pentre Gwyddel, who died in 1845, occupies the western gallery ; and the east window of three lights has been filled with memorial glass to "Mary Tatlock," who died at Plas Clough in 1857. The glass is by Ballantine, of Edinburgh, and has for its subjects — in the upper division, Faith, Hope, and Charity ; and in the lower, three of the Acts of Mercy. The cost of the church, exclusive of the churchyard walls, was £3,645 : 6 : 2. In addition to the pew rents, £250 have been invested in the three per cent, consols for the endowment, but it is now a chapel of ease subject to the Rector. There is also a pretty little chapel attached to the Asylum. The Grammar School. — The return of Bishop Richard Davis to Archbishop Parker in 1560, mentions among the Canons of St. Asaph one Galfridus or Geoffrey Gethin, whom a later hand described as " Ludimagister de Denbighe"; and Sir Richard Clough, who died in 1570, is said to have left a sum of money towards the founding, or the maintenance of a free school here, but there is much uncertainty about the whole matter.2 A charter of Charles II in 1661 empowered the aldermen, bailiffs, and burgesses who were desirous "to found and maintain one Free Grammar School within the borough," to hold pro- perty to the value of £40 per annum for that purpose. But, although from this time a school appears to have existed here, it received no en- dowment till 1 726, when Mr. Robert Lloyd conveyed Cae-hir, now called Acr y Forwyn, in Henllan parish, "towards the maintenance of a Free Grammar School to be set up and erected"; and in 1727 a cottage and lands called Graig, in Tremeirchion, were bought for <£330 : 0 : 0, 1 This was done at the cost of Mr. Hughes of Ystrad. 2 In his will it is said to be £100 towards founding. Fuller says it was the impropriation of Kilcen, worth ,£100 per ann. ; and a minute of the Town Council (1640) refers to it as £100; but the benefaction-table in the church calls it <£200 towards the maintenance of a free school. As to the impropri- ation of Kilcen, it never was an impropriation; and had it been, its value would not have risen so very much beyond the £16 returned as its gross value in 1535. Whatever it was, the benefaction was lost. Possibly the bequest of Sir Richard and the appropriation of the rectorial tithes of Cilcain may have been conditional on the establishment here of the Cathedral Grammar School, which the Royal Visitors under Edward VI recommended to be continued at St. Asaph; but the Privy Councillors in 1548 consented to have transferred to Denbigh, and which was finally ordered to be at St. Asaph. (MS. E.) Till-: DEANERY OF DENBIGH. 367 raised by subscription,1 towards the setting up of the school and the maintenance and support of the master. The extent of the above lands, together with their allotments, is 36a. Or. 37p., and their present rental £53. By the new scheme of the Charity Commissioners, issued 24th November, 1865, there are to be eight governors; the Mayor and Rector to be ex-ojficio members ; twelve foundation scholars re- sident within the borough ; a preference so far as accommodation will permit to children of inhabitants of Denbigh, Henllau, and Llanrhaiadr; the religious instruction to be according to the principles of the Church of England ; and the head-master and usher to be members thereof ; and the former also a graduate of Oxford, Cambridge, or Dublin. The present head-master is the Rev. John Harris Roberts, M.A., Clare College, Cambridge. The Blue Coat School, now merged in The National School. — To- wards the beginning of the last century Mrs. Oldfield left to the Bishop of St. Asaph and the Rector of Denbigh "some messuages, tenements, and lands in Llanrhaiadr for the maintenance, schooling, and educa- tion of ten or more boys of labouring men or poor tradesmen of Den- bigh, who should be taught in a school by themselves, and not be sent to the public schools (i.e., apparently the Free Grammar School), and twenty shillings thereout to be given to the Rector for preaching a Charity Sermon the first Sunday in Lent." To this sum Mr. Morgan Evans added .£200 in three per cent, consols ; and Mr. Richard Wilding, of Llanrhaiadr Hall, in 1815 gave a quillet of land called Drilliau, in Abergele parish, which he bought for £30. This school is now amalgamated with the National School,- for which a new building was erected in 1847 on the site of the ancient Lenten Pool.3 Twenty poor boys, chosen for their good conduct from the rest of the school, are clothed aud educated as blue-coat boys on the old foundation. The sources of its endowment are as follows : — Mrs. Oldfield. — Craiglwyd Farm, 40 a. 27 p. ; Llwyn Bach Farm, 2-") a. lr. 4 p. ; Cae crwn Farm, -5 a. 3 r. ; Pentre, 3 a. 12 p. ; allotments to above, 21 a. 3 r. 24 p. Mr. AVildixCx. — Drilliau, 2 r. Mr. Morgan Evans. — £200 Red. 3 per Cents. ; £14-5 : 5 : 6 accu- mulated int. of ditto in ditto : mortgage of £106 on tolls believed to be part of Mrs. Oldfield's. UnwelVs School. — This charity is fouuded on the will of Thomas Howell, a Monmouthshire man, a merchant at Seville in Spain, who iu 1340 bequeathed 12,000 ducats of gold to the Drapers' Company 1 The whole amounted to £339 12s., the chief contributor being Six John Trevor for £106. Every £o was considered to confer a nomination to the school. - A similar arrangement has taken place in the case of Dr. Daniel Wil- liams' school and the British and Foreign School. 3 Hence it is sometimes called " Ysgol Pwll y Garawys'"; but the name is more probably a corruption of LJyn-diii, i. c, " the castle pooL" THE DEANERY OF DENBIGH. of London, to be invested by them so as to produce 400 ducats of yearly rental, to be disposed of among four maidens being orphans of his blood and kin, on their marriage each to have 100 ducats ; and failing them, to other four maidens, being orphans and of good fame, to the same intent : the number to increase with the value of the property. The founder's family were early lost sight of, and the trust became the subject of litigation in Chancery so early as 1559. The money was invested by the Company in purchases in the city of London, which became of very great value, but the funds were kept distinct until 1843, when a scheme for their application was promoted by the Crown, and finally settled in 1853. By this scheme it was ordered that two schools for female orphans should be established' — one in North Wales, the other in South Wales. As regards the former, this at Denbigh, it was settled that twenty-five orphans, from seven to twelve years of age, elected by the Drapers' Company from candidates recommended by the local governors, should be wholly maintained and educated till they are eighteen, and should receive <£100 on their marriage. Besides these, thirty girls (called pay boarders) chosen by the local governors, receive their education free, on paying .£20 for their board ; and there are also twenty day scholars, also admitted by the same authority. The schools were completed and handed over to the governors 1st December, 1859, and opened 8th May, 1860. The course of instruction embraces the principles of the Christian religion, reading, writing, arithmetic, English grammar, geography, history, music, drawing, and such other subjects, including languages, as the governors shall direct. The staff of teachers consists of a head- mistress, four governesses, and two assistant-teachers. The local governors, sixteen in number, chosen by the Drapers Company, must be resident within the counties of Denbigh or Flint ; and the Bishop of St. Asaph to be ex- officio chairman at all their meetings. General Charities. — Other charities of this parish, once considerable, are now reduced to a very small amount. An inquisition taken in 1640 set out various bequests then in various stages of abuse, amount- ing in the whole to upwards of £400 ; and the decree, dated 13 July, 1655, "ordained that various parties therein named should replace certain sums therein also specified, and which were stated to be differ- ent portions of moneys left to charitable uses. The amount thus secured was nearly £500." " Besides these, there have been many of subsequent date,1 amounting to at least £800, exclusive of the £200 to the Grammar School, all of which have been lost or improperly appropriated." The Parliamentary Returns of 1786 record only £315 as then possessed (of which only £215 were then paying interest), and two rent-charges of ten shillings per aim. each. Nothing now remains but the two rent-charges (1837). 1 There is a table on the south wall of the chancel of St. Hilary's, which was set up in 1720, and gives the "names of the benefactors to this town of Denbigh." {A. and M. Denbigh, p. 274.) THE DEANERY OF DENBIGH. 369 The other charities belonging to the poor, mentioned in the Charity Report, are : Tenement in Sandy Lane, bought in 1728 for £12 : 12 : 1. Rent-charge of£l 10s. onGlythau inNantglyn,by Evan Hughes,l 727. ,, „ £2 on Ty Angharad in Llanrhaiadr. Donor unknown. Chief rent, £1, on a house in High Street. „ 6s. Sd. on a house in Sandy Lane. Rent-charge, £2 10s., Cae Cockshutt. „ „ 4s. on house and croft in Sandy Lane. „ „ 10s. on Levaria, a meadow in Henllan parish. ,, „ 10s. on Penypalniant in Denbigh. Mr. William Middleton (no date) left £100 for catechising the poor. Of this, £68 were lost, and 32s. per ann. are paid by the Cor- poration for an Easter lecture. Lost. — Rent-charge of 12s. on Garthmeilio, in Llangwm, by David Williams ; ditto, 6s. 8<:/. per ann., by Hugh Lloyd Rosindale; ditto, £100. for bread, by Sir Thomas Salusburv ; £30 for poor, Mrs. Lewis, 1810.' SINECURE RECTORS. VICARS. 1 5 3 7. — Salusburt, Ffoulk1 1538. — Birchixshaw, Maurice, A.M.2 1566. — Thurlaxd, Thomas 1575. — Morgan, William, D.D.3 1596.— Vaughan, Griffith4 1605. — Prichard, Robert5 1615. — Morgan, Evan, B.D.6 1621.— Gwyn, Lewis, A.M. 7 1537. — Payne or Bayne, William 1554. — Ireland, Robert8 1579. — Davies, John 1613.— Parry, Gabriel, B.D.9 1613. — Roberts, Hugh10 1614. — Pigot, Richard11 1624. — Barker, Thomas13 1633.— Powell, Edward13 1635.— -Davies, Henry 1 Dean of St. Asaph, 1511, and Chancellor of the Diocese, 1513. '2 Prebendary of Paenol, 1 538. 3 The learned translator of the Bible into Welsh. Bishop of Llandaff, 1595; Bishop of St. Asaph, 1601. 4 Treasurer of Bangor Cathedral, 1607. 5 Sinecure R. Llansannan, first comportion, 1614. 6 Prebendary of Meifod, 1617. I Vic choral, 1613; R. Newtown, 1614; V. Llanrhaiadr-ym-Mochnant, 1616; R. Manafon, 1660. 8 Canon of St. Asaph, 1553; Prebendary of Meliden, 1558. 9 Vic. choral, 1587; Master of Ruthin School, sinecure-rector of Llan- rhaiadr-yn-Mochnant, 1608; V. Henllan, 1609 ; V. Abergele, 1613 ; S. R. Llan- sannan, 1616; S. R. LlansantfFraid-ytn-Mechain, 1617; Precentor of Bangor and R. Llangynhafal, 1632. 10 Vic. chor. 1587; V. Llangwm, 1609; R. Llysfaen, 1613; V. Gresford, 1614; R. Caerwys, 1618. II R. Llandegla, 1597; V. Oswestry, 1602; V. Llangernyw, 1606; V. Llan- rwst, 1609; R. Llanwrin, 1624. 12 Vic. choral, 1617. 13 R. Llansannan, first comportion, 1613. 370 THE DEANERY OF DENBIGH. 1625. 1633. 1636. SINECURE RECTORS. -Salusbury, R., A.M.1 -Hodslow, Arthur, A.M. -Lloyd, Hugh, A.M.3 VICARS. 1638. — Lewis, Eubule 1640.— Rogers, William, A.M.* 1673. — Roberts, John RECTORY AND VICARAGE UNITED. 1689.— Roberts, John, V. 1673 1697.— Williams, Thomas, M.A.5 1726.— Jones, Griffith6 1749.— Price, John, D.D.? 1 7 72. — Myddelton, Robert, A. MJ 1797. — Clough, Thomas, M.A.9 1814.— Cleaver, William, M.A.10 1818.— Howard, Richard, D.D.11 1843. — Roberts, Robert Jones, M.A.1* 1855. — Lewis, Lewis, M.A., formerly Fellow of Jesus College, Ox- ford; B.A., 1841; M.A., 1844; Deacon* 1841; Pr.,1842; C. of Holy- well ; Disserth ; vicar choral and vicar of St. Asaph, 1854-5. ST. GEORGE, OR LLANSANSIOR. The townships of this parish are Kegidogucha, Kegidog isa, Dinorben, and Meifod ; estimated extent, 2,286 a. 25 p.; rateable value, £2,693; and population, 308. The earliest name of this place is the descriptive one of" Kegidog," i. e., "abounding in hemlock," still retained in two of its townships; 1 E. LlansantffraidG-. C, and V. Llanrwst,1614 ; V. Llanasa, 1615; Canon, 1622. 2 Sinecure E. Llanbrymnair, 1636. 3 Deprived by the Committee of Sequestrators, and the rectory together with the vicarage given to William Jones, a Nonconformist minister, who was one of the approvers (p. 107), and chaplain to Governor Twistleton, who was himself a member of the Committee of Sequestrators, and a purchaser of the confiscated episcopal lands. At the Restoration Jones was ejected to make way for the deprived rector and vicar. 4 M.A., Fellow of St. John's Coll., Camb. ; E. Hirnant, 1638. Deprived by the Committee of Sequestrators, but on the Restoration recovered his living. 5 Translated Nelson on the Fasts and Festivals into Welsh in 1712. 6 Master of Llanrwst School, 1702 ; E. Bodvari, 1715. Author of several pamphlets on points of controversy between the Church of England and the Eomanists and Presbyterians. ' Prebendary of Ely, 1741 ; Canon of St. Asaph, 1760. 8 E. St. George, 1757; V. Llandrillo yn Ehos, 1763. He was of Gwaun- ynog. ■ V. Llangernyw, 1783 j Canon, 1794 ; E. Hirnant, 1797 ; V. Nantglyn, 1806. 10 Prebendary of Faenol and sinecure E. of Corwen and Llanfor, 1809. « V. Llanfor, 1812 ; V. Bettws-yn Ehos, 1816; V. Nantglyn, 1823; E. Llan- degfan with Beaumaris, 1824; V. Llanrhaiadr yn-Ghymmeirch, 1843. 12 E. Ysceiviog, 1855. THE DEANERY OF DENBIGH. 371 whilst its present name, derived from St. Sior, the founder of the church (confounded with St. George, the patron saint of England), appears to have come into common use about the time when the well and the shrine of the saint acquired their great reputation, in the pre- Reformation period. In the Valor Eccles. of 1535 we find that the offerings at the latter ("oblaciones S'c'o Georgio") amounted to 26s. 80?.; and about the same time, as St. George was considered to be the tutelar saint of horses, his well was much resorted to for its supposed efficacy in curing their diseases.1 Originally the greater part of the parish appears to have formed a portion of that of St. Asaph, for not only dowrn to 1572 were the inhabitants of the township of Meifod bound to repair a portion of the churchyard-wall of the parish church at St. Asaph, and have always paid their great tithes to the prebendary of Meifod in the Cathedral Church ; but they also of Kinmel and Dinorben paid all tithes to the prebendary of Faenol, who in his turn paid 6s. 8c/. to the parson of St. George for ministering and saying service to them.2 In the Tax- atio of 1291 no distinct mention is made of this arrangement. It is simply " Ecclesia de Kegydauc taxatur £4 : 2 : 6 ; decima (Papee), 8s. 3<:/." But in the Va lor of 1535 we have respectively, " Rectoria de Kegidok valet clare £10 : 2 : 11; decima (Regi), £1:0: 3J"; "Por- ciones de Vaynell, Kinmell et Dinorben, £20 : 6 : 8," to the prebend- ary of Faenol; and " Porcio de Myvod, 20s." to David Owen, canon and prebendary. The Commutation Returns assign for the township of St. George (corresponding to Kegidoc ucha, Kegidoc isa, and Din- orben) £273 to the rector and £36 to the prebendary of Faenol ; and for that of Meifod, £64 : 15 : 6 to the prebendary of Meifod, and £6 (i.e., the small tithes) to the rector. The Ecclesiastical Commissioners added £11 per ami. to the living in 1864, in virtue of the lapsed pre- bend of Meifod. The rector has also a good house, repaired in 1829 and 1861, and three quarters of an acre of glebe. The patronage, 1 " There was a popular tradition that the St. George had his terrible con- flict with the dragon here, and that the print of his horse's shoes long remained on some of the coping-stones of the churchyard wall." Now tak- ing this imprint, as in a similar case at St. Asaph, as a testimony to the tradition, and the tradition itself as a legendary account of a very early his- toric fact, there is much to give colour to the popular notion. Sior, the founder of the church, supposing him to have been a chieftain of old Dinor- ben, may well have rescued, with the aid of his swift horses, some Christian maiden from the dragon's hold (Dinbych); or, if simply a missionary, may have preserved for the church the site on which it was built, when the lords of Denbigh threatened or attempted to seize it. At all events it was at one time not only in the lordship of Denbigh, but also in the lord's advowson. Other neighbouring names, such as Parc-y-meirc/i, Coed-y-meibion, Dol ganed, Nantddu, etc., would supply abundant materials for filling out the legend. 2 See under St. Asaph, p. 271. 372 THE DEAN Eli Y OF DENBIGH. which anciently belonged to the lords of Denbigh,1 and passed, or rather reverted, from them to the crown as Prince of Wales, was sold in 1867, under the Small Livings' Act, to H. R. Hughes, Esq., of Kinmel. The church, which bears its founder's name, Llan San Sior, is a double edifice consisting of two equal aisles divided by a series of arches ; under the easternmost of which is the Communion Table, which stands against the wall, between the two windows. It contains no features of any interest, beyond a few tombstones to the memory of the Carters and others of Kinmel, 1685-6, and to the family of the late Lord Dinorben, who built for himself a mausoleum on the north side. The Registers only date from 1694 ; but in the body of them is inserted an attested copy of entries extracted from a book at Kin- mel, dated 1681. The chalice, dated 1677, was given by Thomas Carter, and the paten by Mary Carter. Several houses in the village have recently been taken down, and rebuilt on the new road leading from Abergele to Bodelwyddan. The National School, which is supported by Mr. Hughes of Kinmel, is held in what was once the Independent Chapel, to which it has been transferred from the older room near the churchyard. 1854. — Williams, Thomas, B.D., Lampeter; Deac. 1842, Pr. 1843, formerly curate of St. Asaph, editor of Casgliad o Psalmau allymnau at Wasanaeth yr Eglwys Gymraeg. First edition, 1860; third, 1868. 1 From the inquisition of the estate of Henry de Lacy, Earl of Denbigh, we learn, " Idem Comes habuit ibidem advocationem cujusdam ecclesie que vocatur Kikedok que valet per ann. x meres." 2 " Dominus Johannes ab Elis, Presbiter, Rector de Ganiot George alias Kegidock, residens." (Bp. Davies' Eeturn.) " He was articled against for marriage." (Br. Willis.) 3 V. Llansannan, 1617, probably by exchange with J. Holland, jun. « R. Llansantffraid G. C, 1613 ; V. Llansannan, 1614 j R. Llanddulas, 1629. 5 V. Llangernyw, 1661. 6 Canon IV, 1679. 7 V. Llanrwst, 1690; R. Denbigh and V. Llansannan, 1697. 8 Preb. Llanfair, 1705. 9 V. chor. 1741 ; reinstituted to St. George, 1742. 10 Of Gwaunynog. V. Llandrillo-yn Rhos, 1763 ; R. Denbigh, 1772. 11 Of Bodelwyddan. Took the additional name of Edwards. V. chor. 1828. RECTORS. 1537. — Pigot, Richard Hugh ap Kenrick 1554. -John ab Ellis2 1590. — Wynne, John 1604.— Holland, Foulk 1609. — Edwards, John3 1617. — Holland, John, jun.4 1661. — Salisbury, William5 1662. — Morris, David 1668.— Williams, William6 1684. — Williams, Thomas7 1690.— Parry, John 1702. — Ffoulkes, Humphrey8 1714.— Davies, William9 1750. — Price, Thomas 1757.— Myddblton, Robt., A.M.10 179 7. — Williams, William, M. A.11 1829.— Jones, John, M.A.12 THE DEANERY OF DENBIGH. 373 HENLLAN.1 This large parish w as, until the erection of the daughter churches of Bylchan and Trefnant, of great extent ecclesiastically as well as civilly, stretching some sixteen miles in its greatest length, from the banks of the Clwyd to those of the Alwen (within five miles of Pentrevoelas), by about seven miles in its greatest width, from the river Elwy to the source of the Lliwen ; containing nine townships, with a total area of 14,264 acres; of which 13,8702 are cultivated land, of the rateable value of £16,950, with a total population of 2,607;3 ecclesiastical, 1,058. In the Taxatio of 1291 " Ecclesia de Helan4 est capella Cathedralis Ecclesie annexa prebende decani, et taxatur £13:6:8; decima ,£1:6:8; vicaria, £2:13:4 non decimat." In the Valor of 1535, " Kectoria de Henllan appropriatur decanatui Ecclesie Cathedralis de Sancto Asaph, et valet £33. Vicaria valet £20, inde pro decima parte domino Regi debit 20s." £5 were also paid to the Bishop as " sexts," as was the rule with all livings appropriated to the cathedral chapter. Soon after this not only the rectory but the vicarage also became somehow or other appropriated to the deanery ; for we read in a memorandum written by Piers Roberts, the registrar, that in 1609, " Upon Sonday the xxiii of June, Gabriel Parry, A.M., schoolmaster at Ruthyn, as is reported, tooke possession of the vicarage of Henllan, com. Denbighe, in the churche of Henllan, where for the space of xxxiii years now laste paste there was noe vicar, but the Deane of St. Asaphe for the tyme being helde the same for the sayde space as united to the deanerye. Upon which entrance suite grew between the Deane Banks and Mr. Parry." Whether the suit was carried out to the end, or compromised, does not appear ; but " the Dean's successor (Maurice) took quiet possession." And this seems to have continued the rule, as far as the tithes were concerned, until the death of Dean Luxmoore; for although the incumbents in charge for some time previous to 1826 appear to have been licensed as vicars, yet from 1826 till 1855 they were licensed as stipendiary curates to the Dean. In the latter year an Order in Council (21 July, 1855) granted to the vicar a tithe rent-charge of £350 : 3 : 4, in lieu of the stipend of £120 heretofore paid out of the appropriate rectory. At the same time the districts 1 " The old church," so called from the antiquity of its foundation, " Sad- wrn," its founder, being mentioned as a contemporary in the Legend of St. Winifred, and described in Achau y Saint as a member of St. Asaph's Colle- gium, and a confessor therein, — a circumstance which may account for the connexion of the parish with the Cathedral. 2 Some 8,000 of these acres, including 2,000 on Denbigh Green, were en- closed from waste lands in 1802. 3 Bishop Tanner records "a tradition that Aberwheeler also was once part of Henllan parish." (MS. Z.) « (R. O.) Henlan. o C 374 THE DEANERY OF DENBIGH. of Trefnant and Bylchau were constituted and endowed, and the same year another portion of the parish transferred to Denbigh. The Com- mutation Returns contain another appropriation, viz. to the Bishop as lord of the manor of Uwch Caeran, on account of the lands enclosed on Denbigh Green. For the townships of Banister-isa, .£326 to the Bishop and lessee; Banister ucha, £151 :18:6, to the Dean and lessee; for Lleweni-isa, Lleweni-ucha, Llan, Rhanhir, Rhanfawr, Pare and Uwchcaeran, £1,172 : 12 : 6 to the Dean and lessee. The lease of Banister-isa, held by Miss Sparrow, will expire in 1873; and the inte- rest in that of Banister-ucha, granted in 1855 to Miss F. Luxmoore, has been purchased by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, to whom the rest also of the tithes have fallen; and who, since they came into possession of them, have assigned to the vicar £350 : 3 : 4; to the rector of Trefnant, £378 : 7 : 2 ; to the rector of Bylchau, £378 : 9 : 1; and to the rector of Denbigh, £65, in consideration of the portion of the parish (the north side of Henllan Street) transferred to his cure ; besides erecting glebe houses at Trefnant and Bylchau. The rector1 of Henllan has also an excellent house, enlarged and improved in 1869, and four acres of glebe. The patronage is in the Bishop of the diocese. Before the Reformation there were in the parish, besides the mother church, several chapelries or oratories ; of which, with one exception, little is now known beyond the site. That exception is the chapel of the House of the Carmelite Friars, still called " the Abbey," at the east end of the town of Denbigh, and in that portion of the parish which has recently been transferred to it. An arcade of ogee arches, with peculiar openings in the jambs, survives in the north wall ; and a similar arcade, probably a clerestory, on the south side. The same features belong to the triple sedilia. The piscina and stoup have been blocked up, but their places are visible. The east window is a Perpendicular of beautiful design. The flooring is said to be com- posed of reversed tombstones, and the ground about was formerly the cemetery. An effigy (half-length), which once had a canopy, may be seen in the Abbey garden. This is probably the one noticed by Dr. Johnson as "the Chapel of Lleweny, very complete, and the monu- mental stones lying on the ground";2 and by Pennant as " the burial- place of the family of the founder (John Salisbury of Lleweni, who died 1289) till the Reformation."3 On the Green also, in a field still called " Cae 'r Capel," on a farm of the significant name of" The College," there was formerly a chapel, 1 The vicarage was constituted a rectory in 1865, at the same time with Trefnant and Bylchau, under the District Churches' Tithe Act. 2 Notes on a Visit to Wales in 1774. Probably, I say, as there may have been a chapel near the House of Lleweni (which was formerly a place of the first importance), since then lost sight of. 3 Tours in Wales, ii, 165. THE DEANERY OF DENBIGH. 375 afterwards converted into a cottage, as was the case also at Aber- wheeler ; and there is a tradition that the vicar of Henllan used to come and officiate here at certain seasons of the Church, such as Christmas and Easter. Another capella appears to have existed in " Waun Tywysog," at a spot still marked by an ancient yew-tree, with a once famous well near it, and fields still called "Cae 'r person" and"Cae 'r clochydd." The neighbouring "Groes" may have been the site of a still earlier mission-cross. " Hen Fynwent," i. e., the old cemetery, near Bylchau, is supposed to have been the burial-place of those slain in battle in some of the many engagements that marked the struggle between the Welsh and English ; and in the next field to it, lying between Hen Fynwent and the new church, are some tumuli that indicate the burial-ground of still earlier people. The parish church, founded originally by St. Sadwrn (after whom the spot now forming the cross roads close by is also called " Bwlch Sadwrn) was partially rebuilt in 180 7-8, 1 and is in the form of a paral- lelogram. It is pewed throughout; the pulpit and desk are on the north wall, and at the west end is a gallery containing a small organ. The oldest details are the early Pointed north door with its shoulder- arch, now leading into the vestry ; an ogee piscina in the south wall ; and the Perpendicular east window, of five lights, which contains a few fragments of painted glass, chiefly of a diaper pattern. The octa- gonal font, of corresponding date, now forms the basin of a small well in the Llysmeirchion grounds ! Some Notes in Henllan Church (Aug. 7, lo91)2 mention an inscription to " Willm. Rosindall armiger et d'na Isabella Peeke, consors sua," who died in 1441, "qu' a'bus p'picietur Deus"; and further state that "in the window were the arms of the Prince of Wales, Mortimer and March, and Vernon de Hatton ; and an inscription on stone to Roger Myddelton, Armiger, who died 24th Feb. 1587." An account of "the seats in the chaun- cell," and of others "adjoyning upon the partition dividing the body of the church from the chauncell," is given in MS. Book G ; from which it would appear that the desks in the former were then begin- ning to be claimed, and doors put upon other seats, converting them into pews. In 17913 there is a further notice that " the Communion Table is a decent blue stone upon a carved oak frame." The frame remains, and is of similar character, and probably the same handi- work as those of Bodvari and St. Hilary's, Denbigh ; but the " blue stone" has been superseded by an oaken top. The oldest monu- ments, both in and out of the church, are to the family of Peake of Perthewig, whose marriage connexions are depicted on a small heraldic window4 recently inserted in the north-west wall. On the south side are two memorial windows, each of two lights, by Miller of 1 The cost was ,£901, raised by rate. 2 Ancient o,nd Modern Denbigh, p. 195. 3 Rural Dean's Report. 4 Designed by Charles Winston, and executed by AVard and Nixon. 376 THE DEANERY OF DENBIGH. London. The one in memory of Dorothy Roberts of Plas yn Green, ob. 1863, represents the Crucifixion and the Resurrection. The other, in memory of John Heaton (ob. 1855) has representations of our Lord and Nathanael. The font is also a memorial, to Anne Eliza Walpole (daughter of J. H.) ob. 1854. The tower has two peculi- arities,— first, that it is quite separate from the church, being built on a spur of rock at the north-east corner of the churchyard ; a spot chosen, no doubt, in order that the bells might be heard further and more clearly through so extensive a parish than they could possibly be from the level of the church itself ; and secondly, that each of its angles makes for one of the cardinal points. It was not touched when the church was rebuilt in 1806-7, but was repaired in 1844. The National School was built in 1826, on a plot of ground (2 r. 5 p.) allotted to the Bishop in 1814 as lord of the manor of Uwchterfyn. The school had previously been held hi a large room in the Poors' or Almshouses built in 1814. The charities are considerable, and embrace the following rent- charges : 1673. — From Cae Cochhutt, bought with £112; beiug £92, the principal and interest of bequests by Sir Thomas and Lady Myddel- ton, in 1668, to this parish and Denbigh equally; and £20 from Robert ap Rees Lewis for this parish. 1721. — Berthen Gron, in the parish of Llanfwrog (20 a.), purchased for £190.* For timber on ditto, sold in 1776, £50, invested in Turn- pike Trust ; ditto, sold in 1802, .£160. This was disposed of in vestry in aid of the poor-rates and payment of parochial debts. 1727. — Glythe, charged by Evan Hughes, in 1727, with £1 10s. ; ditto, on account of quarry assigned to it by Iuclosure Act, 1802, 5s. 1730. — Brook House, in Astrad Cannon, by Robert Williams, £2. Other benefactions mentioned in the church are, Edward Griffith, Garn, £3 per ami.;* and Mrs. Jane Ffoulkes, £1 10s. per ann.; and the interest of the following sums : Thomas ap Richard of Nant, £20;* Lowry, his wife, £3; Elizabeth Lloyd of Tanygirt, £5; Mrs. Marga- ret Ffoulkes, £10;* Mrs. Grace Chambres of Plas Chambres, £5;* John Roberts, mason, of Denbigh, £5 ; John Roberts, son of above, £5 ; Lady Salusbury of Lleweni, £10 ;* Mrs. Frances Jones of Cloc- aenog, daughter of Eriviatt, £50 ;* Mrs. Jones of Perthewig, £5 ; Catherine Ffoulkes of Eriviatt, £50.* 1 This purchase-money arose from ,£100 left by Mrs. Slater in 1712, ,£20 by William Vaughan of Groes, the other £70 being probably some of the other charities. * "Secured " but it is not stated whether on lands or bond; probably the latter, for in 1813. £160 from Mr. Ffoulkes' bond and interest, and £182, the principal, with interest, of £100 left by Lady Shelburne, who died at Llew- eni about 1 792, were spent by the parish in erecting some comfortable cottages for such as need them, the house-rents for the paupers of the parish being at that time £130 per ann. The cottages are ten in number, with twenty- three rooms, and occupied by twenty-two poor persons rent free. THE DEANERY OF DENBIGH. 377 The greater portion of the above benefactions seems thus to have been invested on the Bert-hen Gron Farm and on the Almshouse ; but the following ones appear to have been lost: 1689, Abel Mitchell, £25 (he left c£100 between the parishes of Henllan, Llansannan, Llan- nefydd, and Llanfair Talhaiarn); land in Twysog and Taldrach, bought in 1721 with .£20 of poor's money, and sold again in 1757, but no account given in the parish books; 1708, Thomas Griffith of Plas Newydd (now Plas Heaton), £50, invested on Penybryn ; a rent- charge of £6 per ann. on the same estate, given by Anne Griffith of Plas Newydd in 1727 ; a rent-charge of £1 16s. on Arddwy-faen, in Llangwm, by David Williams of Lodge, to be equally divided between Henllan, Llangwm, and Denbigh ; a bequest of £10 by Anne Chambres of Plas Chambres in 1643. VICARS. 1560. — Martevallswater, Hum- phrey1 1609.— Parry", Gabriel, A.M.2 1684. — Jones, 1685. — Evans, 1712.— Davies, 1721. — Williams, John3 1742. — Jones, John 1759. — Jones, Robert 1766. — Lloyd, Owen 1772. — Chambres- Jones, E.,M. A.4 1 783. — Williams, Peter 1799. — Maurice, Robert5 1801.— Roberts, Edward, M.A.6 1819. — Chambres, Ph. Chambres 1826.— Jones, John, M.A.? 1829. — Bonnor, Richard Maurice, M.A.8 1833. — Briscoe, Richard, M.A.9 1839.— Briscoe, Thomas, M.A.10 1840.— Smart, Edward, M.A., Jesus College, Oxford, B.A., 1839; Deacon, 1839; Pr. 1840. 1 " Dominus Humphredus Martevalls-vater, Presbiter, vicarius de Henllan, et residens." (B. W., ii, 140.) 2 Vicar of Abergele, 1613. 3 Eector of Gwaunysgor, 1711 ; R. Llangadfan, 1717. 4 V. Llannefydd, 1772; vie. chor., 1777; V. Llansannan, 1782; Canon, 1784. ■ V. Rkuddlan, 1800; E. Llanbedr D. C , 1807. 6 R. Halkin, 1819. ' Vic. chor. of St. Asaph, 1828; R. St. George, 1829. 8 Dean of St. Asaph and Chancellor of the Diocese, 1859. 9 Fellow of Jesus College, Oxford; D.D. 1845; V. Whitford, 1839-65; R. Nutfield, Surrey, 1865. 10 Fellow of Jesus College, Oxford; P. C. Holyhead, 1858; translator of Ellendorf 's 1st Petrus in Rom und Bischof der Romischen Kirche gewesen, 1851; and from the Hebrew into Welsh, of the Prophet Isaiah, the Book of Job, and of the Books of the Psalms and Proverbs. 378 THE DEANERY OF DENBIGH. BYLCHAU. This district is defined by the Order in Council, July 21, 1855, to be all those portions of the parishes of Henllan and Llansannan situate on the southern and eastern sides of an imaginary line commencing on the eastern boundary of Henllan, at a point in the middle of the high road leading from Felin Segrwyd, or Egryn Mill, to Groes Fawr; and thence extending towards the north-west, along the middle of the road to Llansannan, as far as the boundary of the two parishes: thence, again, along the middle of the same road as far as Pont Deu- nant, which crosses Afon Deunant ; from which point this stream becomes the boundary as far as the junction of the stream called Afon- ucha, which in its turn becomes the boundary until it again meets the abovementioned boundary between the two parishes." This area is of very considerable extent, being about eight miles long by about four in its greatest width, covering an area of upwards of 8,000 acres in the several townships of Uwch Caeran and Taldrach in Henllan, and Deunant and Grugor in Llansannan. The Order in Council above mentioned assigned to it a tithe-rent charge of £250 : 18 : 3, arising from tithes previously attached to the sinecure rectory of Hen- llan, appropriated to the deanery of St. Asaph, and the amount has subsequently been increased to .£378 : 9 : 1. The rector has also a house, built in 1854 at a cost of £1,500, not including out-buildings, etc., and half an acre of glebe. The patronage is alternate in the Bishop of the diocese and the Crown. Population, 478. The church, dedicated to St. Thomas, built from the plans of Mr. G. G. Scott, and consecrated October 27, 1857, is in the Early English style, and consists of chancel and nave with north porch and western bell-gable. The east window is a triplet with detached shafts of Anglesey marble, and is filled with stained glass to the memory of John Powell Ffoulkes of Eriviatt, ob. 1826, and Caroline Mary, his wife, ob. 1854; the central subject being the Crucifixion (St. John, xix, 26, 27), with the Annunciation beneath, and St. Mary and St. John on either side. The glass by Wailes, Newcastle. The Communion service was presented by the Misses Luxmoore in memory of their brother, the Dean ; and the altar-cloth was the gift of Mrs. Townshend Mainwaring. Rector. — 1854. Parry, Henry, B.A., New Inn Hall, Oxford; Dea- con, 1842; Pr. 1843; curate of Llanasa, 1842-54. TREFNANT. The Order in Council constituting this district, dated July 21, 1855, defined it to be "all that portion of the parish of Henllan situate on the eastern side of an imaginary line extending along the middle of the old turnpike road leading from St. Asaph over Pontyralltgoch to THE DEANERY OF DENBIGH. 379 Denbigh." The district thus assigned embraces portions of the town- ships of Lleweni and the two Banistres, with a population of 634. A tithe rent-charge amounting to £250 : 13 :5 was at the same time granted, and it has been increased by a subsequent Order to £378 : 7 : 2. A most excellent house has also been added at a cost of about £1,800, mainly borne by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners ; and eight acres of glebe, inclusive of the sites of the church, house, and school, given by Townshend Main waring, Esq. The cure was constituted a rectory in 1866, at the same time with those of Henllan and Bylchau, and is in the alternate patronage of the Crown and the Bishop of the diocese. The beautiful church, dedicated to the Holy Trinity, was erected by Mrs. Townshend Mainwaring of Galltfaenan, and Mrs. Mainwaring of Oteley Park, as a memorial to their parents, the late Colonel and Mrs. Salisbury of Galltfaenan. The foundation-stone was laid July 25th, 1853, and it was consecrated August 16, 1855. In plan it con- sists of chancel, divided by steps into sacrarium and choir ; and nave with side-aisles of four bays, the northern one being extended so as to form a chancel-aisle ; and a vestry with an organ-loft above. The principal entrance is through a south porch, and there is also a priest's door into the chancel. The bell-gable stands over the chancel-arch, at the intersection of the chancel and nave. The chancel, which is seated stall-wise, is floored with encaustic tiles, and has its ceiling in ribbed panels ; a hollow band, set off with carved flowers, forming the cornice. A sedile has been formed by the deepening of the window- splay ; and a reredos of composite, surmounted by a band of oak carv- ing with the text, " I know that my Redeemer liveth," has recently been added.1 The east window is filled with stained glass by Wailes, and bears the inscription, " To the honour and glory of God, and in memory of John Lloyd Salisbury, ob. 1852, and Anna Maria, his wife, ob. 18-16." The subjects are, in the central light, Abraham's sacrifice and the Crucifixion ; and on each side, the Birth and Resurrection, and the Baptism and Ascension. The pillars of the nave are formed of massive blocks of grey Anglesey marble, having capitals of the same material admirably carved to represent native wild flowers, grouped in threes (expressive of the Holy Trinity),2 with an abacus of Henllan black marble ; the same arrangement being also followed in the smaller pillars at the angles of the pulpit and the handsome font, and everywhere with excellent effect. At the spring of the arches the string terminates in a carved head, and the chancel arch has also a hollow moulding with a running band of the vine. All the windows of the nave are of two lights, but each has different tracery. A small rose-window lights the organ-loft ; and the vestry has a peculiar window, square-headed, with tracery. The small single light at the east end of the south aisle contains memorial glass, by Wailes, to 1 In commemoration of the majority of C. S. Mainwaring, 1866. 2 All the carved flowers and heads were the skilful work of a local artist, Mr. Blinstone. 380 THE DEANERY OF DENBIGH. " Julia Mary Ffoulkes of Eriviatt, set. 4," which represents our Lord blessing little children. The lectern is very handsome, the polished brass work being well set off by the painting of the rest ; and the same may be said of the standards for lighting the church.1 Exter- nally the outline is pleasingly varied by the dormer- gables of the aisle-windows, the bell-turret, and the small tower on the north side ascending to the organ-loft. Each dripstone ends in a well-carved head, and the variety of the gable-crosses adds greatly to the effect. The thorough satisfactoriness of the church throughout, the beauty of the details, and the excellence of the work, constitute it an excellent model for a small parish church.2 The architect was Mr. G. G. Scott. The National School was built in 1860, at a cost of £700, chiefly contributed by Mr. Townshend Mainwaring. Rector. — 1855. Lewis, David, M. A., Jesus College, Oxford ; Dea- con, 1850; Priest, 1851; curate of Holyhead, 1850-55. LLANDDULAS. So called from the "dark grey" colour of the local mountain lime- stone, which also gave its name to the stream that passes through the village; but also called, in former times, "Llangynbryd," from Cyn- bryd, the founder of the church, a saint of the fifth century, who is said to have fallen in battle with the Saxons at Bwlch Cynbryd. The parish is very small, containing only 606 a. 3 r. 14 p., in the two town- ships of Tre 'r Llan and Tre 'r Cefn Castell ; of the rateable value of <£1,997; and with a population of 630, chiefly occupied in the lime- stone quarries. The Bishop of Bangor is lord of the manor by virtue of a grant made by Edward I in 1284, on the occasion of the baptism of the first Prince of Wales.3 In the Taxatio of 1261 "Ecclesia de Llandwlas taxatur £4, non decimat"; and in the Valor of 1535, "valet clare £6:1: 4"; one of the deductions mentioned being "Rectori de Abergelle pro annua por- cione 7 s. Sd., from which we may fairly deduce that this parish was 1 The metal work throughout is by Skidmore. 2 The total cost was under ,£4,000. 3 "On St. Mark's Day, 1284, was born Edward, surnamed of Carnarvon, the fourth and eldest surviving son of his royal parents, — a child of great promise, which it was his and England's great misfortune that he lived to falsify. Gruffydd Llwyd, a Welsh gentleman, the first to bring the intelli- gence to the King, was knighted for his good news. The Bishop of Bangor, who christened the young Prince, had a splendid fee, — no less than a grant of the ferries of Borthwen and Ceunant ; the manors of Bangor, Castellmai, and Garthgogo; the rocks of Abergeleu, to get up limestone; with the manors of Cantred and Treffos, in Mona; to him and his successors forever." (Llwyd's Mona ) THE DEAXE11Y OF DENBIGH. 381 originally subject to Abergele as its mother church. The commuta- tion made in 1843 assigned, in lieu of tithes in kind, the rent-charge of £148 to the rector, and £2 to the parish clerk. The rector has also a house, which was built in 1815, and enlarged in 1849 and 1866, together with 5a. 3r. 14 p. of glebe. The patronage belongs to the Bishop of the diocese. The present church, of which an illustration is given, is the third within a hundred and fifty years. It was built at the sole expense1 of K. Bamford- Hesketh, Esq., of Gwrych Castle, from the plans of Mr. G. E. Street. The foundation-stone was laid by Mrs. Bamford - Hcsketh, in the name of the Holy Trinity, on July 2nd, 1868 ; and it was consecrated by Bishop Short on Monday the 24th May, 1869. It consists of chancel and nave with south aisle to both, vestry at the north-east angle, porch on the south side, and small round tower at the west end. The chancel, which is divided from the nave by a low stone screen and elaborate iron gates, has a beautiful reredos in Caen stone.2 representing the Crucifixion, with traceried screen- work at the sides. The embroidered and jewelled altar-cloth is the work of Miss Foster, and gift of Mrs. Hesketh. An organ, by Hill, occupies the chancel-aisle. In the nave the pulpit and font are of Caen stone richly carved, the lectern of oak, and the aisles, like the chancel, floored with encaustic tiles. The east window is filled with stained glass in memory of the late LI. B. Hesketh, and, together with the three other memorial windows in the chancel, represents various events in the life of our Lord. Externally, the walls are made of rubble and closely jointed limestone, wTith punched face ; the quoins being white dressed limestone; and the plinth, window-dressings, strings, and tower, of Cefn stone, — a combination which gives a very effective appearance. The green slates of the roof are from Whitland Abbey, near Narberth, and the whole is crested with a ridge of red tiles.3 The old church, in lieu of which this was built, and which was taken down on its completion, bore the name of the first founder, St. Cynbryd, and consisted of nave and north aisle. The former, as testified by an external inscription over the east window,4 was rebuilt in 1732. Another inscription on a tablet in the south porch stated the cost to have been £'231 : 3 : 6, of which sum £216:16:2 was col- lected by brief, the balance being supplied by the pew-holders paying 1 The cost was about <£6,000. 2 By Earp of London. :] When the foundations were being dug for this church, outside the old churchyard, and some twenty yards to the north of the church it superseded, several skeletons were found, but without any coffins or indication of decayed timber, so that they may have been the remains of some of those who fell in the many battles that occurred at the neighbouring pass before the annexa- tion of the Principality to the English crown. 4 '* Ha?c cedes penitus collapsa et diruta, communibns impensis re-edificata faeral t&'o D'ni mdccxxxii." 3d 382 THE DEANERY OF DEN15K ! \l. forty shillings each ; and " no seat or pew shall be possessed or enjoyed by any, unless for as above."1 In 1749 a picture of the Last Supper stood over the Communion Table. In 1833 a gallery, at the west end, was erected by R. W. Wynne, Esq., of Garthewin, for the accommodation of the parishioners ; and in 1841 the north transept was added by public contributions. There are two National Schools. The boys' built by subscription in 1862, at a cost of £241 : 17: 9 (on a site given by Mr. R. W. Wynne of Bronywendon2), and enlarged and improved in 1866 by Mr. Bam- ford Hesketh. It is endowed with £15 per ami., charged by Colonel Wynne of Garthewin, in 1836, on Pentre du in Llanfair; and a further sum of <£200, given by Miss Crossley of Dyffryn Dulas, and now invested in the Three per Cents, in the name of the Dean and Chapter of St. Asaph. The girls' school, with mistress' house, etc., was built in 1846 by the above Miss Crossley, who also endowed it with £1,200, now in the Three per Cents., it being strictly stipulated that it shall always be conducted on the principles of the Church of England. If there be not forty children from this parish, the remainder to be made up equally out of Bettws and Llysfaen. Four cottages on the south side of the churchyard, which formerly bore the inscription, " These Almshouses were erected by the benefac- tion of Thomas, Hugh, and William Lloyd, three brothers, of Tanrallt in the parish of Llandulas, for the use of the poor of the parish for ever, 1767, were, by an Order of the Charity Commissioners, sold to Mr. Hesketh, and the purchase -money invested in the Funds for the benefit of the poor of the parish. Other charities are : £20, the bequest of one William Davies (accord- ing to Charity Report) ; or else, having been originally a charge on Tanyrallt estate, a bequest of the three brothers Lloyd, is now invested in the St. Asaph Savings' Bank. The interest of £5, bequeathed by one of the rectors (Thomas) for catechising the children, used to be laid out in religious books for the use of the Sunday School; but it appears for some years to have been lost, and is supposed to have been applied to the relief of the poor- rates. RECTORS. 1537. — Griffith, John 1587. — Griffith, Edward Hugh ap Kenn or Wynne 1601. — Prichard, Griffith, A.M. 1540. — Lewis, Richard3 1610. — Jones, Richard4 1560.— John ap Rees 1611. — Jones, John 1 Vestry accounts, 21 July, 1733. 2 This was in lieu of a previous site on which Colonel Wynne of Garth- ewin had in 1833 erected a school, the lease of which now expiring Mr. It. YV. Wynne refused to renew. :< R. Llanelian, 1555. 4 Deprived. V. Llansannan, 1013; R. Afoerhafesp, 1614. THE DEANERY OF DENBIGH. 383 1620. — Hughes, James 1629.— Holland, J.1 1661. — Evans, Thomas 1668.— P ugh, Henry 1672.— Lloyd, David, M.A.3 1674. — Williams, William3 1684.— Owens, Griffith 1700. — Humphreys, John 1710.— Roberts, J., LL.B. 1713. — Thomas, Robert 1722.— Lloyd, J.4 1732. — Samuel, Edward5 1616. — Williams, J. Evans, Matthew Thomas, Lewis 1780.— Pugh, Rice6 1 788.— Evans, Edward? 1811.— Parry, Thomas8 1813. — Williams, John 1814. — Hughes, Edward9 1818. — Philips, Robert10 1819. — Davies, Robert 1824. —Hughes, John11 1828. — Roberts, Lewis 1840. — Roberts, James Ffonlkes, M.A. 1849. — Humphreys, Owen Jones, M.A.12 1858. — Davies, Thomas Zepha- niah, M.A.13 I860. — Davies, John, M.A., Jesns College, Oxford; Deacon, 18-30; Priest, I80I. Formerly curate of Cyffylliog, The original name of this place appears to have been that which is still retained for its chief township, Bodlenyn; but it has been super- seded for the parish by the one derived from its proximity to the notorious "Cursing "Well," Ffynnon Elian,14 in the township of Eirias, which is ecclesiastically in the parish of Llandrillo, but for civil pur- poses has its own independent guardians and overseers. The parish I V. Llansannan, 1614; Canon, 1624. 2 Prebendary of Faenol, 1671. 3 Canon, 1679. 4 He was of Gwrych. 5 It. Llangar; editor of Hanes y Ffydd, and translator into Welsh of Gro- tius de Yeritate Christianas Beligionis, etc. 6 R. Gwaunysgor, 1760; R. Llysfaen, 1762; V. Nantglyn, 1788. 7 Schoolmaster of St. Asaph. 8 Built the glebe house. 9 R. Bodvari, 1818. w R. Llanycil, 1819; Y. Bettws-yn-Rhos, 1826. II V. Cilcain, 1826. 13 V. Bettws-yn-Rhos, 1858; R. Caerwys, 1859. * V. Whitford, 1865. 14 « The ceremony (of cursing) is performed by the applicant standing upon a certain spot near the well, whilst the owner of it reads a few passages of the Sacred Scriptures, and then taking a small quantity of water, gives it to the former to drink, and throws the residue over his head; which is repeated three times, the party continuing to mutter his imprecations in whatever terms his vengeance may dictate." (Lewis' Topographical Dictionary.) At that time (1832) it was visited by hundreds of persons for that villainous purpose. I have myself known a man in my own parish who lost <£S0 rather than ask for it back again, for fear of being put into the well, and have met with a person in England pining away under the belief that she had been so cursed. LLANEL1AN. 384 THE DEANERY OF DENBIGH. contains four townships, Bodlenin, Teyrdan, Twynan, and Llaethfan, with an area of 3,382 a. 3 r., of which 3,032 a. 2 r. 4 p. are rated at £2,924 Is. Population, 548. "Ecclesia de Bodwelennyn taxatur £4:2:1, decima 8s. 2|c/.," is the record given in the Taxatio of 1291; and in the Valor of 1535 we read, "Rectoria de Llan Elion valet clare £11 : 1 : 8 ; inde pro xma p'te d'no Regi debit £1:2:2." The terrier of 1730 throws much light on the relation of this parish as well to that of Llysfaen as to that of Llandrillo, which is, no doubt, the mother church of both. It is there stated, that whilst in Bodlennin and Teirdan all the tithes belong to the rector, in the township of Twynan, of the great tithes the rector receives one third (excepting the tithe of Brynyrodyn, which wholly belongeth unto Llysfaen), and the rector and vicar of Llandrillo another third each, on account of prescription and a pre- tended mother church ! " But there are four sermons due from the sayd rector and vicar to the parish of Llanelian, there to be preached by the sayd vicar on four severall Sundays in the year, or the summe of twenty shillings per ann. to be paid by the sayd rector or vicar to the rector of Llanelian in lieu of the s'd sermons"; but all the small tithes (except those of Penydared, which the vicar of Llandrillo claim?' and those of Brynyrodyn, which belong to Llysfaen) to the rector. And in the township of Llaethfan, whilst the great tithes were equally divided between the rector and the Bishop of St. Asaph, the small onesw7ere in the proportion of two thirds to the former, and one third to the latter. The Tithe Commutation Returns give their then value and disposition as follows : £160:19:6Jto Bishop of St. Asaph (now the Ecclesiastical Commissioners); £327:16:0J to rector; £35:12:6 J to vicar of Llandrillo yn Rhos; £17: 17 : 9 to rector of Llysfaen ; £1:8:8 to parish clerk. The parsonage house was erected in 1832, and there are three acres of glebe attached. Patron, the Bishop of St. Asaph. The church, St. Hilary, or Eleri (Jan. 13), is a double body of five equal bays, the two easternmost of which formed the chancel, as wit- nessed by the still remaining lower portion of the old screen; and at the restoration of tl^e church, in 1859, this portion was seated stall- wise all round. The chancel proper is on the south side; the wooden ceiling above the Communion Table having once been richly painted with the sacred monogram and other devices, which have become almost obliterated from the effects of age and many coats of plaster. The corresponding portion of the north aisle is vaulted in timber painted blue, and ornamented with gilt bosses. The pillars are hex- agonal, without capitals, and the arches plain. The east windows are filled with memorial glass; that of the chancel, of three lights, repre- 1 The tithe of one day's math also in Gweirglodd Isallt belongs to this township, and pays in lieu thereof one shilling yearly; of which six -pence belongs to the rector of Llandrillo, four-pence to the rector of Llanelian, and two-pence to the vicar of Llandrillo. THE DEANERY OF DENBIGH. 385 scuts the Crucifixion, and is in memory of John Lloyd Wynne of Coed Coch and Teyrdan, ob. 1862. That of the north aisle contains the four Evangelists in its four lights, and is memorial to Mary, daughter and heiress of John Holland of Teyrdan, and wife of the above J. LI. Wynne, ob. 1844. The pulpit and desk are in the north aisle, and iu its north-west angle is a newly screened-ofF vestry. The old north door has been closed up, and the western one is disused, the entrance now being through the south porch. The National School was erected in 1865 by Mr. J. Lloyd Wynne of Coed Coch, and a grant from the National Society. A sum of £154, a portion of the proceeds of a bazaar at Coed Coch in 1867, has been invested in the Delhi Railway Capital Stock, 5 per cent., for the benefit of the school. The other charities are : 10s. per ann. on Orsedd Gelyn, interest of £10 left by Mr. Edward Hughes of Bettws; £4 : 10 : 6, interest of £150, benefactions to the poor,1 invested in the St. Asaph Savings' Bank in November 1863. RECTORS. 1537. — Salusburv, Thomas 1555. — Lewis, Richard 1&56. — Rice Wynne ab Ll'en 1557. — Rice ap David 1589. — Lewis, Thomas Richards, J. 1598. — Vaughan, J.2 1602. — Edwards, Richard 1623. — Jones, Humphrey 1624. — Jones, Edward 1627.— Evans, William, A.M. 1660. — Parry, Maurice 1683. — Griffith, John3 1689. — Roberts, Sampson4 1727.— Williams, William5 1749. — Edwards, Thomas, M A.6 1752. — Price, David 1794. — Ellis, John 1831.— Alban, Thomas? 1859.— Jackson, Richd. H., M.A.8 1867. — Thomas, David Morgan, M. A., Jesus College, Oxon.; Deacon, 1853; Priest, 1854; curate of Pontyberem, 1853-5; Aberystwith, 1855-6; Llanrwst, 1856-60; R. Llanycil, 1860-7. 1 The principal donors were, Mary Foulks of Gwyndy, Bettws, <£50 ; Eliza- beth Edwards of Vigin, £40; and John Humphrey of Tanyllan, .£10. 2 V. St. Martin's, 1575 ; E. Llanwyddelan, 1576. 3 V. Llangernyw, 1689. 4 V. Bettws-yn-Ehos, 1717. 5 Of Pabo in Llangwstenyn ; E. Llansantffraid Glyn Dyfrdwy, 1702. 6 V. Cilcain, 1740. 7 V. Llandrillo yn-Ehos, 1816. 8 Jesus College, Oxford ; P. C. Newmarket, 1851-9. Author of Amaelh- yddiaeth yr Uchel diroedd, an Essay on upland farming. 386 THE DEANERY OF DENBIGH, LLANFAIR TALHAIARN. This parish consists of twelve townships, having an area of some 11,949 acres, of the rateable value of £6,879, with a population of 1,155. From earliest times the tithes of the parish have formed the prebends of certain canons of the Cathedral, who have derived their title from them. Thus in 1291 the Taxatio of Pope Nicholas tells us that " Ecclesia de Lanveyrdalhaern taxatur cum Canonico Ithall Yachan cui est annexa," which it gives as " Canonia Ithael Vachan in ipsa Ecclesia et proventus in Capella de Lanveyr Dalhaeayn ad ean- dem Canoniam pertinent, taxat' £8"; and also adds, " Canonia David ap Lowarch in ipsa Ecclesia et proventus in Capella de Lanveyr pre- dicta," which is also of the same value. The Valor Ecclesiasticus of 1535 also mentions " Llanwaire Dathayrne" as appropriate "Preben- dariis Ecclesia3 Cathedralis," and gives its value as £20, equally divided between the two comportioner prebendaries, CrayfForde and Hugh Puleston. How soon a portion was assigned to the Dean does not appear; but in 1639 a certain composition or order was made by Bishop Owen, and it is probable that it was b}T this that the tithes of all the parish north of the Elwy were assigned to the Dean, and of all to the south of it to the two comport ioners ; the proportion of the whole being about one third to the Dean, and the remaining two thirds equally between the other two. The Commutation Returns give £260 to the Dean of St. Asaph, and £4 to the parish clerk, from the townships of Garthewin, Bodrhychwyn,Ceimant,Cylar (vel Ciliau), and Tre'rbont alias Dolganer; and £460 10s. to the two comportion- ary prebendaries, and £8 to the parish clerk, for the townships of Prysllygod, Barrog, Melai, Drebach, Petrual, Cornwal, and Talhaiarn. The tithes appropriated to the deanery and prebends have since then become vested in the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, who, by an Order in Council, Aug. 30, 1862, assigned to the vicar a tithe rent-charge of £260 in lieu of the stipend of £56 previously paid by the appro- priators to the curate in charge, and they have subsequently increased it to £387:6 : 10,1 besides building in 1863 a good glebe house. There are also ten acres of glebe land. The church, St. Mary's, is a double parallelogram, and very plain ; re-roofed and repaired in 1839, at an outlay of £205. In the east wall is an ambry, and on the south one a painting of King David playing on the harp, such as was common in churches a century ago. At the west end a large bath or baptistery was constructed in 1849 for the immersion of adults ; and there are also an ancient font of plain design (if its present state be not the result of squaring after mutilation), which appears to have once stood on pillars; and a modern marble basin in a mahogany frame, which has probably been 1 Thifl was in lieu of curtain payments previously made from Queen Anne's Bounty. THE DEANERY OF DENBIGH. 387 a christening gift to the church. There is also preserved in the churchyard another hollow stone, which may have been a stoup or a piscina. The date, 1669, on the belfry-cross, indicates that some restoration was effected at that time, after the troubles of the Crom- wellian era, — troubles further testified to by the subsequent entry into the oldest Register, which dates from Dec. 20, 1668, of several births and deaths, relating chiefly to the Salisburies and Wynnes of Melai, that had occurred during that period. On the jamb of the western door there was formerly an inscription to one who died of the plague of 1603,1 in which 30,578 perished in London. And in the cupboard of the Communion Table are the Orders in Council issued 1745-9, for stamping out the cattle-plague, prayers to be used during its continuance, and forms of thanksgiving for its cessation. The National School. — In 1708 Dr. Jones, Dean of Bangor, and one of the comportioners, gave £50 for the establishment of a charity school here. This was increased by two other donations to £60, of which sum £32 was invested, in 1717, in the purchase of Ffridd-yr- Hirdir, containing eight or nine acres; and £28 lent on interest to the parish hi 1809, to build the charity or almshouses. In 1835 Colonel Wynne of Garthewin gave a site for a new school, and the following year added as an endowment a farm of ninety-four acres, called Pentredu, out of the rent of wdiich £15 a year were to be paid to the Llanddulas National School. Both schools to be conducted in connexion with the National Society, and on the principles of the Established Church. The present endowments from the above sources amount to £42 per ann. The Charity Houses were erected in 1809, with £100 of Consoli- dated Charities left between 1708 and 1738, and a portion of Dr. Jones' gift. They are seven in number. The other charities are: £1 10s. per ann., charged on Cynnant Farm by Anne Lloyd in 1692; and £90 due out of Nant-Mawr estate, bequeathed by John Wynne of Melai in 1688, the interest of which, with the former, is distributed to the poor at Christmas. Of three charities, mentioned in Gilbert's Return, £25 by Abel Mitchell in 1689 ; £5 by Robert Wynne, 1734; and £5 by Ffoulk Hughes, 1735, nothing is known; but probably the two last were included in the Consolidated Charities ; and for the former, see the similar case of Henllan. The cure, which had previously been a perpetual curacy, was in 1866 constituted a rectory. PERPETUAL CURATES. 1760. — Evans, Evan, " Ieuan Brydydd Hir" a bard and critic, who published in 1764 a volume of ancient Welsh poems prefixed by a learned "Dissertatio de Bardis," and in 1776 two volumes of Welsh Sermons translated from Tillotson and others. 1 " Ievanus ap Rees Jevan, Gcnerosus, qui obiit mdciii aetatis sure, climac- terico magno, 63." 388 THE DEANERY OF DENBIGH. 1800. — Goodmak -Jones, Robert. 1804.— Jones, J. W. 1807.— Parry, Thomas, R.Llysfaen, 1823; V. Llandrillo yn Rhos,1835. 1816. — Moulsdale, Thomas Gorst, B.A., V. Hope, 1830; V. Llanfair Caereinion, 1836. 1830.— Oldfield, Edward, M.A., R. Llysfaen, 1835. 1835. — Williams, William, R. Gwaunysgor, 1847; V. Llanrhaiadr-yn- Mochnant, 1850. 1847. — Evans, David Michael, Lampeter, author of a " Sermon on Immersion in Baptism as lawful in the Church of England," preached on the erection of the new baptistery. RECTOR. 1866. — Lewis, Evan, B.D., Lampeter, Senior Scholar; Deac, 1843; Pr., 1844; Assistant Tutor at Lampeter, 1842; Master of Car- digan Grammar School, 1844; C. of Whittington, 1845 ; Moreton, 1850; P. C. St. Catherine's, Colwyn, 1855-66. LLANGEKNYW. The nine townships of this parish are, Bodrach, Nannerth, Paiit-y- manus, Pentrewern, Rhanhir, Hafodunos, Dwyafon, Branar, March aled, and Bodgynwch, having an area of 7,200 acres, of the rateable value of £4,387: 13 : 9, and a population of 1,245. In 1867, however, the whole of the three first mentioned townships, and part of the three next, with an area of about 3,100 acres, and a population of 650, were constituted into the new ecclesiastical district of Llanddewi. "Llangernyw, man, (*? Pant-y-manus), Bodgynwch, and Uch- aled (? Marchaled), are enumerated among the original grants of Mael- gwn Gwynedd to St. Kentigern,1 and have evidently been, from very early times, attached to the bishopric. In 1244 some of the episcopal lands here were relieved from certain fines and duties.2 The great tithes were also early appropriated to the Cathedral. Thus in 1291 we read that " Ecclesia de Langernyw est Capella Cathedralis Eccle- sie annexa Canonie Thome Presbyteri," and that the value of the said canonry, inclusive of Tremeirchion and Faenol, was £16:13:4; "hide dec. £1 : 13 : 4." Likewise in 1535, " Rectoria de Llangernew appropriatur Prebendario de Vaynoll, et valet £13:3: 4"; whilst the 1 Supra, p. 180. 2 " Test' A. Ep'i Ass' quod heredes Goronw Velin quod ad terram Ep'i apud Llangerniw liberi sunt ab omni relevio, amobragio et salario porrecti- onis terrarum, 1 Gobyr Estyn. Ita tamen quod marca una Ep'is annuatim ad festum Omnium Sanctorum persolvant, et Dyroc et Canilovo si forefece- rint. Dat' die Veneris post festum Apostolorum Philippi et Jacobi a'o 1244." {Llyfr Coch, 53a.) THE DEANERY OF DENBIGH. 389 '•vicaria," after deducting a " sexta" to the bishop, and a portion to the rector, was returned at £7 6s. nej:, " inde 14s. 7\d, Regi." The Commutation divided the whole tithes equally between the rector and vicar, giving to each £273 : 9 : 4. On the death of Prebendary Cleaver the rectorial tithes became vested in the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, who, on the lease thereof expiring in 1866, assigned £207 : 8 : 2 there- out as an endowment to the daughter church of Llanddewi, and added the remainder as an augmentation to the vicarage. The vicar has in addition a good glebe house, built in 1817, and 20 a. lr. of glebe. The church, founded by Digain, son of Cystenyn Gorneu, a saint of the fifth century (whose festival was held on Nov. 21), is cruciform in plan, and has been substantially repaired in 1848. An early Pointed doorway on the south side has been converted into a window ; but the stoup still occupies its place on the right hand side. The present entrance is through a north porch. An old gallery was at the same time removed from the wrest end, and open seats, to hold four hundred, substituted throughout the church. The font lias been somewhat muti- lated, but is of Perpendicular character, and shows quatrefoils and the Tudor flower on alternate panels. The old poor-box is dated 1691. 1 The chancel-window is filled with memorial-glass to Howel Lloyd of Hafodunos (ob. 1783) and Dorothea his wife (ob. 1801). The subjects are, in the central compartment, the Last Judgment, with the Com- mission underneath, and Works of Mercy in the side-lights. In the south transept a painted window by Ballantine, erected by subscrip- tion to the memory of Margaret, wife of H. R. Sandbach of Hafodunos (ob. 18-52), has subjects illustrative of Faith, Hope, brotherly kind- ness, and Charity, with the underlying texts, " In Thee, 0 Lord, have I put my trust," " Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth," " Blessed is he that remembereth the poor," and " Thy law is within my heart." On the north-east wall of the same transept is a mural tablet writh two medallion portraits, by Gibson, of Samuel and Mrs. Sandbach. In the churchyard are two pairs of large, upright 1 The Rural Dean's Report for 1749 has a curious notice suggestive of the primitive ways of the place and of the old connexion between the fairs and the Church. M Here is one custom which I think very odd and unbecoming, and which ought to be altered. There are five fairs yearly kept at this vil- lage, and at every one of them the churchyard-porch (i. e., the lych-gate) is made use of by butchers to hang and sell their meat in. Earthen and wooden ware, wool, and several other things, are exposed for sale in the churchyard, and I saw some pedlers have their stalls there. In the church-porch are kept, by the clerk, collars, bridles, pack-saddles, ropes, and other gears. These, indeed, were formerly kept, as I am told, in the church ; and they may, perhaps, be so again, unless they are in time ordered further from it." This may have had special reference to the herse and its gear; but happily the whole thing was remedied in the following year, though not without some difficulty and opposition. 3 l: 390 THE DEANERY OF DENBIGH. stones1 lying east and west, one pair of which bears a roughly incised cross. They apparently mark the grave of some early Christian chief- tain. The charities of the parish are : (1), a rent-charge of £5 per ami., given in 1641 by "John Davies, citizen and chirurgeir-barber of Lon- don," payable on a portion of what is now the Hafodnnos estate ; and (2), a farm called " Tynycaean," in the parish of Llandrillo yn Rhos, containing about twenty-eight acres, purchased, in 1748, with £115 of Consolidated Charities,2 and £15 added thereto from the poor's rate. The present rental is £16 per aim. They are now disposed of by the vicar and churchwardens, to the poor of the parish, on St. Thomas' Day. The National School was erected in 1827. VICARS. 1537. — Richard ap Ll'en Vychan 1706. — Stodart, Robert 1551. — Powell, J., or Ap Howel3 1730. — Kexrick, John, B.A.11 1574. — Smith, George, LL.B.4 1755. — Lloyd, David 1580.— Lloyd, David, LL.B.5 1779.— Baker, Thomas12 1 606.— Pigot, Richard6 1 783.— Clough, Thomas13 1609. — Lloyd, Richard 1787. — Stodart, David14 1621. — Dolben, David, D.D.? 1788.— Williams, William,M. A.15 1631.— Lloyd, Richard 1 797.— Thomas, Robert16 1662. — Salusbury, William8 1815. — Strong, George17 1662. — Maurice, David9 1817. — Roberts, Robert Jones 1675.— Griffith, Peter 1828.— Williams, Edmund, M.A. 1682.— Vaughan, Peter, M.A. 1837.— Roberts, John 1689.— Griffith, John10 1843. — Jones, Edward Lloyd, B.A., Jesus College, Oxford ; Deac. and Pr., 1825; curate of Meliden, 1826-43. 1 The local tradition states them to have been drawn hither by two " ych- ain bannog," large horned oxen or bisons, such as formerly existed in the country, and of which many curious stories survive. 2 These embrace ,£50 by Mrs. Ursula Lloyd; «£10 each from Foulk ap Richard, Griffith Williams, Catherine vch Richard, Alice Morris, and Richard ap Ellis ; £o each from Mr. Tanner and Dr. John Davies ; £3 from John Edmund; and £2 from William ap Evan. ■ V. Llanrwst, 1537; Canon, 1552. 4 Chanc. of Diocese, 1595 (p. 230). 5 V. Eglwysfach, 1564; R. Cerrig y drudion, 1574. ' V. Llanrwst, 1G09; R. Denbigh, 1614. 7 Prebendary of Faenol, 1625 j Bishop of Bangor, 1631. 8 R. St. George, 1661. 9 E. St. George, 1662. 10 R. Llanelian, 1683. 11 Schoolmaster of Llanrwst, 1715. Rebuilt the vicarage-house. 12 V. Llanbrynmair, 1783; V. Llanfair Caereinion, 1787. W R. Halkin, Canon,1794; R. Denbigh, 1797. 14 R. Llandderfel, 1788. »« V. choral, 1794; R. Ysceifiog, 1826; Canon, 1827. lr' V. choral, 1781 ; R. Gwaunysgor, 1796. '< V. choral, 1801 ; V. Llansannan, 1817. THE DEANERY OF DENBIGH, LLANDDEWT. This new district, gazetted 5th February, 1867, is formed out of the southern half of the parish of Llangernyw, and embraces the town- ships of Bodrach, Nannerth, Pantymanus, and portions of Pentrewern, Rhanhir, and Hafodunos, with an area of about 3,100 acres, and a population of 650. The living is a vicarage, endowed with £207:8 :8 out of the tithes of the sinecure rectoiy, which lapsed to the Ecclesi- astical Commissioners on March 1, 1866. Twelve and a half acres of glebe have also been promised1 on the condition of being met by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners with a money grant towards building a parsonage. The patronage belongs to the Bishop of the diocese. The church (St. David's) consists of nave and chancel, with organ- chamber and vestry on the south side, and on the north side a tower with a peal of three bells. Underneath it is the principal entrance to the church, and it is surmounted by a spire. The plans are by Mr. John 0. Scott, and in the Early English style. The chancel-seats are made of bulley-tree wood, — a dark and heavy material resembling unpolished mahogany, — and the flooring of the chancel and nave is of Maws encaustic tiles. The site for the church, the bells, and the organ, a Scudamore, were the gifts of Mr. Henry R. Sandbach ; the Communion Table and altar-cloth, the gift and work of Mrs. Sand- bach ; the service-books were presented by the Society for Promot- ing Christian Knowledge; the altar-stand by Miss Williams of Bryn- gwyn ; and the encaustic tiles of the chancel by the Rev. W. Maddock Williams, rector of Llanfechain. The east window, of three lights, is tilled with Powell's quarries, banded with texts; and there is also a rose -window filled with the same, above the triplet at the west end. The seats, which are free, and open, are intended to hold 219. The cost was about £2,700, which was contributed partly by subscriptions, but chiefly by Mr. Sandbach. The church was consecrated by Bishop Short on the 26th July, 1867. Vicar. — 1867. Watkixs, Watkin Morgan, Lampeter, Phillips' and Senior Scholar; Deac.,1857; Pr.,1858; curate of Llangernyw, 1861-7. LLANNEFYDD. In this parish are eight townships, Llcchryd, Berain,Talybryn, Mofon- iog, Bodysgaw, Dinascadfel, Penporchell, and Carwedfynydd, embrac- ing an area of 7,444 a. 20 p.; having a rateable value of £6,124 15s., and an agricultural population of 1,062. Ecclesiastically it has, from time immemorial, been attached to the 1 Rather more than ten acres by Mr. Sandbach of Hai'odunos, and the rest by Mr. Bro willow Wynne of Garthewin. 392 THE DEANERY OF DENBIGH. Cathedral as a subject capella, and its rectorial tithes have formed a chief portion of the stipend of one of the canons, — since 1304 that of the Chancellor, whose stall was named in consequence the Prebend of Llannefydd.1 Originally, indeed, the distant township of Tir-yr- Abbot, in Pentrevoelas, formed a part of the parish ; and a copy of the arrangement is still extant in which the brethren of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem, at Dolygynwal (i. e. Yspytty Ieuan), agree to perform the offices of the church and administer the Sacraments " parochianis de Llanelwy habitantibus in Hiraethocke de progenie Marchweithian et Wynn," in their church at Dolygynwal, on the con- dition that they should receive in return a third part of all the tithes and offerings of the said inhabitants.2 In the Valor Eccles. the pre- bendary of Llannefydd is said to receive a portion of £10 from Llan- yvith Uwch Mynydd ; £5 would, therefore, be the other third ; and this sum continued to be paid out of the tithes of the township until at least the year 1729, to the curate of Fspytty, on condition of his " reading prayers and administering the Sacrament four times a year, and yearly on Good Friday, in a certain chappel called 'Cappel Vidog,' alias 'Cappel y Foylas,' for the ease of the inhabitants of the said township." The fees, moreover, for marriage and for the administra- tion of property of persons who died in that township, were at that time all payable to the minister of Llannefydd ; but it is no longer the case. The Taxatio of 1291 has "Ecclesia de Laundid est capella Cathe- dral Ecclesie annexa prebende Ithael Vachan et taxatur £13 : 6 :8 ; dec, £1 : 6 : 8; vicaria, £2 : 13 : 4 non dec"; and the Valor of 1535 puts the rectory as worth £20, besides the " porcic of £10 from Llan- yfith Uwghmyueth already alluded to. The vicarage at the same time was worth £10, and £1 : 6 :8 was paid, as " sexta," to the Bishop. The commuted value of the tithes is £260 to the vicar, and £464 to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners for the lapsed prebend. At present, however, the Commissioners receive but £60 per ann. from the above (a lease on three lives, on which the tithes have been let, not 3-et having expired) ; but they have, nevertheless, augmented the vicarage by £82 per ann.; and have given £1,400 towards a new parsonage house, now being built, in lieu of an older one erected in 1775. There are also three acres of glebe attached to the living, which is in the gift of the Bishop of the diocese. 1 In a Chapter held by Bishop Llewelyn ap Ynyr in 1304 : " Duximus ordi- nandum quod Madocus ap Hofa habeat canoniani quam tenuit Ithel Vaughan in Eccl'ia Assavens', — excepta capella de Llanyfith quam canonie Cynwric Lloid, salva porcione vicarii, duximus annectendani, ita tamen quod dictus Cynwric in territorio Ecclesie Assavens', debite et honeste juxta statum beneficii sui edificet et ibidem continue personaliter resideat." 2 Llyfr Coch. The term " parochianis de Llanelxmf bears reference to the rector, not the vicar, of Llanelwy, THE DEANERY OF DENBIGH. The church, founded by Nefydd,1 the daughter of Brychan Brych- einiog, in the fifth century,2 and subsequently rebuilt and rededicated in the name of St. Mary the Virgin (Sept. 8th), is a double edifice of two equal aisles, with a south porch, and a vestry at the west end, in which the school was kept until the erection of the new National School. The Communion plate is dated 1575, and the font 1668. There is an early floriated cross of much beauty, and later monuments dating from 1614. The chancel window is a Perpendicular of good design, similar to that at Whitchurch. Internally, the church is pewed throughout, has the pulpit and desk on the north wall, and a gallery at the west end.3 It was reopened on the 21st October, 1859, after considerable repairs which cost £636 : 1 7 : 2 ; of which sum £290 were contributed by Miss Roberts, sister of the vicar. At Llysmeirchion there was formerly a chapel, probably a domestic one, and its site is now occupied by the kitchen of that house. The new National School, with master's house, was built in 1866 at a cost of about £700 raised by subscription and grants.4 It is not endowed ; but the trustees (the vicar and churchwardens) have for some years voted £9 10«s., the rental of Nantycrydd, in Abergele parish (bought in 1731 with £115 of charity money5), to the master for teaching the children of the poor at one penny per week. Other charities paid to the poor are : £1 per ami., rent-charge on Penygaer, by Pierce Owen in 1654. £2 „ „ Tanyronen, by Maurice ap Sion in 1717. £2 ,, Foel, in Berain, by Evan Hughes, in 1 729. A sum of £25, by one Abel Mitchell, has shared the fate of a simi- lar gift to the neighbouring parishes of Henllan, Llanfair, and Llan- sannan j if it ever was paid. VICARS. 1537. — Parker, Robert 1560. — Lewis, John 1589. — Morrice, Evan 1639. — Lloyd, Thomas, A.M. 1640. — Hughes, Thomas 1643.— Brigdale, J. 1680. — Lloyd, Bishop in commen- clam 1681. — Edwards, Peter 1703.— Wynne, Meredith6 1 Ffynnon Nefydd still exists near the village. 2 Pant yr Hen Eglwys, not far from the Well, probably marks the site of this first foundation. 3 Here lies the famous Catherine of Berain; and in the churchyard is a "monument o?'a coupla who lived in matrimony eighty years, and died the same month." (Z.) 4 National Society, £o0 ; Carey Fund, £40. 5 A list of bequests on the church enumerates ,£50 by Ambrose Wynne in 1671; <£20 each by Mrs. Anne Ffoulkes in 1740, and Mrs. Jane Wynne, 1751 ; .£10 each by Thomas Llwyd, 1702; Thos. Griffith, 1705; Mrs. Dorothy Lloyd, 1709; and other small sums, amounting to <£143 4s. 6 Ot'Plas Ucha (/iodic Coed Coeh). S. E. Llansannan ; Canon, 1718. 304 THE DEANERY OF DENBIGH. 1 728. — Lewis, John 1737. — Ingram, Richard, B.A. 1739. — Tamberlaxe, Robert1 1743. — Meyrick, Edward2 1762. — Lloyd, Owen 1817. — Chambres-Chambres, U.4 1832.— Jones, William 1843. — Roberts, John, B.A.5 1 7 72. — Cham hues- J ox ES,Ed ward, M.A.3 1865. — Jones, Ebenezer, B.A., Trin. Coll., Dublin; Deac., 1854; Pr.,1855; curate of Aberdare, 1853; Llanelly, 1857-61 ; Llannefydd, 1861-5. This is a very extensive, mountainous parish in the upper division of Isaled, embracing an area of 18,473 acres, or twenty-eight square miles; having a rateable value of £5,743, and a population of 1,111 in its thirteen townships of Treflach, Mostyn and Hendreunig,6 Llan- sannan, Rhydeidion, Beidiog, Penaled,7 Llysaled, Archwedlog, Chwib- ren,8 Heskin, Deunant, Arllwyd, and Grugor. Of these, however, Grugor with portions of Archwedlog and Deunant, forming the southern portion of the parish, have been transferred to the new ecclesiastical district of Bylchau. Sannan, the founder of the church, who is said to have been an Irish saint and bishop, a friend of St, David, and a companion of St. Winifred's father, is stated to have lived here in religious seclu- sion, and to have been buried at Gwytherin; and we shall, at all events, find evidence of an early and close connexion between these two parishes. In the Taxatio of 1291 we read. "Ecclesia de Lan- saman divisa est; taxat' Porcio Iorwerth ap Ada/ £6; dec, 12s. ; Por- cio David ap Kenewr, £6 ; dec, 12s. Vicaria, £4 : 3 : 4; dec, 8s. 4c?." And in the Valor Eccles. of 1535 the "Due Porc'o'es de Llansannan valent clare £13:0:10," giving to each comportioner £6 : 10:5; while the vicarage was returned at £5:0: 4. By Bishop Barrow's Act it was provided that such one of the rectories proportionary of Llansan- nan which shall first become void, and the vicarage thereof, from and after the first vacancy of the said rectory, shall be united, and the vicar thereof at the time shall be rector with cure of souls. This union came into effect in 1683; but the old title of vicar has, not- withstanding the above provision, been retained. The division of the tithes henceforth was as follows : " the vicar and comportioner has 2 qrs. and -\ a quarter, viz. J-, -f, of all tithes (except Postyn and Beid- iog). The other comportioner has f of the same. The vicar and 1 B. Llanferras, 1743. 2 Master of the Grammar School, Denbigh. 3 Vic. chor., 1777; V. Henllan, 1772; V. Llansannan, 1782; Canon, 1784. 4 Son of above E. C. J. 5 Resigned 1865. f- " Hendrenewydd" and " Postyn." MS. Z., c. 1730. 1 ** Pennuntalcd." Z. s " Cfcwibion." Z. LLANSANNAN. THE DEANERY 01 DENBIGH. 395 comportioner has ^ of the tithes of Beidiog and Postyn ; f of Postyn belong to the Bishop, and ± of Beidiog ; the other third to the rector of Gwytherin, except the wool, lamb, and other small tithes."1 These have been commuted at £412 to the vicar, £220 to the comportionary rector (now Ecclesiastical Commissioners), £16 to the Bishop of St. Asaph (ditto), £7 to the rector of Gwytherin. The vicar, or rather rector, has also a glebe house built by Vicar Lloyd, 1726, and four acres of land. The patronage has recently been transferred from the Bishop of this diocese to the Bishop of St. David's. The church, St. Sannan (March 1), was rebuilt in 1777, and con- sists of two equal aisles with south porch and western bell-gable. It was probably at this time that "the partition which divides the chancel from the body of the church," mentioned in a petition to the Bishop about a seat in the church iu 1682, was removed. There is nothing of general interest attached to the present edifice, and there is a probability of its restoration after a more ecclesiastical type. The old National School, built in 1812 at a cost of £60, was super- seded in 18-37 by a new and commodious one, with master's house, erected by subscriptions and grants from the Privy Council and the National Society. The Charity Report (1837) mentions two rent -charges bequeathed to the poor: £1 10s. by Anne Lloyd, of Plas Madog in Llanfair, charged in 1692 on Tyddyu Rhydeidion ; £1 by Evan Hughes, on Moel in Lannefydd. A resolution of vestry, in 1 731, mentions £60 belonging to the poor2 then out at interest, and orders it to be called in towards repairing the church ; and another, in 1743, orders £24 19.5. belonging to the poor, probably a portion of the above, to be used by the wardens for its repairs; £1 os. to be annually allowed for the same out of the church rate. This, however, has long been discontinued, and the charity is so far lost. In this parish was Oaedu, the refuge and study of William Salis- bury, the first translator of the New Testament into Welsh.3 Here too, at Dyffiryn Aled, lived for some time Philip Yorke, author of the " Fif- teen Royal Tribes of Wales"; and at Garthgeri yn Chwibren was born, at a still earlier period, Tudur Aled, the bard, some of whose effusions have been published in Gorchestion Beirdd Cymry. A notice of Bicrdd Arthur, in Speed's Theatre of the Empire of Great Britain, published in 1611, is curious and interesting : " This thing is worthy of observ- ation as a matter memorable both for admiration and antiquity, that 1 MS. Book Z. 2 There seems to have been a consolidation of the other charities recorded on a tablet on the north wall of the church, — e. g., Dafydd ap Robert, Xant- ymerddyn, ,£30 ; Richard Wynne of Plas yn Cornel, £20 ; and £o each by Sir W. Myddelton and Owen Wynne, Treflach ; to which Eobert Wynne Yorke, of DyfFryn Aled, added another similar sum. 3 See p. S3, supra. 396 THE DEANERY OE DENBIGH. ill the parish of Llansannan there is a place compasse cut out of the maine rocke by man's hand, in the side of a stony hill, wherein there be foure and twentie seats to sit in, some lesse, some bigger, where children and young men coming to seek for their cattel, use to sit and to have their sports, and at this day they commonly call it 'Arthur's Round Table." SINECURE RECTORS. FIRST COMPOSTION. 1537. — Salusbury, Robert1 1 .5.54.— -Myddelton, William2 1561.— Jones, Henry, LL.D.3 1591. — Kenrick, Lawrence 1598. — Yaughan, Owen4 1599. — Yaughan, William, D.D.5 1603.— Goodman, Godfrey, M.A. 1605. — Griffith, Jasper6 1614. — Prichard, Robert7 1631. — Powell, Edward 1641. — Maurice, Andrew, A.M.9 1666.— Lloyd, John, A.M.9 1668.— Lloyd, David, A.M.10 1678.— Herault, Lewis, D.D.11 SECOND COMPOBTION. 1537. — Belton, James Rogers, Richard12 1557. — Maurice ap Thomas11 1566. — Barton, Godfrey14 1580. — Vaughan, William5 1597.— Owen, Hugh15 1599.— Williams, Peter16 1614. — Morgan, Evan, B.D. 17 1615. — Goodman, Godfrey, M.A.18 1616. — Parry, Gabriel, B.D.19 1617. — Lloyd, Richard, D.D.20 1621.— Morgan, Evan, B.D. 1639.— Wood, Howell 1642. — Lloyd, Thomas, A.M. 1 Yicar of Corwen and sinecure rector of Llanrwst. 2 "A minor and layman, deprived." (Br. Willis.) Query, — was this the translator of the first metrical version of the Psalms ? 3 Canon, 1560; R. Llanrwst, 1573. 4 Chaplain to Bishop Morgan at Llandaff ; V. Liandrillo in Edeirnion, 1595 ; R. Llangwm, 1598 ; R. Gwytherin, 1602. 5 Preb. of Llannefydd, 1598. 6 Warden of Ruthin, 1594. ' R. Denbigh, 1605. 8 Dean of St. Asaph, 1634. 9 Preb. of Llanfair, 1660 ; Warden of Ruthin and Archdeacon of Merion- eth, 1663. 10 Reader to the Charter House, 1659; chaplain to Bishop Barrow, and Prebendary of Faenol, 1671. 11 Pastor of the French Church in London; R. Caerwys, 1675; Preb. of Canterbury, 1682. 12 Archdeacon of St. Asaph; Bishop Suffragan of Dover, 1560; Dean of Canterbury, 1584. 13 Canon, 1557. 14 Canon before he was twelve years of age, by Goldwell, but deprived by Bishop Thomas Davies. 15 Canon, 1592. ™ Preb. of Meifod, 1598. 17 R. Denbigh, 1615 ; Preb. of Meifod, 1617. 18 Sinecure rector of Llandyssil, 1607; Bishop of Gloucester, 1624. » V. Abergele, 1613; Master of Ruthin School, 1607. V. Greeford, 1613; Y. Rhuabon, 1617; R. Ysceifiog, 1621. THE DEANERY OF DENBIGH. 397 1082. 168,5. 1702. L720. 1728. 1731. 1746. 1747. 1761. 1778. 1783. 1807. FIRST COMPORTION. -Lloyd, Edward -Ford, William, D.D. -Montford, Samuel1 -Richards, Thomas2 Wynne, Meredith3 -Holborn, Robert Bishop in commendam -Owen, Lewis, B.D. -Johnson, ... -Palmer, ... D.D. Drummond, Bp. in com. -Brakenridge, ... D.D.4 Newcome, Bp. in corn. -Smyth, John, D.D. -Sampson, Charles5 -Clough, Roger B., M.A.G SECOND COMFORTION. 1643.— Lloyd, Samuel, A.M.? 1662. — Lloyd, David, LL.D.8 1663. — Williams, William9 1678.— Jones, Richard, LL.D.10 1683. — Rowlands, Thomas 1520. 1537. 1588. 1598. 1599. 1611. 1613. VICARS. -Pigott, Robert 1614.- -Maurice ap Thomas 1617.- Pigott, Thomas 1622.- -Conway, Peter 1660.- - Williams, Owen 1662.- -Lloyd, Meredith 1675.- -Berkeley, John, D.D.11 1696.- -Jones, Richard12 1726.- -Holland, John, A.M.18 -Edwards, John14 -Williams, Richard, A.M. -Prichard, Edward, A.M. -Hampton, Roger15 -Lloyd, Robert -Williams, Thomas16 -Lloyd, Thomas17 I Master of Christ's Hospital. 2 Canon, 1718. 3 Of Plas Uchaf (hodie Coed Coch); V. Llannefydd, 1705 ; Canon, 1718. 4 " He distinguished himself by his powers of calculation, and by that means made himself useful to Administration, and published some sermons in 1764." (B. Willis.) 3 Rector of Ripley, Yorkshire. 6 V. Gwyddelwern, 1791; V. Corwen, 1797; Canon, 1793. " V. Gresford, 1635; Sinecure R. Cilcain, 1644; and R. Aldford in dioc. Chester. s Dean of St. Asaph, 1660. 9 Canon, 1679. 10 Chancellor of the Diocese of Bangor. II Head Master of Oswestry School; R. Llanddoget, 1606; R. Newtown, 1613; S. R. Llandyssil, 1622; Preb. of Llanfair, 1621. 12 R. Aberhafesp, 1614. 13 R. Llansantffraid Glan Conway, 1613; R. St. George, 1617; Canon, 1624. 14 R. St. George, 1609 ; vie. chor. 1623. 15 R. Llanddoget, 1628. Deprived. 16 R. St. George, 1684; V. Llanrwst, 1690; R. Denbigh, 1697. Published a Welsh edition of Nelson's Fasts and Festivals. 17 V. Llandrillo-yn-Rhos, 1718. a i 398 THE DEANERY OF DENBIGH. 1758. — Price, James1 1817. — Strong, George3 1782. — C hambres- J o nes, Ed ward, 1833. — Jones, John, M.A.4 M.A.2 1836.— Williams, Peter L., M.A.a 1861.— Pugh, John, Lampeter; 1st cl Deac., 1847; Pr., 1848 ; curate of Llangorse; P. C. Llanywern, near Brecon, 18-39. LLYSFAEN.6 This parish consists of five townships, Isallt, Isyffordd, Pant, Pen- maen, and Rhwngyddwyffordd, with an area of 1,790 acres, of which 1,410 a. 32 p. are cultivated ; of the rateable value of £3,674 : 2 : 8; and with a population of 908, mostly engaged in the limestone quarries. Originally it seems to have formed a portion of Llandrillo, as evidenced by certain mutual obligations laid down in the old ter- riers, and confirmed by the Commutation Returns. The Taxatio of 1291 simply notes, "liectoria di Lisnaen taxatur £4, non decimat'; and the Valor Eccles. of Henry VIII only states its clear value to be £12 : 0 : 4, on which £1 : 4 : 0J were payable to the King as tenths ; but the terriers record that whilst on the one hand " half the town- ship of Penmaen tithes to the rector of Llandrillo, and out of the other moiety the vicar of Llandrillo has a third part, paying twenty shillings for four sermons; and the tithes of one day's math in Gweir- glodd Isallt doth belong unto the township of Twynan (in Llanelian), or the sum of one shilling in lieu of the same; whereof six-pence belongs to the rector of Llandrillo, four-pence to the rector of Llan- elian, and two-pence to the vicar of Llandrillo." On the other hand, all the tithes of Brynyrodyn, in Llanelian, belong to the rector of Llysfaen. Hence the Commutation Returns for this parish give £232 : 16 : 2 to the rector ; £41 : 14 : 9J to the Bishop of St. Asaph (as rector of Llandrillo), added by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners to the rectory, 22 June, 1871 ; £14: 10 : 1J to the vicar of Llandrillo; and £1 10-5. to the parish clerk. The tithes of Brynyrodyn, in Llan- elian, which are £17 : 17 : 9, also belong to the rector; who has, more- over, a good house built in 1812, and enlarged in 1846, together with 18 a. of glebe. The church (St. Cynfran7), which has lately been admirably re- 1 V. Bettws-yn-Rhos, 1746. 2 V. Llannefydd, 1772 ; V. Henllan, 1772; Canon, 1784. 3 P. C. of Disserth; vie. chor., 1801 ; V. Llangernyw, 1815. 4 V. Holywell, 1807-36; V. Cwm, 1820-33. 5 R. Llangar, 1826. 6 " The palace or court of stone," as in Pontfaen, etc. 7 " Festival, 12th November, on which day and the Sunday following the common people formerly offered here for their horned cattle. Another Mont- pellier." (MS. Book Z.) The petitions at the Well were phrased : " Rhad THE DEANERY OF DENBIGH. 399 stored1 under the direction of Mr. G. E. Street, consists of two aisles, a portion of the southern one being screened off as a chancel. The principal features of the restoration are, a beautiful oak Screen (de- signed from surviving fragments of an old one) which divides the chancel from its aisle, and both from the nave; and a handsome Rere- dos of Caen stone, having a cross of white marble in its central com- partment, and its foliated circles filled in with variegated marbles. The pulpit and font (which is square in form) are of Bath stone, well designed and worked. The floor of the chancel is laid with Godwin's, intermixed with encaustic, tiles ; the seats are of oak, those of the nave being of pitch-pine. A considerable portion of the old oak roof has been used in the rebuilding, and the old walls retained; those por- tions, which were of the native limestone, having been rewrought, and pierced with windows in the Early English style, and buttresses added, as also a new porch and bell-turret. The east window is filled with memorial glass to the late rector, Edward Oldfield, and represents in its respective lights the Nativity, the Crucifixion, and the Resurrec- tion. Another window, the gift of the Rev. Elis Price, has been added in memory of his grandmother and brother. Other special gifts were, the coronas and altar-cloth by Mrs. Hesketh; altar -linen, etc., by Mrs. William s-Wynn ; altar-chairs by Mr. Raynes ; altar-desk by Mr. Charles Frost ; service-books, Mrs. Kneeshaw ; oak lectern, Mr. Hughes, Brynmenai, etc. Some beautiful new schools have also now been completed, and opened Whitsun Monday, 1871. They consist of rooms for boys and girls, mixed ; class-room, and master's house. The cost, amounting to £1,700, was contributed by the rjarties to the church restoration, with grants from the Woods and Forests, National Society, and the Education Department. RECTORS. RlSIART AP IENN AP RHYS 1524. — Griffith, J. 1567.— Hughes, William, M.A.2 1601. — Humphreys, David 1606. — Parry, Henry3 1613.— Parry, Gabriel, A.M.1 1613. — Roberts, Hugh5 1614. — Griffith, Owen 1627. — Jones, Edward 1653. — Vaughan, Thomas, A.M.6 1675. — Jones, Roger7 1726.— Williams, Owen, A.B.8 Duw a Chynfran lwyd ar y da"; i. e., the blessing of God and holy Cynfran on the cattle. 1 It was reopened on St. Luke's Day (18th Oct.) 1870. The cost of the restoration amounted to .£1,950, the chief contributors to which were Mrs. V.'illianis-Wynn, Cefn; E. B. Hesketh, Esq., Gwrych Castle j Bishop Short; J . Lloyd Wynne, Esq , Coed Coch ; J. T. Eaynes, Esq. ; Henry Kershaw, Esq. 2 Bishop of St. Asaph, 1573. See pp. 91, 92. 3 V. Llanrhaiadr-yn-Mochnant, 1612. 1 Vicar of Abergele and of Denbigh, 1613. 5 V. Llangwm, 1609. 6 ( anon in 1 666. 1 V. Cacrwys, 1671 . 8 Head Master of Llanrwst School, 1712. 400 THE DEANERY OF DENBIGH. 1737.— Lloyd, Thomas1 1 75 3. — Price, Lewis 1757. — Jones, Thomas 1762.— Pugh, Rice2 1807.— Thomas, Hugh8 1810. — Hughes, John1 1823.— Parry, Thomas5 1835. — Oldfield, Edward, M.A. 1868. — Hughes, Richard Owen, Lampeter ; Deac.,1850; Pr.,1852; curate of Blaenporth, 1850-53 ; Ruthin and Llanrhvdd, 1853-57; Llan- fair, D. C, 1857-59 ; P. C. St. James', Prion, 1859-68. NANTGLYN. This parish, which is about seven miles in length by about four and a half in breath, embraces a considerable extent of unenclosed moun- tain waste, having a total area of about twenty-six square miles. Only 4,613 acres are cultivated land, of the rateable value of £1,517. Population, 320. The townships, which were formerly two, Nantglyn Canon and Nantglyn Sanctorum, have been subdivided into four, viz., Blaenau, Plas, Hendre, and Crwnllwyn ; and there was an old tradi- tion, well supported by the old names, that there was once a sanctu- ary here.6 The camp of " Hen Ddinbych," moreover, in its upper portion, would connect the place with the earliest introduction of Christianity ; and the large waste called " Bishoppes Walle," which appears to have been once the property of the Bishop of St. Asaph, was doubtless granted to him in very early times, and by him trans- ferred in 1506 to the augmentation of the living of Cerrig y drudion.7 The Taxatio of 1291 gives, under " Ecclesia de Xanclyn," "rectoria valet £2 : 13 : 4 ; vicaria, £1:6: 8"; neither of which paid tenths. This proportion of the tithes was modified in 1336, when Bishop Dafydd ap Bleddyn made the appropriation thereof to the vicars choral 1 V. Llandrillo yn Rhos, 1718 ; V. Llansannan, 1726. • 2 R. Gwaunysgor, 1760; R. Llandulas, 1780; V. Nantglyn, 1788. 3 R. Penegoes, 1810. 4 R. Penegoes, 1799. He built the rectory houses in both parishes. He probably exchanged with his predecessor. 5 R. Llanddulas, 1811; V. Llandrillo yn Rhos, 1835. 6 " Noddfa oedd hi, meddant. hwy." Other names that support the view are, Segrwyd (i. e , Cyssegrwyd), Cae-Dai. 7 "20 Apr. 1506. David, Bp., in consideration of small income of Ker- rigydruidion, scarce worth 7 marc. p. ann , 'ad laudem Dei et Sanctse Mariae Magd. et Sa. Ienn nuncupati Gwasbatryc Vanagh patroni ib'm,' united and annexed to the same ' totam nostram portionem de Nantglyn uwchmynydd, viz. de messuagiis et tcnementis vocat' Elphygarret, Llynykymer, Llechwed, et Crynllwyn Tythyn y gwyn ap talwyn, Mael y dderwes erw, Lletty 'r man- ach Haf'ot y maidd, Pant y luiavoh-ii, Pennair Penrliyn, hafot y ddyr; salvia 2$. u a. pail of Clasmor farm, the property of Mr. Owen of Tanygyrt. 402 THE DEANERY OF DENBIGH. Rent-charge of 6s. on Caer Urol, by John Myddelton. „ £1 on Foel, in Llannefydd, by Evan Hughes, ob. 1 728. „ 2s. 6d. on Tanyffordd, being interest of money bor- rowed. Interest of £60, accumulated charities, in the Denbigh Savings' Bank. „ ,, £40 from Mrs. Owen, Tan y Gyrt. VICARS. 1537. — Thomas, John 1.356. — Nanclyn, John 1570. — Hugh ap Robert1 1581. — Roberts, Peter2 1583.— Evans, William 1589. — Meredith, David 1621. — Thelwall, Simon 1625.— Jones, Edward, A.M.3 1635. — Griffith, Rice, A.M. 1639. — Morgan, William 1642.— Lloyd, Edward, M.A. 1644. — Roberts, Thomas 1670. — Roberts, J.4 1697.— Wynne, J. 1706. — Myddelton, Roger 1871. — Lewis, Lewis Thorn 1847; Curate of Aberystruth, ftraid Glyn Ceiriog, 1851-60; 1723. 1738. 1743. 1765.- 1770, 1776, 1778, 1788, 1807, 1814.- 1823.- 1826, 1857, 1863, 1868, -Williams, Gabriel -Owens, Owen -Samuel, William -Williams, Edward"' "Williams, Evan6 -Crewe, Edward -Whitley, Peter7 -Pugh, Rice8 -Clough, Thomas9 -Williams, Watkin -Howard, Richard, D.D.10 -Roberts, Edward -Edwards, E. W., M.A.11 -Jones, Edward, M.A.12 -Williams, Thomas13 as, B.D., Lampeter; Deac, 1846; 1846-9; Selattyn, Llanbedr, 1860-71 , Pr., 1849-51 ; Llausant- 1 E. Llanuwchlyn, 1553; sinecure E. Llanfor, and E. Bettws Gwervyl Goch, 1556. 2 V. Gwyddelwern, 1594. 3 E. Llannierewig, 1635. Edited " Cydymmaith yr Eghvyswr yn ymwcled a'r Claf." (Llyfy Cymry, 263.) 4 V. choral, 1662. 5 V. choral, 1759; V. Llansantffraid yn Mechain, 1770; Canon, 1777. 6 V. choral, 1763 ; V. Llanasa, 1775. » V. choral, 1 776; V. Cwm, 1788. 8 E Gwaunysgor, 1760; E. Llysfaen, 1762; E. Llandulas, 1780. 9 V. Llangernyw, 1783; E. Halkin, 1783; Canon, 1794; E. Hirnant, 1796; E. Denbigh, 1797. 10 E. Denbigh, 1818 ; V. Llanrhaiadr D. C, 1843. '! V. Ehuabon, 1862. 12 V. Llanfair Caereinion, 1868. 18 V. Llandiillo yn Edcirnion, 1871. 403 THE DEANERY OF DYFFRYN CLWYD. In* the Taxatio of Pope Nicholas, a.d. 1291. this deanery is returned in tlie diocese of Bangor, and taxed under the two archdeaconries of Merioneth and Bangor respectively. Thus : «. " In archidiaconat' de Meryonyd'. Hasc est taxatio decanatus de Dyffryn Cloyt per offic' et dec' et alios bonos juratos : Taxatio. Decima. Benefic' offic' - £b 6 8 ... £0 10 8 Benefichi' decani - 6 13 4 ... 0 13 4 Rectoria eccl'ia de Lant'nank - 5 0 0 ... 0 10 0 Eccl'ia de Lankynaval - 4 6 8 ... 0 8 8 Eccl'ia S'ci Petri - 5 6 8 ... 0 10 8 Porcio Hugonis in eccl'ia de Lanveyr - 6 13 4 ... 0 13 4 „ Guydonis in eadem - 4 13 4 ... 0 9 4 David, capellani in eccl'ia de Lanevys 4 6 8 ... 0 8 8 Eccl'ia de Lan Tudvo - 4 6 8 ... 0 8 8 " Summa <£46 : 13 : 4 Inde decima <£4 13:4 . 4< In archidiaconat' de Bangore et decanat' de Dyffren Cloyt : Llanynys - - 16 0 0 ... 1 12 0 Clanvayr - 16 0 0 ... 1 12 0 Llanelydan - 8 0 0 ... 0 16 0 Llandyrnok - - 4 6 8 ... 0 8 8 Llanrud - 5 0 0 ... 0 10 0 Llanganh avail - 4 6 8 ... 0 8 8 Llannmrrok - - 4 0 10 ... 0 8 1 Derwen - . 4 0 10 ... 0 8 1 Llanpetya - - 4 0 10 ... 0 8 I Canonia decani - 12 0 0 ... 1 4 0 „ archid' Bang' - 12 13 4 ... 1 5 4 „ Loryngh' - 6 13 4 ... 0 13 4 „ Henri le Mestre - 5 6 8 ... 0 10 8 nup' Joh'is ap GrufFuth - 5 6 8 ... 0 10 8 „ Ith' ap Robert - 8 0 0 ... 0 14 0 Jeu'n ap D'd - 6 13 4 ... 0 13 4" In the Valor Eccles., Henry VIII, the returns are combined under the one " Decanatus de Diff'ryn Cloid et Kemerch"; and so it continued 404 THE DEANERY OF DYFFKYN CLAYYn. until an Order in Council, Sept. 1859, transferred the deaneries of Dyffryn Clwyd and Kemerch from the diocese of Bangor to that of St. Asaph, in exchange for that of Cyfeiliog. Newcome states that " this rural deanery was not to that day (1825) included in any of the archdeaconries of the diocese, but was quite independent of any jurisdiction save that of the diocesan; and that the reason was this, viz., that it was originally superintended by an ecclesiastical dignitary under the Bishop, called the Dean; being the same as Archdeacon, having his official under him."1 In 1291, how- ever, we have seen that it was included under two archdeaconries by a division due probably to some early arrangement of the Cwmwds of Cynmeirch, Llanerch, Coleigion, and Dogveilyn, in the respective Can- treds of Ystrad and Dyffryn Clwyd. Owing to the isolation of this deanery, and its remoteness from the rest of their districts, the Arch- deacons had probably deputed their jurisdiction, not to the Dean, who had jurisdiction only over his own chapter, but to the Official, an officer whom we meet wTith acting a prominent part in the great con- troversy between the Bishop of St. Asaph and the Abbot of Valle Crucis in 1274. 3 As the two parts of the deanery became afterwards united, and the archdeaconry of Bangor was taken into commendam by the Bishop, the official, whether of the Bishop per se, or as Arch- deacon, would still be the presiding authority ; and hence the appa- rent independence of archidiaconal jurisdiction. It now forms part of the archdeaconry of St. Asaph. The following parishes are included in this deanery, viz., Clocaenog, Derwen, Efenechtyd, Llanbedr, Llandyrnog, Llanelidan, Llanfair, Llan- fwrog, Llangwyfan, Llangynhafal, Llanrhaiadr and Prion, Llanychan, Llanynys with Gyffylliog, and Ruthin with Llanrhudd. CLOCAENOG.3 The two townships of Clocaenog ucha and Clocaenog isa, into which the parish is divided, are from seven to eight miles in length by about two and a half in breadth; embracing an area of about 6,337 acres, of which about 4,959 are under cultivation ; and of the rateable value of £2,826; with a population of 477. In 1829 nearly half the parish was unenclosed ; but since that time the Enclosure Commissioners 1 Memoirs of Dean and Bishop Goodman, p. 39. 2 " Maudatum abbatis de Talellechau directum officiali de Dyffryn Clwyd pro citando Ep'o Assaphen et vicario de Llangollen &c. ad respondend' abbati et conventui de Valle Crucis asserenti quod eccl'ia de Llangollen cum suis capellis," &c. See supra, p. 43. 3 Probably Clawdd (the earthwork) of Caenog, whose name appears also in the Farm of Caenog, and in Esgyn Gaenog in Gwyddelwern, which formerly belonged to the monks of Ystrad Marchell. A more recent earthwork, Clawdd Newydd, lies between Clocaenog and Derwen. THE DEANERY OF DYFFRYN CLWYD. 405 have sold and allotted several hundred acres, now enclosed, but tithe free, although stated to be subject to tithes.1 The living is a rectory, in the patronage of the Bishop of Llandaff and the jurisdiction of the Bishop of St. Asaph, having been transfer- red, with the rest of the deanery, from the diocese of Bangor. Its value, according to the tithe-rent commutation, is £342 14s., in addi- tion to which there is a house and three acres and a half of glebe. No mention of it is made in the Taxatio of 1291, but in the Valor Eccles. of 1535 it is returned as worth £12 ; dec. inde, £1 4s. The church was founded, according to some authorities, by Trillo ; according to others, by Foddhyd ; and to others, by Caenog; and had its wake or vigil on August 27th. It consists of nave and chan- cel, divided internally by a handsome rood-screen ornamented with open screen-work and running bands of a wheat-ear and vine-leaf pat- tern,— allusive to the sacramental elements. The principal entrance is through a south porch ; but there is also a doorway on the north side. The roof is of open timber- work; the font octagonal, and plain; the pulpit bears the date 1695. The east window, a Perpendicular of five lights, contains some fragments of stained glass, which appears from the following entry in the oldest Register to have been first set up in 1538 : " Upon the east window of Clocaenoc Church this inscrip- tion is left, though somewhat defaced, 1 Jesu Christ of might is most, Have marce on them that made this cost, a'o D'ni mcccccxxxviii.' " There is also a Decorated window of two lights on the north side; and on the south a memorial window (by Holland of Warwick) has recently been put up to Mary, wife of T. Hughes, M.A., rector, ob. 1865. The subjects are, the Crucifixion in the centre, St. John and the Virgin in the side-lights. The oldest monument is one to Evan Lloyd ap Rice of Derwen Hall, a.d. 1597. The church was carefully restored in 1856-57, at a cost of £400, under the direction of Mr. Kennedy of Bangor. The School was built by subscription about the year 1820. The charities in 1837 amounted to £51 per aim., derived as follows: £12 from Llidiart-fawr-lydan, in Llangynhafal, left in 1669 by Griffith Thomas ab Evan, in certain proportions between the parishes of Llaufwrog, Llangynhafal, Efenechtyd, and Clocaenog. £25 from Graigwen (about 24 acres) in Llannerch-gron, left by Hugh Thomas in 1680. £14 from Ffridd-agored in Llanfwrog parish, bought in 1721 for £65, which appears to have been charity money in hand.2 These rents have been a little augmented of late years, so that their total amount is now about £57 per ann.; and they are distributed by the rector, churchwardens, and overseers. 1 The quantity subject to tithes is, according to the schedule of the appor- tionment map, 6,134 acres, 3,167 being at that time common land. 2 Bequests made in 1633 and 1687, as appears from a memorandum in the Register, dated July 27, 1687. 3 G 406 THE DEANERY OF DYFFRYN CLWYD. The following have been lost: £10 by#Kev. Mr. Price of Derwen, 1717; £5 by Andrew Jones of Llanycil, in 1725; £10 by Rev. Robt. Jones, of Llanycil, in 1744; and £12 by Mrs. Catherine Owen in 1776. RECTORS. 1561. — Johns, Geffrey 1794. — Roberts, Thomas, M.A.4 1672.— Jones, Thomas 1796.— Williams, Hugh, M.A.5 1705.— Salisbury, Robt., LL.D.1 1807. — Reynolds, Owen6 1714. —Williams, John, A.M.3 1829.— Newcome, Richard, M.A.? 1763.— Sutton, William3 1834.— Parry, John, M.A. 1846.— Hughes, Thomas, M.A., Jesus College, Oxford; B.A., 1825; Deacon,1826; Pr.,1827; curate of Llanbedr, 1826-34; Ruthin, 1834- 40; Llandyrnog, 1840-6; Lecturer of St. Peter's, Ruthin, 1830-40. Author of Communion Tracts for his parishioners. Editor of Poems in English and Latin, by Rev. D. Hughes, with additions8 by the Editor. DERWEN. This parish consists of two townships, Dyfanedd and Ysgeifiog, having a cultivated area of 4,248 acres; rated at £2,734 ; and a population of 580. According to the Taxatio of 1291, " Derwen taxatur £4 : 0 : 10; dec. 85. It/." And according to the Valor of 1535, "rectoria de Derwen yn Ial valet clare £10 15s.; dec. inde regi, £1:1: 6." The Commuta- tion has assigned £341 to the rector, and £8 to the parish clerk. There is also an old glebe house (date not known) and 14 a. 3 r. 35 p. of land. The patronage, formerly belonging to the see of Bangor, has been transferred by the late Act to the Bishop of St. David's. The church (St. Mary's), though small, contains some features of great interest. It is divided into nave and chancel by a handsome screen and rood-loft, — a work of the fifteenth century, showing much 1 Vic. Llanrwst, 1709; Canon of Bangor, 1710. 2 Head Master of Ruthin School. 3 V. Llanynys, 1759-63 ; R. Llanychan, 1789-94. 4 Head Master of Ruthin School ; chaplain to Archbishop Moore. 5 R. Llanelidan, 1786; V. Conway, 1786; chaplain to Bishop Bagot, Canon of St. Asaph, and vicar of Corwen, 1792-7; rector of Halkin, 1797. 6 V. Conway, 1802; R. Aber, 1819. 7 Warden of Ruthin and rector of Llanfwrog, 1804; Canon of Bangor,1821 ; Archdeacon of Merioneth, 1834; V. Llanrhaiadr, 1851. 8 See p. 290, a description of the parish. 9 Obiit 1815. Prebend lapsed to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. THE DEANERY OF DYFFRYN CLWYD. 421 VICARS. 1561. — Gethin", Lewis1 1589.— Jones, David2 1618.— Baylby, John, A.M.3 1637. — Morgan, Robert, A.M.4 1642.— Lloyd, David, D.C.L.s Roberts, Jonathan,6 M.A. 1675. — Ffoulkes, Robert, A.M.7 1691. — Matthews, Andrew, A.M. 1702. — Edwards, Richard, M.A.8 1740.— Jones, Thomas, M.A. 1744. — Jones, John, A.M. 1746. — Lloyd, Roger, A.M. 1753.— Vaughan, Thomas,9 A.B. 1759. — Humphreys, Humphrey, B.A. 1763. — Lloyd, Evan, M.A. 1776.— Parry, William, M.A.10 1804.— Owen, Owen, M.A. 1809. — Jones, James, M.A.11 1848.— Owen, Edward John, M.A. 1870. — Jones, Basil Morgan, M.A., Jesus College, Oxford; Scholar, 1860-65; 2nd Class Classics Mods., 1862, and Hon. 4th in Math., 1863; Deacon, 1866; Priest, 1867; curate of Llanwenarth, dioc. LlandafF, 1866; of Glyndyfrdwy, 1868; Llanfwrog, 1869. LLANFWROG. The parish of Llanfwrog contains five townships, Street, Bod angharad- ucha, Bodangharad-isa, Cil y Groes-lwyd, and Penycoed, with an area of 3,068 acres, rated at £4,935, and a population of 1,600. "Llanmurrock taxatur £4:0: 10; decima inde, 85. Ic7.", according to the Taxatio of 1 29 1 ; and " Rectoria de Llan vorok valet £16:13:4; decima, £1:13: 4," according to the Valor of 1535. The commuted value is £456 to the rector, and £6 to the parish clerk. There is no glebe house, but 8 a. 1 r. 1 1 p. of land. The patronage is transferred to the Bishop of St. David's. The church, originally founded by Mwrog, a saint who lived in the latter part of the seventh century, — and on a subsequent re -building, at a period sufficiently indicated by its peculiar arches of seemingly 1 "Resident, and kepeth house." (Bishop Meyrick's Return.) 2 "A poet and great collector of Welsh MSS." (Eminent Welshmen.) 3 Vicar, 1618; Precentor of Bangor Cathedral, 1621; R. Llanddyfnau and Llantrisant, Warden of Ruthin, 1621. 4 Chaplain to Bishops Dolben and Roberts of Bangor; V. Llanwnog, 1632; R. Llangynhafal, 1635; Prebendary of Chester; R. Efenechtyd, 1638; R. Trefdraeth; deprived during the Commonwealth; Archdeacon of Merioneth on the Restoration ; and Bishop of Bangor, 1666. 5 Warden of Ruthin, 1642; deprived; Dean of St. Asaph, 1660. (P. 243.) 6 Fellow of Jesus College, Oxford. SuproL, p. 117. 7 R. Llanfwrog, D.D., R. Llanhedr, and Precentor of Bangor, 1683. 8 R. Caerwys, 1702; R. Llanfwrog, 1730. 9 R. Llangwyfan, 1739. 10 Warden of Ruthin, 1784; R. Llanfwrog, 1795. 11 Second Master of Ruthin School, 1801-9. 6 1 422 THE DEANERY OF DYFFItYX CLWYD. transitional Norman, dedicated to the Virgin, — consists of nave and chancel, with north aisle of corresponding length, western tower, and south porch. Having fallen into considerable decay, it has recently been very effectively restored under the direction of Mr. J. D. Sed- ding of Bristol. In the course of this work the north aisle has been completely rebuilt, a new roof put upon it, new windows inserted, and the fine Pointed arch leading to the western entrance beneath the tower opened out; the space beneath the tower fitted as a vestry, with a door opening into the churchyard ; the chancel restored to its original proportions, floored with encaustic tiles, furnished for the choir, and divided from the nave by a low screen, which has been re- produced after the plan of an older one removed but a few years ago by a common carpenter during some repairs of the church, but frag- ments of which had been preserved in some of the pews and under the desk and pulpit. The pews themselves were at the same time removed, and open seats substituted throughout ; and the gallery at the west end of the nave was also taken down. The old oak roof was also repaired, and raised eighteen inches. Colour has been introduced with good effect on the seats and screen, though the appearance was at first somewhat novel. Two memorial windows, by Lavers and Barraud, add greatly to the effect. One to Robert and Sarah Anne Ellis, presented by R. Gregson Ellis, and representing St. Matthew and St. Mark; the other to Elizabeth Williams, ob. 1855, represents in the centre light Our Saviour and Mary and Martha ; in one of the side-lights, Our Saviour and the Syro -Phoenician ; and in the other side-light, Our Saviour and the woman touching the hem of his gar- ment.1 The bells, three in number, are inscribed respectively, "Sancte Georgi, ora pro nobis"; "Gloria in excelsis Deo, 1624, W. C."; and "Noe More ex dono, miserei mei peccatoris, 1691." The cost of the restoration was about £ 1,300 f but the tower and lych-gate remain yet to be completed. The re -opening, which took place on the 24th June, 1870, was the occasion of the first Welsh sermon preached by Bishop Hughes after his elevation to the see of St. Asaph. The township of Street lying within the borough of Ruthin, shares in the benefits of the Grammar School ; and the National School at Borthyn, erected in 1850, at a cost of £700, for the use of both parishes, is locally situated in this one. The chief charity is that of the Almshouses, commonly called " The Llanfvvrog Hospital," founded and endowed by Jane Lady Bagot, the 1 A gravestone in the churchyard records the name of John Williams, two sisters and a daughter, whose united ages amounted to three hundred and seventy-seven years ! The last died in 1851. 2 The chief contributions were from the St. Asaph Church Building Society, Bishop Carey's Fund, Bishop Short, Lord Bagot, W. C. West, Esq., Sir Per- cival Hey wood, Bart., F. Elkington, Esq., Mrs. Lloyd of Rhagatt, the Rector of the parish, Rev. Basil M. Jones, vicar of Llanfair, R. G. Ellis, Esq., and W. Greame, Esq. THE DEANERY OE DYFFRYN CLWYD. 423 daughter and heiress of Charles Salusbury of Bachymlrvd, Esq., and wife of Sir Walter Bagot of Blithfield, Baronet, who in 1695 bequeathed £1000 in trust, "to purchase lands and tenements of the value of £60 per ann.; and as soon as the said lands could be so purchased, to build an hospital, with gardens to each house, out of the rents and profits of the said lands, for four poor men and six poor women, who were to be elected chiefly out of the parish of Llanynys or such other parishes and places in the county of Denbigh where the estate of the said Sir Walter Bagot and herself did lie ; and were to receive yearly, each of them, one gown and £5, if the said rents should rise to so much yearly ; or otherwise, to make an equal dividend amongst them of the said yearly profits ; the hospital to be repaired out of the said rents." In 1697 certain lands and tenements in Cefnypost, Pencraig, and Bodgynfel, in Merionethshire, were bought with £500 (a moiety of the above bequest) : the Almshouses were built by Sir Edward Bagot in 1708; and in 1738 Miss Elizabeth Bagot, afterwards Countess of Uxbridge, daughter of the Lady Jane, added to the endowment £300, which was also to be laid out in land. Owing, however, to some cause or other, legal difficulties, neglect, or oversight, the original purchase - deed was lost sight of, and the last sum not invested in lands; but the whole of the two endowments looked upon as a charge upon the Denbighshire estate, upon which four per cent, per ann. was regularly paid until the year 1836, when, during the inquiry of the Charity Commissioners, the lost deed was discovered in the muniment room at Blithfield. Lord Bagot, who had done all he could to clear the facts of the case, at once offered to transfer the whole of the remaining property supposed to be comprised in the original deed, as well as the moneys received for some years on account of it, to hand over the remaining moiety of £500, and the additional £300 ; amounting in all to £1,900, which also being invested in land, makes the entire income of the charity about £140 per ann. The inmates, ten in number (four men and six women), are elected by trustees, viz. Lord Bagot, the patron, and the rectors of Llanfwrog and Clocaenog for the time being. The former is ex officio Master of the Hospital. They receive annually £10 85. each, in addition to fuel and clothing. The other charities belonging to this parish are : 1669. — A rent-charge of £4 per ann. on Llidiart-fawr-lydan, in Llangynhafal, left by Gruffydd Thomas ap Evan in certain propor- tions between the poor of this parish and those of Llangynhafal and Efenechtyd, with the residue to Clocaenog. 1681. — A third share in the rental of property in Llanbedr be- queathed by the Rev. Hugh Pugh, vicar, in equal portions, to Llan- fwrog, Llanbedr, and Christ's Hospital, Ruthin. Interest on £40 5 s. , one third of produce of timber sold thereon in 1796, now invested in Denbigh and Wrexham Turnpike Trust. Interest of £20 left by Edward Pierce in 1669. Interest of £40 5s. Consolidated Charities, now commuted for £30 lodged in the Ruthin Savings' Bank. 424 THE DEANERY OF DYFFRYN CLWYD. Lost. — Bequests of .£20, unknown; and £15 by William Jones, 1783; both of which sums were laid out for parochial purposes, and the interest formerly paid out of the church-rate. RECTORS. 1562. — Ellis, James, LL.D.1 Parry, Gabriel, D.D.2 1638. — Vaughan, Robert 1661 (?) Alexander,3 1665.— Gethin, John4 1668.— Pugh, Hugh,5 D.D. 1675. — Ffoulkes, Robert, A.M.6 1 730.— Edwards, Richard, M.A.? 1740. — Ffoulkes, Edward, A.M.8 „ Lloyd, William, A.B. „ Jones, Evan 1 755.— Hughes, Thomas, LL.B.9 1776. — Nanney, Robert 1790.— Owen, Edward 1795.— Parry, William, M.A.10 1804. — Newcome, Richard, M.A.11 1851. — Jones, James, M.A., Jesus College, Oxford ; third class, Litt. Hum., and B. A., 1831; Deacon, 1832; Priest, 1833; Second Master of Ruthin School, 1836-46; C. Llandyrnog, 1846-51. LLANGWYFAN. This small parish, of only 1,073 acres, rated at £1,486, is almost entirely surrounded by that of Llandyrnog, in the benefit of whose National School it shares. Its population is 246. In the Taxatio of 1291 no mention of it occurs, and it may at that time have formed a portion of Llandyrnog ; but in the Valor of 1535, " Rectoria de Llan GoyfFen valet clare £7:18:8; dec, 10s. 10Jd" The commuted value is £257 10s. per ann.; besides which there is a house and eighteen acres of glebe. The patronage, which formerly belonged to the Bishop of Bangor, has been transferred to the see of LlandafF. The church, St. Cvvyfan (June 3rd) is, like the parish, very small, and composed of a single body, having the east end slightly raised as a chancel. A vestry has lately been added at the north-west angle, and a new window inserted in the west end wall, the old gallery having been removed to make way for a raised platform for the choir. The chancel-window has been filled with memorial glass by Gibbs, the gift 1 Treasurer of Bangor Cathedral. 2 Head Master of Ruthin School, 1607-9. 3 Goodman Pedigree. 4 S. R. Aberdaron; Prebendary of Llanfair, 1661. 5 Warden of Ruthin, Archdeacon of Merioneth, and R. Llanbedr, D. C. 6 V. Llanfair, 1675; D.D., R. Llanbedr, 1683; Precentor of Bangor, 1685. 7 V. Llanfair, 1702. 8 Died same year. 9 Head Master of Ruthin School, 1739; V. Llansilin, 1763. 10 Head Master of Ruthin School, 1768; V. Llanfair, 1776; Warden of Ruthin, 1784. 11 Warden of Ruthin, 1804-51 ; Archdeacon of Merioneth, 1834; V. Llan- rhaiadr, 1851. THE DEANERY OF DYFFRYN OLWYD. 425 of Mrs. Williams of Glyn Arthur, to Edmund Blundell Williams, ob. 1853. Subjects, — our Lord blessing little children, and the Good Shepherd. The font, which is of a composite material, and circular in form, is set off with representations, in relief, of the temptation of Adam and Eve, the ark, the baptism of our Lord and of the Ethiopian eunuch. Two small benefactions, of £3 each, were in 1815 laid out in pew- iug the church; and six shillings a year allowed as interest out of the church rates, so loug as that continued to be paid ; but both have now been lost. rectors. 1561.— Lloyd, Sir Fulke 1613. — Lloyd, Edward 1666. — Jones, Thomas 1 720. — Dolbex, David, M.A.1 1729.— Joxes, Thomas 1739.— Vaughan, Thomas, A.B.2 1857. — Jones, John Owen, B.A., Trin. Coll. Triest, 1838; curate of Llandyrnog, 1851-7. 1753. — Morris, David, A.M.3 1777. — Morris, Robert, B.A. 1790.— Roberts, Thomas, M.A.4 1794:. — Wynne, John 1804. — Xanney, John 1830.— Roberts, R. LI. A., M.A.5 Dublin; Deacon, 1837; LLANGYNHAFAL. The townships of this parish, which are four in number, viz. Trerhos, Tregalas, Treheudre'rwydd, and Trenantynef, contain an area of great extent; much of which, however, is unenclosed, and stretches to the top of Moel Famma. The cultivated portion is 2,364 acres, and its rateable value, £2,552. The population, 497. " Llanganhavall" in 1291 was returned as worth £4:6:8, upon which 8s. 8d. were charged as tenths; and in 1535, "Rectoria de Llangynhavall valet clare £15 15s.; dec, £1:11:6." The Commu- tation assigned the value at £401 10s. The rector has also a house and 13 a. 14 p. of glebe.6 The patronage, formerly belonging to the Bishop of Bangor, now belongs to the Bishop of Llandaff. The church, founded by Cynhafal, a saint of the seventh century, whose festival was held on October 5th, and whose Well7 was on the 1 Canon of St. Asaph, 1624; Prebendary of Faenol, 1625; Bishop of Ban- gor, 1631. 2 V. Llanfair, D. C, 1753. 3 E. Ffestiniog, 1753. 4 Head Master of Euthin School, 1789. 3 E. Llangynhafal, 1S57. 6 An exchange of glebe was made in 1809 for an equal portion of a tene- ment called "Cyffion." 7 It used to be considered famous " for curing warts. This was partly done by pricking them with a pin, which was afterwards thrown into the well." {Arch. Camb., 1846, p. 54.) 426 THE DEANERY OF DYFFRYN CLWYD. mountain side, is an interesting relic of Perpendicular work. It con- sists of two equal aisles of five bays, formerly divided into chancel and nave by a rood-screen, the upper portion of which was " removed and put around the Communion Table" in 1726, the lower portion being still in situ. The roof of the north or chancel- aisle is handsome, having panels richly foliated, angel-corbels, and graceful ornamental bands running along the wall-plate. That of the south aisle is some- what less finished. The pulpit and desk are of Jacobean work, and date from 1636. Portions of the old stalls survive in the pews, and some of their earliest representatives in some curious and primitive arm-chairs. The Perpendicular east window of the south aisle is of excellent design, the tracery being similar to those at Whitchurch and Abergele. Fragments of stained glass in the earlier windows on the south side represent the instruments of the Passion, and bear the legends, " S'te Dyrnoke... (Ora)te pro animabus Gruffydd ap Jenn ap Enyon et Katerina." The figure of the pelican feeding her young from her own breast, which stands at the east end, is intended to symbolise our Lord feeding His people in the Holy Eucharist.1 The dates, 1669 on the west end of the south aisle, and 1671 on the belfry, indicate the repairs then made ; and the earliest pews date from the same period, 1666, 1678, etc. The screen, as we have already stated, was removed in 1726; and a few years later, 1733, rector Hugh Lloyd presented a silver paten for the Communion Service, to which Mrs. Sarah Williams of Llidiart-y-pwll added the rest of the Communion plate in 1782. In 1835 a stove was purchased for the church ; and the same year a bass viol and clarionet, which, however, were in 1864 supplanted by a harmonium. In 1869-70 consider- able repairs and alterations were made at an outlay of about <£200, the pillars and arches cleared of their plaster, the roof repaired, a por- tion of the west end boarded off, for the twofold purpose of forming a vestry and rendering the church more warm, and a new but some- what incongruous south porch, made to supplant the more primitive but dilapidated erection of 1671. Its early square-headed door has the hollows of its deeply fluted mouldings partly filled with animal figures in relief. This is now the only entrance, the old west door having been for some time disused. In 1833 a National School was erected at a cost of £58 10s. (£30 of which was granted by the National Society), the parishioners giving the carriage of the materials, on a site which the Rev. A. B. Mesham conveyed to the rector and churchwardens on the condition that it should be used as a school for the two parishes of Llangynhafal and Llanychan, and that the master should be a Protestant. This has Y Pelican gwiwlan gwar A'i waed yn bwydo 'r adar, Yr un modd or ein mwyn iiu farw Mab y Forwyn." THE DEANERY OF DYFFRYN CLWYD. 427 been superseded1 by the new National School built in Llanychan parish, in 1866, for the accommodation of the above and Llanynys 2 >a rishes. It is endowed with £5 per ann., the interest of £100 charged upon Plas-yn-llan by William Wynne in 1723. The charities : 1. A tenement of four acres, called "Gefel y Pare," in Llanrhaiadr parish, bought in 1730 with £75 5s. of charity money;2 half an acre added in 1822, under the Brynmullan Enclosure Act. Present rental, £6 6s. 2. Rent-charge on Llidiart-fawr-lydan, by Gruffydd Thomas ab Evan in 1669, £1. 3. Interest of £180 (being two sums of £100, minus legacy duty) left equally by Miss Catherine Davies and Miss Margaret Davies, of Plas-isa, in 1863, for clothing the poor. Invested in land at 4 per cent. RECTORS. 1561. — Hughes, John, LL.B.3 1562. — Thomas, Rowland, LL.D.4 1619. — Roberts, John, A.M.5 1627.— Prichard, Griffith6 1632.— Parry, Gabriel, S.T.B.? 1635.— Morgan, Robert, A.M.8 1642.— Lloyd, David, D.C.L9. 1704. — Price, John 1706. — Bishop in commendam 1708.— Lewis, William, A.B. 1719. — Lewis, Lewis 1729.— Lloyd, Hugh, A.M.10 1749.— Wynne, William, A.M.11 1760. — Jenkins, Thomas 1787. — Jones, William, M.A. 1814.— Hughes, David, M.A.13 1817.— Jones, John, M.A.13 1831.— Jones, John, M.A.14 1857. — Roberts, Robert Lloyd Anwvl, M. A., Jesus College, Oxford ; Deacon, 1821; Priest, 1822; curate of Gyffylliog, 1821; rector of Llangwyfan, 1830-57. 1 It is now used as a cottage, and the rental £2 10s. per ann. 2 Thomas Eobert, ,£43; Edward Wynn of Plas draw, £20; a Strange Ped- lar, £\0; John Doulben, <£10 ; and Wm. Davies, £5. (Old benefaction-table.) 3 "Resident, and kepethe house." (Bishop Meyrick's Return.) R. Llan- bedr, D. C. ; Canon and Prebendary of Bangor Cathedral. 4 Archdeacon of Bangor, 1534; Dean of Bangor and Chancellor of the Dio- cese, 1570. 5 Prebendary of Llanfair in Bangor Cathedral. 6 R. Llangelynin, 1613 ; Canon of Bangor, 1626. » Master of Ruthin School, 1607; R. Llanfwrog; R. Denbigh, 1613; Pre- centor of Bangor, 1632. 8 V. Llanfair, D. C, 1637; Bishop of Bangor, 1666. 9 Warden of Ruthin ; Dean of St. Asaph, 1660. 10 V. Llanasa, 1716; V. Mold, 1717; Prebendary of Meifod, 1730. 11 V. Llanbrynmair, 1740; R. Manafon, 1747. Several of his Welsh poems appear in Dewisol Ganiadau yr oes hon, published by Hugh Jones of Llan- gwm in 1759. 12 Head Master of Ruthin School, 1796. 13 Of Plas-yn-Llan ; R. Efenechtyd, 1799. 14 Canon of Bangor ; V. Llanrhaiadr, D. C, 1857. 428 THE DEANERY OF DYFFRYN CLWYD. LLANRH Al ADR. 1 This large parish, which is about fourteen miles in length by three in breadth, contains the nine townships of Cader, Meifod, Segroit ucha, Segroit isa, Cliccedig, Prion, Llan Llech and Llwyn, Trefydd bychain, and Llewesog; with a total population of 1888; and an area of 16,308 acres, of which about two thirds are under cultivation, and rated at £13,725. Ecclesiastically, however, the district of Prion, which has been formed out of it, supplies the spiritual wants of from four to five hundred, and another portion lies contiguous to the parish church of Nantglyn. From earliest times the church has been attached to the see of Bangor, and the Bishop is still not only the rector of the parish, but also lord of the manor of Llech Llan and Meifod. In the Taxatio of 1291 "ecclesia de Llanrhaiadr" is returned, according to Browne Willis,2 at "vi mere et dimid'," i. e., £4 : 6 : 8; being the Llan Tudvo (i. e. Landdyfnog) of the Record Commission (p. 403 suprct). An inqui- sition of lands of the bishopric of Bangor, taken after Bishop Clide- row's death in 1436, mentions "two bovates of plough-land and three acres of pasture in 'villa de Llanrayadr,' valued at 4s. 6d.; of which one moiety belonged to the Dean and Chapter, and the other to the King, in virtue of the vacant see."3 The Patent for the restitution of the appropriation to the Dean and Chapter4 throws much light on its history, for it recites that from time immemorial the Dean and Chapter had been in possession thereof, " in jure dictaB ecclesise suse Cathedralis ut de quadam ecclesia eidem ecclesise appropriata, ad usum canonicorum residentium"; that the said Dean and Chapter were, therefore, bound to perform divine service, and say masses for the souls of their founders ; and had hitherto done so, but were no longer able to continue it, because Henry IV, ' tempore rebellionis Wallise,' had assumed the advowson to himself, and presented thereto one John Bolton ; on whose death the Lord Chancellor, "virtute officii sui quendam Johannem Morton presentavit eo quod ecclesia ilia infra taxam xx marcarum comperta fuerit.' Henry VI, in consideration thereof, now restored (a.d. 1441) to them their right, for the same purpose and uses as before his grandfather's presentation had been customary. " 1 " The church of the cataract or rushing stream," which bursts forth from the strong spring called " Ffynnon Ddyfnog" hard by. This fountain/' writes Pennant (ii, p. 136), " is enclosed in an angular wall decorated with small human figures, and before is the well for the use of the pious bathers." This was in 1773. Only the site now remains. 2 B. W., Bangor, 1721. It is not mentioned in the Public Record copy of the Taxatio, 1802 ; but is given as "Llan Tudvo" for " Llanddyfnog." 3 B. W., Bam.gov, Append, xxn, p. 237. 4 Ibid., Append, xxiii, p. 239. THE DEANERY OF DYFFEYX CLWYD. 429 Tn the Valor Eccles. of Henry VIII, a.d. 1535, we next find, among the temporalities of the Bishop of Bangor, " Maner' de Llanrayader et Keymm'ch valet ad firm am per annum cum perquisitis curias et aliis perficuis, sic dimissis Henrico Salesbuiy, generoso, £4:6:1; inde in repris' Feodum Petri Salesbury, Senescalli, per aim., 13s. id"; and among the spiritualities of the diocese, " Rectoria valet clare, £30; decima, £3. Vicaria, £28 : 13 : 4 ; decima, £2:7: 4." No mention is made of the appropriation of the rectory ; but it seems to have been enjoyed by some member of the Chapter until by the Act 1 James II, a.d. 1 68o, together with the archdeaconries of Anglesey and Bangor (which had already been taken in commend am), it was finally united to the bishopric in augmentation of the income, the certain amount of which was not £200 a year.1 The Commutation Returns give the value of the rectorial tithes payable to the Bishop of Bangor as £76-3, and those of the vicar as £766. These latter, however, are subject to a deduction of £lo0 per aim., payable to the vicar of Prion. The vicarage house, built in 1820, is one of the most beautifully situated of any in the diocese, and has fifteen acres of glebe attached to it. The patronage, formerly belonging to the Bishop of Bangor, has been transferred to the Bishop of St. Asaph. The church, St. Dyfhog (February 13th), is, like the one at Whit- church, Perpendicular in its general character, consists of two equal aisles with a western tower, and possesses several features of interest. Browne Willis speaks of it as " remarkable for the finest painted glass window in all Wales"; and, for his time (1720), perils not undeserv- edly so.2 Its subject is the genealogy of our Lord, traced through the kings of Judah from the root of Jesse. There are two theories as to its original source, — the common one, that it was brought hither from Basingwerk Abbey at its dissolution ;3 and another, that it was bought with the offerings of pilgrims to St. Dyfnog's Well. During the commotions of the Commonwealth it was taken down, and, having been concealed in the great oak chest which is still preserved in the church, it was buried in a neighbouring plantation; and on the Restor- ation "was put up again, in 1661, at the parish's expense of £60. This concealment accounts for the omission of any notice of it in Symonds' Diaryf where there is this description of the east window, chancel, — or, a lion rampant between three crescents argent, with " Laus Deo" about in scrolls. A male effigy in armour, and having a 1 Browne Willis' Bangor, Append, xxxm, p. 291. 2 There is a similar window, though not quite so perfect, in Disserth Church. 3 The date "mcccccxxxiii" would thus accord with the time of setting it up there ; or it may, like many others, have been made at that Abbey. 4 Br. Willis. 5 " Diary of the Marches of the Eoyal Army during the great Civil War." (Camden Society, 1859.) 3K 430 THE DEANERY OF DYFFRYN CLWYD. surcoat with these arms upon the breast and sleeves ; over head, a scroll bearing this inscription, "Jesu,degne on us sinners have mercy. Thomas Salisbery." The date of this was 1508. A window on the south side, recently filled with painted glass to the memory of Mrs. Margaret Hughes of Ystrad, ob. 1854, represents in its several lights the Nativity, Crucifixion, Resurrection, and Ascension of our Lord, with four of the works of mercy beneath. The Perpendicular roof is very handsome, being divided into panels with well carved bosses, and still retaining its wall-pieces and angel-corbels as of old. That of the chancel is very elaborate, having panels richly foliated, and hori- zontal running bands of the vine pattern. The ambry is still visible in the eastern wall; but the old rood-screen has been used np in the gallery at the west end, and the stoup converted into one of the coping stones of the churchyard wall. In the vestry is preserved the emblematic pelican which once stood above the altar here as at Llan- gynhafal. An organ was erected in 1847. Among the principal monuments in the church is a recumbent effigy of Maurice Jones of Ddol, ob. 1702, erected by his widow, daughter of Sir W. Bagot. Among others commemorated here are the Myddeltons of Ystrad ; Lloyds of Pentre, Llwyn, and Rossa ; Dol- bens and Mostyns of Segroit ; Captains Wynne and Salusbury, slain during the siege of Denbigh Castle in 1646 ; and one to John ap Robert of Porth, whose genealogy is traced back to Cad ell, king of Powis, ob. 1642. The body of a Mrs. Anne Parry, on being exhumed about 1838 (some forty years after her burial), is stated by Mr. Roscoe to have been found in a remarkable state of freshness and preserva- tion, and the same is said to have occurred three years afterwards.1 The Communion plate, which cost £60, an altar-cloth, three English Prayer Books and a folio Bible, were presented to the church by Madam Jones of Plas Newydd (widow of the above Maurice Jones of Ddol), who also in 1729 erected an almshouse here for eight poor persons ; which she further endowed, conjointly with other objects,2 with a sum of £2,300. This is now represented by Gwnodl-fawr farm and its allotments ; the annual rental of which, with the shoot- ing, is £160 per ami. ; and the interest of £514:3:10 (in Lord Bagot 's hands) at £4 per cent, per ami. (£21 : 13 : 8). The inmates, eight in number,3 receive £1 each monthly, with coals and clothing. The 1 Davies' Vale of Clwyd. 2 Viz. £\50 were to be paid to Corwen parish for thirty poor householders, .£100 to Gwyddelwern for twenty, £80 to Trawsfynydd for sixteen, £50 to Beddgelert for ten, and £20 to each of the following, Llanfor, Maentwrog and Festiniog in Merionethshire, and Llanbeblig, Llanarmon, and Dwygyfyl- chi in Carnarvonshire, for four poor householders. The interest to be dis- tributed on St. Thomas' Day. 8 These were four men and four women ; but in consequence of the age and infirmities of the inmates, one of the women's houses is now occupied by a matron who attends to their wants. THE DEANERY OF DYFFRYN CLWYD. 431 management of the charity rests with Lord Bagot, the founders having been of that family. The other charities belonging to the parish consist of : =£ s. d. 1. Rent-charge on Plas Panton, in Llansannan, by Peter Lloyd 10 0 2. „ on Foel in Llanrhaiadr . . . . 0 JO 0 3. „ onTynyffridd,byJohnLloyd,Rosindale,inl639 0 6 8 4. „ on Penygarth, in Llanynys, by Thomas Wynne of Llewesog, the donor of Cae 'r felin . . .038 5. Eent of Tyrednon tenement, with Gwerglodd Tylodion* . 24 13 0 6. „ Brynyrasgwrn1 . . . . . 18 0 0 7. „ Cae 'r felin, near Groes . . . . 13 0 0 8. „ Tylyrne* . . . . . .670 9. „ Crwccwd* . . . . . . 4 10 0 £68 10 4 2 The cottages at Tylerne and Crwccwd, seven in number, are vested in the wardens, and let, rent free, to poor families. In the year 1750 a Charity School was set up by subscription,3 which has since then received the following benefactions, viz. in 1762, Robert Jones, £50 ; Robert Lloyd, £10, in 1764; Rev. Dr. Wynne and Rossa Charity, each £20; J. Conway, Esq., £10; and three small sums amounting to £12; and in 1775, Rev. Robert Roberts, £20. These sums, amounting in all to £142, form the endowment of the school. A new National School has been erected this year (1871) at a cost of £750,4 on a site near the village, given by J. Price, Esq., Llan- rhaiadr Hall. * These lands, containing 32 a. 3 r. 37 p., were bought with benefactions amounting to =£179 13s., the principal of which were =£20 each from Owen Wynne, Elizabeth Roberts, Thomas Lloyd, and Mrs. Jane Wynne ; =£16 from Foulk Hughes, and =£10 from Dorothy Hughes. Cottages have also been built at Tylyrne and Crwccwd, with benefactions of =£20 by John Davies in 1779, =£10 by Henry Davies in 1783, and =£20 by the Eev. Robert Roberts in 1817. 1 Bought in 1856 with =£200, the bequest of Mrs. Gartside in 1823 ; =£50, the bequest of Mrs. Anne Jones in 1830; and about =£110, borrowed money, of which about =£50 still remains unpaid. 2 Outgoings : To Bishop of Bangor, 4tZ. per ann.; to J. Lloyd Wynne, Esq., Coedcoch, 2s. 4d.; and interest of =£50, unrepaid debt. 3 There had been a school here still earlier, as one Thomas Anwyl was licensed to it in 1721. Another Master Risiart ap Robert translated Kettle- well's work into Welsh, Y Credadyn Bucheddol, 1763. 4 Grants made by the Committee of Council, St. Asaph Diocesan Board of Education, and the Carey Fund. 432 THE DEANERY OF DYFFRYN CLWYD. SINECURE RECTORS. 1400. — Bolton, John, by Henry IV, "ad cujus mortem," (1415. — Hungarton, Roger,1 Archdeacon of Merioneth.) „ Morton, John, supra. 1511. — Salusbury, Fulk, Dean of St. Asaph.2 1544. — Runcorn, Thomas, Archdeacon of Bangor. 1561. — G Wynne, John, LL.D.,3 Preb. of Llanfair. 1574-1685, Bishops in commendam. vicars. 1561. — Davies, Hugh4 1786. — Roberts, Robert, M.A. 1581.— Price, Theodore, D.D.5 1817. — MAjEXDiE,Henry W.,M.A. 1626.— Hill, William, M.A.6 1818.— Williams, Peter 1683 (?).— Lloyd, Francis, A.M.? 1821.— Williams, Edward, A.M. 1716.— Price, William, A.B. 1843.— Howard, Richard, D.D.10 1734.— Wynne, Hugh, D.D.* 1851.— Newcome, Richard, M.A.11 1754. — Roberts, Robert, A.M. 1857. — Jones, John, M.A.12 1776. —Roberts, John, A.M.9 1862. — Thomas, Thomas, M.A., Jesus College, Oxon.; Deac, 1828 ; Pr., 1829; curate of Llanfair Caereinion, 1828-31; Rhuabon, 1831-5; V. Llanbeblig with Carnarvon, 1835-59 ; V. Rhuabon, 1859-62; Rural Dean of Wrexham ; Canon Residentiary of Bangor Cathedral, 1864. Author, Visitation Sermon, 1842. 1 Probably appointed by the Dean and Chapter on the death of him, who had been superseded by Bolton. 2 Prebendary of Llanfair, in Bangor Cathedral, 1541, and rector of Llan- drynog. 3 Prebendary of Llanfair, in Bangor Cathedral. By his will, in 1571, he left a rent-charge of <£40 per ann.on his estate near Llanrwst, to found three fellowships and six scholarships in St. John's College, Cambridge, with pre- ference to natives of Llanfair and Llanrhaiadr ; and next, to those of Nant- conway and Maenan. He was of the Gwydir family. 4 Alias Johns, (resideth) and "kepith house." (Bishop Meyrick's Return.) 5 Fellow of Jesus College, Oxford; R. Llanfair, near Harlech, 1581; Pre- bendary of Winchester, 1596 ; Principal of Hart Hall, Oxford, 1604 ; Pre- bendary of Westminster, 1623. 6 Canon of Bangor, 1617; R. Llanbeulan; Prebendary of Llanfair, 1626. 7 Oriel College, Oxford; R. Llandyrnog ; Prebendary of Llanfair, 1683. 8 Archdeacon of Merioneth; R. Dolgelley, 1723; R. Llanbedr, D. C, 1729. 9 Archdeacon of Merioneth, 1785. 10 V. Dwygyfylchi, 1811 ; R. Denbigh, 1818; V. Nantglyn, 1823-6 ; R. Llan- degf'an with Beaumaris, 1826; Canon of Bangor. 11 Warden of Ruthin and R. Llanfwrog, 1804-51 ; Canon of Bangor, 1821 ; Archdeacon of Merioneth, 1834. 12 Second Master of Ruthin School; R. Llangynhafal, 1831-57; Hon. Canon of Bangor. THE DEANERY OF DYFEUYN GLWYD. 433 PRION. Formed out of the mother parish of Llanrhaiadr, this ecclesiastical district comprises the townships of Prion and Trefydd -by chain, with portions of those of Llewesog, Segroit ucha, Segroit isa, and Cader, being the upper and mountainous parts of the parish ; and has a popu- lation of 479. It is endowed with £150 per ami. out of the vicarial tithes, but has neither house nor glebe. Patron, the Bishop of the diocese. The church (St. James) consists of chancel and nave, with vestry on the north and porch on the south side, and is built in the Early English style of the thirteenth century. The east window a triple lancet ; those of the south side being double, and foliated. Seats for two hundred and fifty. Cost £850. Increased by the churchyard- wall, gates, bell, law, and other expenses, to a total of £1,230.1 The site was given by J. Parry Jones, Esq. Architect, R. Lloyd Williams. It Mas consecrated on the 25th August, 1859, by the Bishop of Ban- gor (Campbell), who on that occasion preached his first Welsh sermon in the diocese. The National School was built in 1864. INCUMBENTS. 1859. — Hughes, Richard Owen, rector of Llysfaen, 1868. 1 868. — Williams, Lew-is, St. Bees; Deacon, 1862; Priest, 1863 ; curate of Llangadfan, 1862 ; Llanrhaiadr, 1863 ; R. Llanfrothen, dioc. Bangor, 1866. LLANYCHAN. This very small parish contains only 567 acres, rated at £1,369, and a population of 114. No notice of it as a distinct parish occurs in the Taxatio of 1291; but in the Valor Eccles. of 1535 wTe read that "Rectoria de Llan Hichen valet clare £7 : 17:6; decima, 15s. 9c7." Its present value, according to the Commutation, is £196 10a. There is also a house built by Rector Pierce, and seven acres of glebe. The 1 The chief contributors were the late Bishop of Bangor (Bethel), .£200; Incorporated C. B. S., £125 ; Bangor C. B. S., £100 ; Archdeacon Newcome ; J. Price, Esq., Llanrhaiadr; Bertie Mostyn, Esq., Segroit ; Townshend Main- waring, Esq. ; Sir W. W. Wynn, Bart , M.P. ; Mrs. Mostyn ; Be v. K. Myd- delton ; the Misses Howard; J. LI. Wynne, Esq, Coed Coch; H. R. Hughes ofKinniel; Lord New borough ; Lord Bagot; J. H. Ainsworth, Esq. ; Bishop Short; Mrs. C. Barrett; and Thos. Hughes, Esq., Ystrad. 434 THE DEANERY OF DYFFRYX CLWYD. living is a rectory, in the patronage of the Bishop of St. Asaph, to whom it has recently been transferred from the Bishop of Bangor.1 The church, founded apparently in the fifth century by Hychan, one of the holy family of Brychan Brycheiniog, whose festival was August 8th, is, like the parish, very small (42 feet by 18 feet), and distinguished only by a step into chancel and nave ; though portions of the elegant screen which once marked the division, have been pre- served in the reredos2 and on the panels of the pulpit and the desk. The windows of the south side are square-headed with trefoiled lights. The date, " R. T., 1626," on the same side, indicates some repairs done at that time. The organ was brought here from Llanbedr church. The new National School was erected chiefly at the expense of John Tabor, Esq., of Claremont, and is intended to supply the wants of the three parishes of Llanychan, Llangynhafal, and Llanynys. The only charity now belonging to the parish is a rent-charge of 20s. per ann. on Cefniwrch, in Tre 'r Pare, Gyffylliog, left by Sidney Jones in 1746. The three following have been lost, viz., £120 left by the Rev. Maurice Jones, rector in 1 735, — the interest to be applied to apprenticing poor children, or relief of clergy widows ; £10 left by the Rev. William Lloyd in 1757; and £5 by Mrs. Austin, date un- known. RECTORS. 1675. — Jones, Richard3 1690.— Jones, Maurice, B.D.4 1725. — Edwards, Richard, M.A.5 1730.— Lloyd, Edward, A.M.6 Lloyd, William 1758. — Richards, David, A.B. 1767.— Ffoulkes, David, A.B. 1778. — Lloyd, David, B.A. 1785. — Pierce, John7 1789.— Sutton, William, B.A.8 1794.— Jones, Richard, B.A.9 1806.— Jones, Richard, B.A. 1814.— Jones, John, M.A.10 1831.— Davies, John, B.A.11 1844. — Williams, William, B.A.12 1869. — Jones, Henry, M.A., Jesus College, Oxford; Deacon, 1854; Priest, 1857; curate of Llandderfel, 1854-8; Llanyblodwel, 1858. 1 The manor of Rbos, in this parish, belongs to the see of Bangor, the steward of which used to hold a court-leet and baron at Easter. 2 This was inserted in 1846. 3 Chancellor of Bangor. Deprived as a Non-juror. 4 R. Cerrigydrudion, 1697; Canon of St. Asaph, 1702. 5 V. Llanfair, D. C, 1702; R. Llanfwrog, 1730. 6 Died same year. 7 Second Master of Ruthin School; R. Efenechtyd, 1778; V.Tosvyn, 1785. e E. Clocaenog, 1763. 9 V. Llanynys, 1806. 10 Second Master of Ruthin School; R. Llangynhafal, 1831 ; Hon. Canon of Bangor ; V. Llanrhaiadr, 1857 ; Editor of Mason's Welsh Sermons, 2 vols., Ruthin, 1830. 11 R. Derwen, 1844. 12 St. John's College, Cambridge ; chaplain to the County Gaol, and Sunday Evening Lecturer at St. Peter's, Ruthin. THE DEANERY OF DYFFRYN CLWYD. 435 LLANYNYS. u The church of the island," so called, writes Leland, " because it is set between the rivers Clwyd and Clywedog, as in an isle."1 Its six townships, of Bachymbyd and Ysgeibion in the hundred of Is-Aled and Maes-Maen-Cymro, Bryn Caredig, Trefechan and Rhydonnen in that of Ruthin, embrace a total area of 4,922 acres, of the rateable value of £7,813.2 The population is 723. The Taxatio of 1291 gives " Llanynys, £16 ; decima, £1 12s."; with- out any mention of a vicarage, which may have been called into exist- ence when the church was appropriated, together with that of Llan- fair, to the improvement of the services and the repairs of the fabric of the Cathedral of Baugor in 1387.* The burning of the Cathedral by Glyndwr and his adherents in 1402, in revenge upon Bishop Yonge, who was a partisan of the English, and its lying in ruins till the choir was rebuilt about the year 1500, supply a reason why the appropria- tion does not appear to have taken effect : so far, at least, as concerns this case ; no notice being taken of it in the Valor of 1535, which returns the " rectoria at £26 : 13 : 4, dec. £2:13: 4"; and the "vicaria at £8 : 13 : 4, dec. 17s. 4c/." From Bishop Mey rick's Return to Arch- bishop Parker in 1561 there appears to have been a dispute as to the sinecure rectory, for which there were two claimants, " Thomas Mylle, pretensid parson of Llanynys, stuard of household to the Right Honor- able therle of Arundel, not resident"; and "also Mr. John Oxenburge, M'r of Arts, instituted and inducted pretensid parson of the said par- sonage of Llanynys, student in Oxon.; the said benefice being liti- gious."4 Whatever the occasion of this dispute, the advowson, as stated in the above grant of Richard II, belonged to the Bishop (" de patronatu Episcop€\ and so continued until the Mortuary Act,5 passed in 1712, abrogating the payment of mortuaries in the four Welsh dioceses, enacted that in the diocese of Bangor, the first rectory " sine cura," in the collation of the Bishop of the diocese, should be annexed to the bishopric in recompense thereof ; and so this sinecure, being the first to fall vacant, became permanently annexed to the see in lieu of mortuaries, — like that of Northop in St. Asaph. The exchange must have been satisfactory alike to the families of the clergy, who were relieved thereby of a burdensome tax ; and to the Bishop, who obtained in lieu thereof tithes commuted at £667 : 3 : 4; those of the vicar being £348 : 11 : 8, and the parish clerk £12. The same Act embraced the daughter parish of Gyffylliog (q. v.) The vicar has a 1 Itinerary, v, 7. 2 This is exclusive of Cyffylliog. 3 Pat. 10, Ric. II, p. 1, m. 43, "pro eccl. de Llanynys et Llanvayre appro- priandis pro sustentatione et reparatione ecclesie cathedralis." (B. "Willis' Bangor, App. xix, p. 222.) 4 B. Willis' Bangor, p. 208. 5 See supra, p. 130. 436 THE DEAXERY Oh DYFFRYN CLWYD. glebe house, erected in 1807-8, and three acres of land, including the site of the house and the churchyard. The church, which is said to have been founded by St. Mor,1 and dedicated subsequently to St. Saeran, who was buried here, is large and interesting. It consists of two equal aisles of eight bays, with south porch, and western gable for two bells. The roof, which is Per- pendicular, was once handsome, and still shews its moulded beams and rafters, as well as the wall-pieces of the north or chancel-aisle. The angel -corbels, however, have gone, and it has had to be tied together by some plain beams across both aisles. The original arches and pillars have disappeared, and square casemented beams have been made to supply their place. A portion of the west end was boarded off in some alterations made about four years ago. Some of the pews shew specimens of quaint carving, — e. g., one under the north window, dated 1570; and another inscribed "John Richards, vicarius Llan- ynys, Mar. 26, 1613." A shield on the Communion Table is dated 1637. The east window of the chancel-aisle is a good Perpendicular of five lights ; that of the south aisle, recently restored, has three lights, and is filled with painted glass,2 the subject being Christ bless- ing little children. There are mural tablets to the families of Cerrig- llwydion, the Lloyds of Berth, and others ; and several remains of earlier Christian art. Some beautiful screen-work of Perpendicular or transitional Decorated has been laid on the porch door, and on the label above an inscription which seems to indicate the date 1540. The mutilated effigy of an ecclesiastic, sadly defaced, lies at the west end of the church ; and an incised slab bearing a lion rampant and a rose on the shield, with the inscription, " Hie jacet ... ap Madoc"... forms the side of the south chancel or priest's door. On the church- yard wall are preserved a curious hexagonal slab, which is carved with a representation of the Crucifixion on one side, and on the other a bishop with a crozier in his left hand, in the act of blessing;3 and also another slab with three figures much defaced, such as might once have formed a mural tablet, or the side of an altar-tomb. " The Poore Man's Booke, an Account of the Poore Man's Box in the Church of Llanynys, 1662," is interesting as shewing the amount and disposition of the offerings for the support of the poor in days long antecedent to the present Poor Law system. The charities at the present time consist of 1 The founder of Llanfor, near Bala; though possibly in both cases the connexion may have been other than ecclesiastical, as between Ynys and Mor, Mor and Llyn ( Tegid). 3 Erected by Mrs. Williams-Edwards of Cerrig llwydion, 1855. 3 The stone as well as the mutilated effigy have probably an intimate con- nexion with an old house in the parish called " Plas yr Esgob" (the bishop's palace), the granary of which was formerly covered with inscriptions, "Gloria Deo," "Gloria in excelsis Domino," " Laus Deo," and had most likely been at one time the domestic chapel. THE DEANERY OF DYFFKYN CLWYD. 437 Interest of =£20 charged by Edward ap Thomas, of Maes-maen- Cyrnro, on Gwerglodd Newydd and Hirddol in Bachymbyd. Ditto of £20 1 charged upon Plas-y-ward Farm. Ditto, £5 by Edward Jones of Oerrig llwydion in 1734. 5s. rent-charge on cottage and quillets in Trefechan, by — -Williams. Mrs. Frances Lloyd in 1754 left a sum of money, variously stated to have been XI 00, £70, and £60, for white bread to the poor of Llanynys and Gyffylliog ; and a further sum of £30 for a school near Rhydycilgwyn. Besides this school, which is a small one, that at Llanychan supplies a considerable portion of this and Llangyhafal as well as its own parish. Lost Charities. — £20 left by John Davies, and £10 by Thomas Lloyd, through the insolvency, in 1810, of the person to whom they had been lent ; £50 by some unknown benefactor ; and Abel Mitch- ell's Charity, for which see Henllan. SINECURE RECTORS. 1561. — Mylle, Thomas 1697. — Balderston, John, D.D. „ Oxenburge, John „ Bishops of Bangor in lieu 1640. — Lloyd, Simon, A.M.2 of mortuaries. 1684.— Eaohard, John, D.D. VICARS. 1561. — Edwards, John 1739. — Parry, Thomas, A.B. 1613. — Kichards, John 1747. — Rutter, Thomas, A.M. 1637.— Spark, Robert 1759.— Sutton, William5 1640. — Lloyd, Simon, A.M. 1763. — Roberts, Thomas, A.M. 1674. — Lloyd, Richard 1806. — Jones, Richard, M.A.6 1676. — Kingston, Francis 1825. — Roberts, Ellis, A.M.? 1683.— Lloyd, John, A.M.3 1844.— Owen, Henry, A.M.8 1718.— Maurice, Peter, A.M.4 1850. — Griffith, John, M.A., Jesus College, Oxford ; Deacon, 1829 ; Priest, 1831; curate of Llangelynin, 1829; Llanerchymedd, 1832-50; Rural Dean, 1862-70; contributor to Welsh periodicals. 1 Made up of ,£17 by Mr. Matthew Jones (1703), and £3 by Mrs. Anne Price. 2 Eector and vicar. Deprived during the Commonwealth j but reinstated at the Eestoration. Archdeacon of Merioneth, 1672 j Preb. of Llanfair in Bangor Cathedral, 1673. Buried here. The inscription on his monument given in B. Willis, p. 145. 3 V. Estyn or Hope, 1680 ; Warden of Ruthin, 1682. 4 Fellow of Jesus College, Oxford ; " Ecclesia? Cheltenham nuper pastor"; Treasurer of the Cathedral of Bangor, 1720; Chancellor, 1747; Prebendary of Penmynydd, 1750. 5 R. Clocaenog, 1763. 6 R Llanychan, 1794. 7 A.M., Jesus Coll., Oxf. 8 Jesus College, Cambridge; R. Llangefni, 1850; Rural Dean; Proctor in Convocation for the diocese of Bangor; author of sermons on"Adenedigaeth ym Medydd." 3 L 438 THE DEANERY OF DYFFRYN CLWYI). GYFFYLLIOG.1 This parish contains four townships, Tre Pare, Trefor, Treganol, and Ffriddoedd; with an area of 5,779 acres, rated at £2,338 10s. The population, 567. Ecclesiastically it has been annexed, from time immemorial, to Llan- ynys, and is probably but an early ecclesiastical district formed out of that parish, and attached to this church as a chapel of ease, six miles distant from the mother church. No notice of it occurs either in the Taxatio of Pope Nicholas, or in the Valor Eccles. of Henry VIII. The tithes, like those of the mother church, are divided into three parts; two of which belong to the rector, the Bishop of Bangor ; and the other to the vicar of Llanynys, who has to provide the stipend of the curate. The Commutation fixed those of the former at £203, and those of the latter at £116, besides £5 to the parish clerk. There is no glebe house or land. The church, St. Mary's, is very small, 58 feet by 21 feet, belongs to the fifteenth century, and consists of a single body. The walls are built of large shingles taken from the bed of the river ; and at the west end, inside, there is a heavy timber framing which formerly car- ried a w^ooden belfry f but this has long since been destroyed, and a rude stone turret substituted in the seventeenth century. The mof and porch are similar to those of the old church at Llanbedr, and dif- fer from the usual local type as seen at Llanfair, Llanrhaiadr, etc. Remains exist of a fine rood-loft : half of the lower portion in its ori- ginal position, but the loft itself converted into a west gallery. A Jacobean chest contains some interesting parochial records, one of which runs as follows: "Saturday, Sept. 27th, 1645, bee it remem- bered that King Charles was, this day and year above w ritten, making his rendezvous in the parish of Gyffylliog, in a place there called Cefn- feusydd. The siege began at Ptuthyn the 25th of January, 1646; the ditto at Denbigh, April 17th, 1646." The pulpit and reading desk, "an enormous pile of bare deal," were removed in 1856, and new ones, more appropriate, substituted for them. The chancel was at the same time raised and reflagged. It is now in contemplation to restore and refurnish the church throughout, including a thorough repair of the fabric, the introduction of a two-light window in the north wall, and the addition of a north vestry. A new stone turret is to replace the present one ; and the beautiful carved tracery of the old rood-screen wrill be worked into the new chancel-seats, which are designed after 1 Variously derived (1) from cyff, a stem, and ffylliau-g, gloomy or shady; i. e., the shady trunks; — (2), "ita dicta," according to Browne Willis {Ban- gor, 278), "quod ibi in trunco querno inventa fait imago Beata? Virginis"; — (3), from cyd and bylchau, the passes or defiles that meet here. 2 Such as may often be met with in Montgomeryshire. THE DEANERY OF DYFFRYX OLWYD. 439 some ancient ones in the mother church. The work is entrusted to Mr. Arthur Baker.1 The School was erected in 1856, at a cost of £400, and is entirely supported by voluntary contributions. CURATES IS CHARGE. 1811.— Joxes, David 1848.— Johnson, William, B.A* 1821.— Roberts, R. LL A., 1£AJ 18-32.— Davies, John, M.A.5 1830.— Owen, Edwd. John, B.A.3 18G4.— Owen, David 1870. — Roberts, Herbert, B.A., Jesus College, Oxford, Scholar; Second Master of Tavistock School, 1862-7; Deac.,1867; Priest,1868; curate of Llandinam, 1867. LLAXRHUDD.^ Many circumstances combine to shew that this was the mother church of Ruthin, but that it was early eclipsed by the growing importance of its daughter capella. The relative importance of the two is fairly indicated in the Ta.mtio of 1291, which, however, makes no mention of any connexion between them. " Llanrud" is simply taxed at £5, "decima, 10s.," whilst a rich collegiate corporation already existed at Ruthin. When John de Grey, in 1310, refounded the latter, not only, it would seem, somewhat modifying its constitution, but also increas- ing its endowment by a large grant of lauds, and by the tithes of Llanrhudd, he had first to obtain the consent of Sir Hugh, rector of this parish, who appears thenceforth to have become the head of both foundations, and to have taken his title from the more important one. Hence the Valor Eccles. of Henry VIII evidently includes Llan- rhudd under Ruthin : " Ecclesia collegiata de Ruthyne cum rectoria ibidem, valet in spiritualibus £16:13: 4." At the Reformation the collegiate church was dissolved, and its property passed into lay 1 Mr. Baker remarks, in connexion with this church, "The specimens of Jacobean church-fittings in the churches of this diocese are peculiarly inte- resting on account of the beauty of the design and workmanship. Those I have found have been in the churches of Rhug,Gwyddelv,-ern, Denbigh (altar table), Llanfair, Llanelidan (Transitional from Perpendicular), and Llan- ynys." It is much to be desired that in any restorations these features should be carefully preserved, not only as interesting historic memorials of the work then done, but also as valuable specimens of the art and workman- ship of that period. 1 R. Llangwyfan, 1830; R. Llangynhafal, 1857. 3 Y. Llanfair, D. C, 1S48. 4 T. C. D. ; Second Master of Ruthin School, 1846; Y. Llanbadrig, 1852; R. Llaniestyn, 1868; Examining Chaplain to the Bishop of Bangor. 5 R. Llanddulas, 1865. 6 The "church of red sandstone," cf. Rlnuld-ddin of Ruthin. 440 THE DEANERY OF DYFFRYN CLWYD. hands; but when Dean Goodman, in 1590, established Christ's Hos- pital on the lines of the old foundation, he redeemed the impropriated tithes for its endowment ; and to it they have belonged ever since. Their joint value (Ruthin and Llanrhudd) has been commuted at £-162 Is. The extent of this parish is 1,316 acres; rated at £3,747; and its townships, two in number, Llanrhudd-uchaf and Llanrhudd- isaf; the former of which is comprised within the limits of the borough of Ruthin. Population, 965. The cure is attached to the wardenship of Ruthin. The church,1 which bears the name of Meugan, a saint of the sixth century, consists of a single body, divided by a screen into chancel and nave. The chancel has a well carved altar-table, reredos, credence, and sedilia, and is floored with encaustic tiles. The seats are open, and accommodate two hundred and eighty-four, being a gain of ninety- eight on the previous pews. The windows, which have been renewed, are in their general character Perpendicular, and contain some memorial glass. The east window, of two lights, has medallions illustrative of Christ blessing little children, and the Last Supper. Another of three lights, on the north side, represents the Transfigura- tion, and is a memorial to Thomas Downward of Bathafarn Park, ob. 1859. Among the monuments, the most notable is one to John Thel- wall of Bathafarn (ob. 1586) and Jane his wife (ob. 1585), who are represented in a kneeling posture, with their ten sons and four daughters behind them. A bust of Ambrose, the ninth son, who was steward to Lord Chancellor Verulam, and Yeoman of the Robe to James I and Charles Prince of Wales (ob. 1653), occupies a niche close by. There are also many others to the members of the same family, as also to Roberts of Llanrhydd House, Price of Rhiwlas, Jones of Gelligynan, Jones of Woodland and Cae 'r groes, John Williams, M.P. for Macclesfield, a native of Ruthin, ob. 1855, etc. The roof of the church is of open timber, that of the chancel being more orna- mented than the nave, and that of the porch very good. The Free Church, erected in Rhos Street about the year 1848, has just been purchased (1871) for ,£600, and Church of England services are now held in it. Boys of this parish are admissible to the benefits of the Grammar School and the National School at Ruthin. The sum of .£82 : 14 : 3, Consolidated Charities,2 formerly on mort- gage on the Mold and Ruthin Turnpike Trust, is now in the North and South Wales Bank at Ruthin, pending a settlement of its application. Lost.— A sum of two shillings per ann., left by Robert ap Edward, tanner, for the repair of the church; and eight shillings a year left by Edward Griffith of Bwlch y Pare, in 1696, and paid out of that estate (now a part of the Llanbedr Hall estate) until about the year 1800. 1 It wa3 caref ully restored in 1852, from the plans of Mr. Kennedy. Re- pairs of an earlier period are indicated by the date 1626 on a north window. 2 The benefaction-table in the church gives the sum of £11 1 10s. THE DEANERY OF DYFFKYN CLWYD. 441 RUTHIN.1 The " Capella St. Petri" erected here for the ease of those parishioners who gathered for protection and for commerce round the fortified Avails of "Castell-C6ch-yn-Gwernfor,"2 soon outstripped, in the number of its members and the extent of its wealth, the little mother church of St. Meugan's at Llanrhudd ; just as was the case, under much the same circumstances, at Denbigh, Oswestry, Beaumaris, and elsewhere. In the year 1291, as appears from the Taxatio of Pope Nicholas, there was already a large and flourishing collegiate establishment here, with its dean and numerous canons, as well as a resident ecclesiastical officer described as "the Official of Dyffryn Clwyd." Under two dif- ferent archdeaconries, as already stated, and for reasons there sug- gested, we read, "Archidiaconaf de Meryonyd — Taxatio. Decima. Benefic' offic' ... £b 6 8 .. £0 10 8 Beneficiu' decani - 6 13 4 .. 0 13 4 Eccl'ia S'ci Petri - 5 6 8 .. 0 10 8 1 "In Archidiaconaf de Bangore et Decan' de Dyffr yncloit : Canonia Decani - 12 0 0 . .. 1 4 0 „ Archid' Bang' - 12 13 4 . .. 1 5 4 ,, Loryngh' - 6 13 4 . .. 0 13 4 „ Henri Le Mestre - 5 6 8 . .. 0 10 8 „ nuper Joh'is ap Gruffuth - 5 6 8 . .. 0 10 8 Ith' ap Robt' - 8 0 0 .. 0 14 0 „ Ieu'n ap D'd - 6 13 4 .. 0 13 4 When, therefore, in 1310, John, son of Reginald de Grey, Lord of Ruthin, in the charter of his new foundation "declared that his town of Ruthin having become populous, he had thought fit to assign for divine worship the place and ground where the chapel had before been built, and to make the same a collegiate church, which should also be parochial, in which there should be seven priests to attend the divine praises, and to live in community on its revenues, under the direction of one to be presented by the patron, and approved by the diocesan, and the rector of Llanrhydd to find a priest to say mass daily in the chapel of the Castle of Ruthin,"3 we may recognise, among the chief 1 Rhudd-din means " the red fortress," as Llan-rhudd means "the red church"; both probably so called from the local sandstone of which they were built. 2 Castell Coch yn Gwernfor, "the red castle in the great marsh," is the older name for the place. Gwern-fechan, " the little marsh," still denotes an out- skirt of the town. 3 Goodman Memoirs, p. 49. 442 THE DEANERY OF DYFFRYN CLAY YD. features introduced, the conversion of the subject capella into the paro- chial church, the transfer of the tithes to it as the new head of the parish, and the bestowal of the patronage upon the new founder, in return, it may be supposed, for the large gifts with which he enriched it, — gifts which included not only the tithes of Llanrhudd, but also two hundred and five acres of land in his vills of Rosmerganx and Rue; to which others, distinguished by the names of the tenants, were afterwards added, most probably in 1315. In order to carry out the above changes, John de Grey, according to Dugdale, first obtained the consent of Sir Hugh, the rector of Llan- rhudd, and we may therefore conclude that either he or his successor became the first head of the new foundation. Mr. Newcome, in his interesting Memoirs of the Goodman Family, has, in his extract from the Taxatio, an entry which I can nowhere find in the original, and one into which I suspect he himself was mis- led by reading Ruthin for Prestholm. His entry is, " Pro vent us Prioris de Ruthin 30 marks";2 a value which induces him to dilate on its importance. It is true there had been a priory here of the order of White Friars, and the name is still handed down in Prior Street and in an adjoining spot once called " the Prior's Fishponds," but little now is known of them. AYe shall not, however, be far wrong if we conclude that they came here, about this time, with the Greys, by whom they had first been introduced into England about 1250 ; and it is probable that they were connected very closely with, if not actu- ally incorporated in, the new foundation of John de Grey, which appears henceforth to have been called indiscriminately the College, Collegiate or Parochial Church of Ruthin ; and the head thereof, Pro- vost, Rector, or Warden.3 Leland's assertion that there had been here a "celle of Bonhommes, which was afterwards translated into the parish church,"4 can hardly be correct, as this order was not intro- duced into England until 1283, and no notice of its existence occurs in De Grey's charter ; but as it does imply the incorporation of some religious order, it rather confirms the suggestion made above. The name may have been deduced from a play upon the name of "Good- man" (bon homme), the restorer of the old foundation on a new basis. The Valor Eccles. gives the following account of the " Eccl'ia Colle- giat' de Ruthyn cu' Rector' ib'm" in 1535. "Valet in temporalibits, viz., in £ s. d. £ s. d. " Reddit' et firm' p' annu' infra d'n'm de Ruthyn - 23 2 0 Terr' d'nical' ib'm p' annu' - - - 6 33 4 P'quis' cur' ib'm co'ibus annis - - 0 6 8 Denar' anti' exa' scc'am de Ruthyn recept' p' sti- pend' presbiteri ad p'lit' removabil' ut dicit'r - 3 6 8 33 8 8 1 Qu., Rhos Meugan (the founder of the mother church), that portion of the town known as Rhos Street ? 2 Goodman Memoirs, p. 39. 3 Ibid., p. 41. 4 Itinerary, iii, 97. THE DEANEKY OF DYFFKYN CLWYD. 443 "Sp'ualib\ viz., in Deciuiis granor' et feni co'ib' annis - Decern' lan' agnelT et lactual'et aliis minutis decimis Decini' molendin' ib'm - Oblacion' ib'm co'ib' annu' .... $ s. d. £ s. d. - 10 o-o 2 6 8 1 0 0 6 6 8 16 13 4 .£50 2 0 "Repris* viz., Reddit' resolut' capital' d'nis feod' p' annu' - Feod' „ ballivi ib'm p' ann' - 2 0 0 0 10 0 £2 10 0 Et valet clare co'ib' annis .£47 12s., viz. in Temp'alib' - Sp'ualib' ..... X'ma inde £4 : 15 : 2£." - 30 18 8 - 16 13 4 From this we gather some interesting particulars not only as to the sources of income and their respective values, but also as to some important incidentals: e.g., we learn (1) that there was a special church court (curia) for this deanery; (2), that there was a certain annual payment from the town exchequer to support a priest, who, however, was removable at will ; and (3), that the old mill in Clwyd Street bore a cross on its eastern gable, not to imply that it had been a chapel connected either with the garrison or with one of the reli- gious orders alluded to above, as some have imagined, but to indicate its connexion with the Collegiate Church. After the Dissolution the lands (temporalia) belonging to this found- ation were granted (4 Edward VI, a. d. 1551) to William Winlove and Richd. Fyld; and pensions were granted to the members of the College, four of whom were in receipt of them in 1553. 1 A portion of the alienated property, consisting of the site, precincts, and appurtenances of the late College or Collegiate Church of St. Peter, the rectory and chapel of Ruthin and Llanrhudd, with their glebe lands and tithes, was afterwards bought back by Gabriel Goodman, D.D., Dean of ^Yest- minster, a native of this town ; who having, in 1590, obtained letters patent from Queen Elizabeth enabling him to found a hospital for the maintenance of one preacher and twelve poor persons, with power to hold and purchase lands to the extent of £100 a year, and to incor- porate the same under the title of " The President and Warden of Christ's Hospital in Ruthin," — the former of whom was to be the dio- cesan, the Bishop of Bangor and his successors ; and the latter a minister or priest, and a preacher, and at least a Master of Arts, to be appointed, after his own and his nephew's death, by the Dean and Chapter of Westminster, and in their default by the Dean and Chapter of Bangor, — transferred to them thus incorporated, as an endowment for the said Hospital, the property he had so redeemed. That por- 1 Tanner's Notitia, 708. 444 THE DEANERY OF DYFFEYN CLWYD. tion of it which is included in the commuted tithes of Ruthin and Llanrhudd is valued at £462 Is. The proportion which in 1837 fell to the Warden, after the deduction of payments, was only £72 : 19 : 4; but by a new scheme of the Charity Commissioners, dated 1862, the Warden's income, derived from this and the other sources of the Hospital endowment, has been fixed at £300,1 with a house of resid- ence called " the Cloisters,"2 formerly the dwelling of the collegiate clergy. The church, St. Peter's,3 was built originally, as we have seen, and as some of its features testify, about the year 1300, and consisted of a chancel, which formed the collegiate portion ; and a nave, which formed the parochial ; with a tower at their intersection. Church- yard (1520-1604) thus describes it in his Worthines of Wales, — "A church there is in Wrythen at this day, "Wherein Lord Grey that once was Earle of Kent In tombe of stone amid the chauncel lay ; But once removed, as worldly matters went, And in a wall so layd as now he lies, Eight hand of queere, full plaine before your eyes. An ankres,4 too, that neere that wall did dwell, With trim wrought worke in wall is buried well." Symonds,5 again, in giving a description of its heraldic details in 104->, enumerates these features : " East window, chancel, old. A shield" (blank). "Under an arch, south wall of the belfray, betweene church and chancel, the statue. Lowest north window, chancel, old. West window, church, old and faire. South window over the doore. Monu- ments of Parry and of Jones." From which we gather that the church still stood in its early form. Soon after this, however, owing probably to injuries received during the Rebellion, the chancel appears to have fallen into ruins, and to have been taken down, aud the materials used in the construction of the old Town Hall, which was erected in 1663, and pulled down in 1863, on which occasion many portions of the old church and its carved work were discovered worked up in its walls and foundations. As this plan does not seem to have had the effect of stopping the progress of decay, we find that in 1714- 1715 a brief was issued to collect contributions for its restoration, the damage being estimated at <£3,128 and upwards.6 How much 1 If there be a sufficient surplus in the funds, this may rise to a sum not exceeding £'400. - Archdeacon Newcome laid out about £1,500 on its improvement, 1804; and another £400 in 1830-3G. 3 In Llanrhudd there was a well, formerly in high repute for its medicinal efficacy, dedicated to the same apostle. 4 For further instances of female recluses, see under Efenechtyd, p. 409. 5 Diary of Richard Symonds, Camden Soc, 1859, p. 256. K Clocaenog Register, sub ann. 1715. THE DEANERY OF DYFFRYN CLWYD. 445 was thus obtained, and what was done with it, is not clear ; but it is probable that it was now the upper part of the tower was rebuilt, the south aisle added, and the chancel transferred to it. About the same time, "the west end being ruined, was rebuilt at the expense of Sir William Williams, Bart.; and Watkin Williams-Wynne, Esq., his son and heir by Dame Jane his wife, daughter and heiress of Edward Thelwall of Plasyward, Esquire, mdcoxxii."1 In 1810 the nave and north aisle were raised to the level of the chancel. The following year an organ was presented to the church by Fred. West, Esq. Builders, Flight and Robson. Cost, £300. In 1812 the parishioners agreed to relinquish the old singing-gallery at the east end of the north aisle, now become useless to the singers in consequence of the erection of the organ-loft (which was at the west end of the south aisle) for the accommodation of the boarders of the school, the Head Master incurring half the expense of erecting the west gallery in the north aisle in consideration thereof." In 1823 the north gallery was added ; in 1824 the vestry built, at the expense of the warden, at the east end of the north aisle ; and in 1830 six new bells were bought by subscription, in lieu of the five previous ones, one of which was given to Llanfwrog Church. On All Saints' Day, 1859, the church was reopened after an exten- sive restoration, effected at a cost of about £3,000, under the super- intendence of Mr. R. Kyrke Penson. Externally, the upper part of the tower was taken down, and a broach-spire imposed, rising to a height of 180 feet from the ground ; high pitched roofs substituted for the flat leads and parapets; Decorated windows2 inserted throughout, instead of the plain Italian ones ; the chancel window opened ; the vestry taken down, and a south porch erected. Internally, the gal- leries which ran round the whole of the north aisle and the west end of the south one were taken down ; the pews replaced with open seats ;3 the chancel furnished with sedilia, and suitably arranged; the easternmost bay of the north aisle screened off for the organ and choir ; and the base of the towTer converted into a vestry ; and a new font, Perpendicular, with foliated panels, added in lieu of the older one, which is buried in a vault beneath it. The most handsome feature in the church is the elaborate Perpendicular roof of the north aisle, which is divided into panels, and ornamented with nearly five hundred different devices, legends,4 heraldic emblems, etc. It is said to have been constructed by Henry VII after his purchase of the 1 Tablet on exterior of west wall. 2 The masonry of those on the south side was the gift of Mr. F. R. West, M.P. The glass (by Powell) subscribed for. 3 There was one exception, a pew within the altar-rails belonging to Cer- rigllwydion, which became the subject of a vexatious and expensive lawsuit. It was not removed till 1867 ! 4 Among the legends are, " Jesu, mercy"; "Mater Maria, ora pro nobis" " Lady, help," etc. 3 M 446 THE DEANERY OF DYFFRYX CLWYD. lordship from the Earl of Kent. The earliest architectural details appear to be the lantern -arches of the tower; the two principal ones, east and west, springing from clustered shafts with foliated capitals ; those of the north and south were blank, and only added for struc- tural effect ; an early piscina on the nave side of the western arch, indicative of a former altar j and a handsomely carved bench in the north aisle. Of the monuments, the first place must be given, " honoris gratia," to the generous benefactor of this his native town, Dr. Gabriel Good- man, Dean of Westminster, whose bust has this inscription beneath it : " Memoriae Gabrielis Goodman, Sacr. Theol. Doct. et dignissimi Westmouast. Eccles. Decani, qui in hoc oppido solo natali Hospitale pauperibus sublevandis Scholamque pueris instituendis pie fundavit. Obiit in Christo xvii Junii mdci." Two portrait-brasses on the north wall depict respectively, (1), his father, Edward Goodman, ob. 1560; and (2), his father and mother with their five sons and three daughters. Monumental tablets commemorate — Thelwall of Plasyward, 1586 ; Dr. Williams, Warden, 1621; Gabriel Goodman, Counsellor at Law, 1673; Roger Mostyn, 1712 ; Ellis Roberts, M.A., vicar of Llanynys, 1844 ; and Joseph Ablett, 1848. And there are handsome inlaid crosses to the memory of Mary Walker, 1854; and of Archdeacon Newcome, Warden of Ruthin for forty-seven years. Of painted glass there are — the chancel-window of four lights, representing twelve inci- dents in the life of our Lord, with the Ascension in the head -tracery, the gift of Mr. Jesse of Llandedr Hall, and the work of Wailes of Newcastle ; a two-light window on the north side, by Powell, memo- rial to Thomas Maurice, ob. 1838, representing the typical baptism of the Old Testament and the preparatory baptism of St. John ; and one of the west windows, put up this year, to the memory of John Spier Hughes, who died in 1868, — subjects, the Crucifixion in the centre, and the Virgin and St. Peter in the side-lights : the glass by Ward and Hughes. A Sunday evening lecture was founded here by Mr. Simon Thelwall of Gray's Inn, who left in 1670 a rent-charge of £20 on the Llanbedr Hall estate for that object. The Free Church on the Llanbedr road, and in the parish of Llan- rhudd, as already stated, has this year been purchased for the service of the National Church. The National School, to hold seventy boys and sixty girls, was erected in Borthyn, for the joint benefit of this and Llanfwrog parishes, and in the year 1849 a new and much larger one was built in its stead. THE DEANERY OF DYFFRYX CLWYD. 447 Christ's hospital. This Hospital was founded, as we have seen, in 1590, by Dr. Gabriel Goodman, Dean of Westminster, for a warden, ten brethren, and two sisters ; for whose governance the statutes1 were drawn up by himself ; for whose residence he purchased the cloisters with their precincts, and built twelve almshouses ; and for whose endowment he redeemed the tithes of Ruthin and Llanrhudd. This was increased (1) by Sir Robert Salusbury of Bachymbyd, who gave, in 1599, lauds in Rhyd- onen township (7 a. 1 r. 33 p.), and a rent-charge of £2 on Ddol Rhyd- onen ; (2), by Rice Williams of Eyarth, the founder of Jesus Chapel, who in 1629 gave a rent-charge of £4 on his Eyarth property ; (3), by Peter Davies, who in 16-30 gave the Talysarn tenement ; (4), by Dr. Hugh Pugh, Warden, who gave a third part of the rental of Hir- ivin in Llanbedr (the other two -thirds to be divided between Llanbedr and Llanfwrog) ; (5), by Abel Jones, who left £50 in 1736 ; (6), Mrs. Dorothy Myddelton, £10 in 1748; (7), Mrs. Grace Parry, £10 for the two almswomen ; (8), by John Madocks, Esq., of Frou Yw, who in 1795 gave £400 in the 3 per Cents., — exchanged, in 1816, for a mort- gage- paying 5 per cent, ; and (9) by £200 (minus £20 legacy duty) given by John Spier Hughes in 1830, and invested in 1831-32 in a cottage and garden near the churchyard.3 By a new scheme of the Charity Commissioners, dated 21 July, 1863, for the management of the "Hospital, Grammar School, and Exhibition Charities of Ruthin," new Governors were appointed,4 and fresh regulations drawn out ; the houses ordered to be reconstructed, which was done in 1865; the stipend of the Warden fixed ; and the payment to each of the pensioners or almspeople settled at six shillings per week, or its equivalent. Besides the Hospital there are other charities of great value belong- ing to the town, the chief of which are those of Dr. Godfrey Goodman, Bishop of Gloucester, and nephew of the Dean, who by his will, dated 17th Jan., 1655, left (1) a tenement in Yale, called " Tyddyn Good- man" (59 a. 3 r. 12 p.), increased by an allotment under the Llanar- mon Enclosure Act to 104 a. 22 p.; and now let at £48, to be " weekly given to the relief of the poor of Ruthyn"; and (2) two tenements 1 Charity Report, 1S37, p. 93. - This amounts to £639 : 19:3; interest, £31 : 19:6. 3 Of two bequests enumerated among the benefactions, £25 left by Mary Thelwall was lent on interest, and lost; and .4*90, by Mrs. Susannah Mostyn, was never paid by her representatives. 4 Six official and eight non-official. The six official are, the Lord Bishops of St. Asaph and Bangor, the Dean of St. Asaph, the Mayor of Ruthin, the "Warden, and the Head Master. 448 THE DEANERY OF DYFFKYN CLAY YD. called "Coed mawr" and " Tydn," in the parish of Llanberis, contain- ing 766 a. 2 r. lip. (then worth £40 per ann., but now £368 : 15), for the two objects of apprenticing two poor boys, and of enabling some gentleman who shall desire to travel, to spend two months in each of these countries, — Germany, Italy, France, and Spain; prefer- ence being given to his own kindred, or to such as have been brought up at Ruthin School. As it was found impracticable to maintain a traveller on the £20 per ann., it was ordered by the Court of Chancery, in 1722, that it should be paid for the maintenance of Godfrey Good- man, the heir at law of the testator, who was then an exhibitioner of Jesus College, Oxford ; and ever since that time about one half of the income continued to be paid for exhibitions from the School to the Universities. By the scheme of 1863 it is ordered that of the rental of these two estates, £30 be paid to the trustees of the town charities ; £70 for binding out apprentices, or otherwise advancing them in the world ; £60 set apart for the Exhibition endowment ; and the residue to be carried to the account of the Hospital endow- ment. The town charities already referred to embrace — £103 : 6 : 8 Consolidated Charities,1 on mortgage, Turnpike Trust. Rent-charge by Peter Moyle, 16 18, on Fforddlas in Llanbedr,£2 : 12. Rent-chage on the Llanbedr Hall estate, by Simon Thelwall, 1670, £5:4. Rental of land in Bortheyn and Llanrhudd, 3 a. 1 r. 20 p., bought in 1731 for £140, in equal moieties of money left for schooling and for distribution,2 with cottages built thereon. Lost,2, probably bv Statute of Mortmain, a rent-charge of £2:12, by Mrs. Parry, 1786. WARDENS. A. On the Old Foundation.* 1353. — Nicholas de Blechley5 1391.— Gethin,6 1512. — Greysley, John 1535. — Stryngar, John, A.M.7 1541. — Hugo ap Evan.8 1 Abel Jones and Robert Davies, 1736; David Francis, 1731 j and Sir Wil- liam Myddelton,— each £20 ; Mrs. Dorothy Myddelton, £10 ; Anon., £8:6: 8; and Mrs. Mary Wynne ( 1736), £5. 2 In 1729 the Rev. R. Wynne, £40; Mrs. Jones, £30 ; Mrs. Jane Price, £20. In 1728 Mr. John Williams and Mrs. Myddelton, each £10 ; Mr.Thos. Foulkes and Mr. Langford, £5 j Offertory, £20. 3 A bequest of £40 by Robert Myddelton, .£20 by Jane Davies, and three other small ones, appear in the accounts. 4 Memoir of Dean and Bishop Goodman, p. 41. 5 Prior de Ruthnet. Qu., Ruthin et (Llanrhudd). 6 Prior Rector. 1 Provost. * Warden. THE DEANERY OF DYFFKYN OLWYD. 449 b. On the New Foundation. 1590.— Thelwall, Eubulc, A.M. 1594. — Price, John 1599. — Griffith, Jasper3 1606.— Williams, John, D.D.3 1621.— Bayley, John, D.D.4 1642.— Lloyd, David, D.G.L.5 1663.— Lloyd, John, A.M.6 1851. — Jones, Balkeley Owen, M.A., Brasenose College, Oxford; third class in Litt. Hum.; B.A., 1846 ; Deacon, 1847; Priest, 1848; curate of Beaumaris, 1848 ; Rural Dean of Dyffryn Clwyd, 1870. 13 1668.— Pugh, Hugh, D.D.7 1682.— Lloyd, John, A.M.8 1713. — Conway, Benjamin, A.M.9 1748.— Jones, Edward, A.M.10 1784.— Parry, William, M.A.,11 1804. — Newcome, Richard, M.A.13 THE GRAMMAR SCHOOL. This School was founded by Gabriel Goodman, D.D., Dean of West- minster, the founder of Christ's Hospital also in this his native town ; the intimate friend of Dr. William Morgan, the first translator of the Bible into Welsh ;14 the patron of the learned Camden ; and himself a scholar of no mean order, the translator of the first Epistle to the 1 Brother to Edward Thelwall, the tutor of Lord Herbert of Chirbury. Buried here 1591. 2 Caplaiu to Baucroffc, Archbishop of Canterbury. 3 R. Bangor-iscoed. Appointed Warden by Bishop Goodman. 4 Son bo Lewis Bayley, Bishop of Bangor j chaplain in ordinary to King James I; Preb. Llanfair, 1617; R. Llandyrnog. 5 R. Llangynhafal and V. Llanfair, D. C. ; Dean of St. Asaph, 1660. 6 Brother of Bishop Humphrey Lloyd of Bangor ; R. Marchwiail, 1641 ; Preb. of Llanfair in St. Asaph Cathedral, 1660; S. R. Llansannan and Arch- deacon of Merioneth, 1666. 7 Archdeacon of Merioneth, 1680; R. Llanbedr and Llanfwrog, 1668. 8 V. Estyn alias Hope, 1680 ; V. Llanynys, 1683. 9 V. Northop, 1717. 10 R. Llangeinwen and Llangaffo. Mr. Jones having claimed a beneficial interest in the tithes of Llanelidan, a decree in Chancery was made Aug. 15, 1751, by which the claim was disallowed. (Appendix G.) 11 Head Master of the School, 1768 ; V. Llanfair, 1776; R. Llanfwrog, 1794; Rural Dean. 12 Nephew of Mr. Parry. R. Llanfwrog, 1804; Canon of Bangor, 1821 ; R. Clocaenog, 1829-34; Archdeacon of Merioneth, 1834; V. Llanrhaiadr, D. C, 1851. Author of An Account of the Castle and Town of Ruthin, An Account of the Castle and Town of Denbigh, and of the Memoirs of Dean and Bishop Good- man (Ruthin, 1825), to which I am indebted for much of this account. 13 Mr. Jones furnished the account of St. Peter's Church for the Handbook of the Vale of Clwyd, p. 137-41. 11 " Gabriel Goodman, Westmonasteriensia Decanus,vir re et nomine valde 450 THE DEANERY OF DYFFRYN CLWYD. Corinthians in the version known as the "Bishops' Bible." A con- temporary bard and neighbour, Simwnt Vychan of Llanelidan, has fixed the date at 1574 ;x but the grant of one of the cornportionary rectories of Llanelidan, for its endowment, was not obtained until 1595, and did not become available for some time afterwards,2 the Dean during that interval supporting the masters at his own cost. By this grant (37 Eliz.) the moiety or comportion of the rectory held by Richard Parry was vested in the President and Warden of Christ's Hospital in Ruthin, " ad usum, manntencionem et supportacionem Didascali sive Ludimagistri et Hypodidascali in Schola Grammatical!.. . juxta statuta et ordinaciones Fundatoris facta seu facienda." Of this moiety two thirds were to be paid, according to the statutes, to the master, and the other third to the usher. These statutes, drawn up by the founder, and said to bear a great similarity to those of West- minster School, are very full and minute, and are given at length in the Memoirs, under the title, " Statuta Scholae Litterarise in villa de Ruthyn, ad Dei gloriam et Ecclesise Reipublicaeque utilitatem collo- catee." They treat of the requirements and duties of the masters, the method and course of teaching, the rules of discipline and good order, the election, stipend, absence, and dismissal of the masters, the pay- ments to be made by the scholars, and the prayers to be used in the School. It may be interesting to quote a few of these, as showing the founder's intention : "De qualitate Didascali et Hypodidascali. — Statuimus et volumus ut Didascalus sit vir borne existimationis et famse, major viginti quin- que annis, Artium Magister aut Doctor Grammatices gradu et qui totus in id incumbat ut discipulos suos et bonis Uteris et bonis mori- bus ornatos efficiat. " Hypodidascalus similiter sit vir bonus, Baccalaureus Artium, aptus bonus, omnique pietati deditissimus, quae interpretatus fueram relegenti ita mihi admit assiduus ut et labore et consilio me plurimum adjuverit, suorum librorum plurimos mihi dedit, reliquorum liberum concessit usum atque totum annum, dum sub prselo liber iste erat, collegis humanissime assenti- entibus, hospitio me accepit." (Dr. Morgan's Preface.) i <( Troes y Deon ddaioni Tra von iaith, at ein trev ni ; Tsgol rad, ni sigla'r un A'i thraethu 'n rkwym wrth Ruthun : Diau, rhoir am oedran hon Duwiol gof am y Deon : Oed Duw yna 'n cyttunaw At riv y w pymiheccant draw, ( Hof dreigl ) a phedwar ugain, Onid chwe blwydd, rhwydd yw 'r rbai 'n." (Simwnt Vychan a 'e cant, in Newcome's Memoirs. Appendix C.) Probably in the year 100 1, when Dr. Parry, the then holder thereof, was promoted to the see of St. Asaph. THE DEANERY OF DYEFKYX CLAY YD. 451 ad pueros pro officii ac loci sui ratione docendos, non minor quam viginti annos natus, et qui in discipulis suis erudiendis assiduam sedu- litatem et industriam ponat. '■Sit uterque horum tenera? tetati exempluin omnium virtutum, sintque ccelibes. "Ut cultus Dei potissimum celebretur, volumus ut diebus profestis, prime mane sub horam sextam, ad pulsum campanse, in Templo con- veniant, tain Prpeceptores nisi legitime impediti sint, quam discipuli in oppido commorantes, ibique una publice Deo preces fundaut. Hypo- didascalus mane et vesperi in Schola preces recitato vel ab alio reci- tari curat o. * "De quibusdam ad schoJasticam disciplinam et entaxiam pertincttfi- bus. — Scholastici in Pago Ruthyn commorantes diebus profestis in aurora a Templo recte ad scholam eunto, compositeque ac modeste bini inceduuto. " Dominicis ac festis diebus mox, ubi campana ad publicas preces sonuerit, in scholam pueri conveniunto et inde ad Templum seriatim et bini incedant, Didascalum vel Hypodidascalum sequentes. " In classes superiores adscript! Latine aut Grace in schola loquun- toTj collocati autem in inferioribus Anglice, qui secus faxit ceditor aut custos esto. " Nullus puer admittitor in hanc Scholam si sit major quam sex- decim annos natus et ne sit ibi jus commorandi post decimum nonum annum." A dispute having arisen, about the middle of the last century, between the Warden (Mr. Edw. Jones) and the Head Master (Mr. Thos. Hughes) as to the extent of the above grant of Llanelidan, owing to the Warden having put in a claim1 to a beneficial interest in all the surplus tithes of the School moiety beyond £30, — i. e. £20 to the Head Master, and £10 to the second, — it was ordered by a decree in Chancery not only that the claim was invalid, but also that certain payments made according to the founder's statutes — of forty shillings each to the poor of Llanelidan, to sermons preached therein, and to a school-repair fund — must cease, as inconsistent with the original grant. The commuted value of these tithes is £300, of which £200 were paid to the Head, and £100 to the Second Master. In the rules aud regulations made by the Governors, and approved by the Charity Commissioners, 23 March, 1866, it is laid down, among others, — "1. That every boy, being the son of a resident inhabitant of the borough of Ruthin, or the parish of Llanelidan, shall pay twenty-five shillings per quarter, and every other boy fifty shillings per quarter; but that this scale may be varied, and in special cases of either poverty or merit, wholly remitted at the discretion of the Governors. '•2. That of these capitation -fees, one moiety to be paid to the 1 Besting on what are termed " Supplementary Statutes," the validity and authenticity of which were disallowed. 452 THE DEANERY OF DYFFEYX CLAY YD. Head Master in augmentation of his salary ; the other to be applic- able to the general income of the School. "3. The appointment of assistant masters to be in the Head Master; but subject to the approval of the Governors, and limited to members of the Church of England. "4. The religious instruction to be given the scholars according to the principles and doctrines of the Church of England. The general instruction to comprise the Greek and Latin languages, mathematics, algebra, arithmetic, practical geometry, English grammar and litera- ture, general history, geography, and writing ; and whenever the available funds shall be surhcient*the following additional subjects, — the French and German languages, drawing, land-mensuration and surveying, and the elements of the natural sciences." A new scheme is about to be issued by the Endowed Schools' Com- missioners, and it is probable that this School will be selected as the Greek or Highest School for north-east Wales. The present schoolroom was rebuilt, in 1700, by subscriptions amounting to £247 : 19 : 3. A further sum of £582 : 2 : 4, also raised by subscription,1 was expended on its improvement, and that of the house, in 1831-2 ; and in 1867 another sum of £1,673: 14: 22 was laid out for the same purpose. The schoolhouse was built in 1742,8 and cost, according to the benefaction table in the school, £484 : 17:6. There are Exhibitions arising from the two following sources : 1. Godfrey Goodman, Bishop of Gloucester, nephew of the founder, by his will (dated 17th January, 1655) gave to his native town of Ruthin a tenement in Yale and two teuements in Carnarvonshire. The rental of these two, then worth £40 per ann., he divided into two moieties, — the one moiety to be spent annually on a trustees' dinner (£5) and apprenticing poor lads ; " and for the other £20, I desire that choice may be made of some gentleman who shall desire to travel ; and that he, together with good security, shall undertake, ■within the compass of two years, to live two months in Germany, two months in Italy, two months in France, and two months in Spain. I desire that mine own kindred might be chosen before others, or such as have had their breeding in the School of Ruthin, or such as have been born in Denbighshire; and, for want of those, such as have been born within the Principality of "Wales ; and that the house of Talacre, in Flintshire, might be preferred before others ; and in the choice of the gentleman I desire that no relation should be had to his poverty, but pulchrior, doctior, nobilior, cceteris paribus anteferendus" 1 Of this sum, the Head Master (Mr. Williams) contributed .£184; the Bishop of Bangor (Bethel), .£100; and the Warden (Newcome), £50. 2 Of this, .£290: 16 were subscriptions, ,£1,000 borrowed on mortgage, .£248 : 11 : 3 from sale of Consols, and .£47 : 16 : 3 mineral rents. 3 In the building anterior to the present schoolroom was a cubiculum, in- tended for the Master's residence, who must have been unmarried. There is no record left of the original construction. THE DEANERY OF DYFFKYX OLWYD. 453 In 1722 Bishop Goodman's charities were before the Court of Chan- cery, and it was then ordered that, "as to the £20 to maintain a traveller, the same being now found impracticable, it is proposed that the sum remaining, after the disposal of the said £20 per ami. in put- ting out apprentices, be paid for the maintenance of Godfrey Good- man, the heir at law of the testator (who is now an Exhibitioner of Jesns College, Oxford), for his support." From this time downwards this application of the money seems to have been adopted, for in 1744, out of a rental of £40 per ami., £20 was paid in two Exhibitions of £10 each ; and in 1800, out of the rental of £80, two sums of £22: 10 each were paid to two Exhibitioners. Of late years these Exhibitions have been of the value of £25 per ami. each, tenable for three years, and given by the Trustees after a special examination of the candidates eligible. By the decree of the Charity Commissioners, 24th December, 1862, with the rental of the estate at £368 : 15,1 it is ordered that £60 only be set apart for the Exhibition fund, £70 to the apprenticing fund, and the rest carried on to the Hospital endowment. 2. The Rev. Edward Lloyd of Ripple, Kent, by will dated 1 4 Feb. 1 740, left four-fifths of his residuary estate in trust, to be applied for the benefit of the School. With this money (£909:10, and £350 borrowed on mortgages, and repaid out of the estate in 1748), the Trustees bought a messuage in Bistre, near Mold, called " Carreg- lwyd," containing 69 a. 1 r. 8 p., subsequently increased by an allot- ment on Mold Mountain to 78 a. 3 r. 28 p. The rental of this estate, amounting at that time (1745) to £43 per aim., was ordered by the Court of Chancery to be "yearly or otherwise distributed for the benefit and encouragement of the School, to such poor boys or young men, who shall be educated there for five years at least, as the Trustees shall appoint (not exceeding £12 yearly to any one person), having a primary regard to the relations of the benefactors of the said charity, if any offer ; and in the next place, to poorest boys or young men, and best scholars, as and for Exhibitions towards the education of such young men at such of the Universities of Oxford or Cambridge, for so long as the Trustees for the time being shall think fit, but not longer than they shall have respectively arrived to the standing of a Bachelor of Arts." By a decree dated 23 June, 1823, the Trustees were allowed to raise the Exhibitions from £12 to as high as £25 each ; and from the year 1824 their value has been £20 or £25, according to the funds. The present rental of the estate is £100 per ami., in addition to which there is the interest of £180 on mortgage, arising from the sale of timber thereon in 1797, and £226 : 16:11 stock, and a mineral dead-rent of £25 ; raising the total from this source to £140: 12 : 2 per ami. As to the two next items, boys from this School enjoy a preference to the first, and once had a preferential claim to the other. 1 The opening of slate-quarries on the estate has been the cause of this increased value. 8-H 454 THE DEANERY OF DYFFRYN CLWYD. 3. Richard Parry, D.D., Bishop of St. Asaph, obiit 1623, be- queathed by his will a tenement in Erbistocke to his son, on trust, to pay therefrom either "j£100 for the purchase of lands for the mainte- nance of a poor scholar in Jesus College in Oxon."; or "£6 a year to Edward Edwards, now scholar of the said College ; and successively to the poor scholar who hath been by me during my life, or shall be by the Principal and Fellows of the said College, after my death, elected out of the diocese of St. Asaph, or the town of Ruthin, for ever; and my will and desire is, that one of my kindred, and a minis- ter's son, be preferred before another, cceteris paribus. 4. John Gwynne, LL.D., Prebendary of Llanfair in Bangor Cathe- dral, and rector of Llanrhaiadr, by his will (13th Elizabeth), left a rent-charge of <£40 per ann. on his property — now part of the Wynn- stay estates — to found three fellowships and six scholarships in St. John's College, Cambridge, with preference to candidates born in the following places in their order, — the parishes of Llanfair and Llan- rhaiadr, the commotes of Kantconway and Maenan, the counties of Carnarvon, Denbigh, Merioneth. The scholars, under the same con- ditions, from the School of Bangor. By an indenture made soon after, the fellowships were reduced to two, and the scholarships to six ; and by another indenture, made in 1650, between the heirs of J. Wynn and the College, it was covenanted that Dr. Gwynn's fellowship should be suspended ; but that the three scholars should be chosen out of the schools of Bangor and Ruthin, and two of them be elected into foundation-fellowships for ever. Dean Clough is said to have been the last so elected. As. unfortunately, no record appears to have been kept of the old scholars, or, if kept, has been lost, it is impossible to ascertain the names of all the distinguished men w ho have been educated here. The following, however, are transcribed from a tablet set up in the school : " Quo mortuis sit honos, quo vivis incitamentum," and beginning with the well-remembered words, — " En vobis discipuli Rutheuenses propo- nuntur nomina (de multis pauca) virorum qui post pueritiam in hac Schola exactam, optime de Literis, de Republica, de Ecclesia, meriti eximium sibi decus et gloriam solidam peperere. "Johannes Davies, S.T.P., Dictionarii Cymraici celeberrimi auctor eruditissimus.1 "Johannes Williams, S.T.P., Archiep. Ebor., necnon Angliee summus Cancellarius.2 "Johannes Wynne, S.T.P., Episcopus Assaph.3 1 Dr. Davies, rector of Mallwyd and Prebendary of Faenol in St. Asaph Cathedral, in addition to his famous Latin-Welsh Grammar and Dictionary, assisted both Dr. Morgan and Bishop Parry in their versions of the Welsh Bible. 2 The Life of Archbishop Williams has been written by Bishop Hacket (Lon- don, 1693); Ambrose Phillips (Cambridge, 1700). See also Wood's Athence Oxon., and Williams' Eminent Welshmen. 3 Lady Margaret's Professor of Divinity, Oxford, and Prebendary of Wor- THE DEANERY OF DYFFRYN CLWYD. 455 "Josias Tucker, S.T.P*, Decan. Glocestr., scriptor de rebus politicis perspicacissimus.1 "Lloyd Kenyon, Baro Kenyon, Sunimus Anglia3 Jasticiarius ; in Scaccario Regis Baro Summus.2 " Ricardus Richards.3 "Henricus Owen, A.M., auctor in theologia prsestantissimus.4 "Johannes Jones, A.M., Archidiacon. Merion., Bamptonianus apud Oxonienses Concionator." 5 To these may be added others who, less eminent it may be, have yet added not a little to the reputation of the School, e. g., — David Lloyd, A.M., Prebendary of Faenol, author of Church Worthies, State Worthies, Memories (see p. 247 supra). Richard Wynne, A.M., author of a critical and explanatory edition of the New Testament, in two volumes. Evan Lloyd, A.M., of Frondderw; V. Llanfair, D. C. ; a talented English poet, etc. John Humphreys Parry, a learned antiquary ; author of The Cam- brian Plutarch ; editor of The Cambro-Briton, The Transactions of the London Cymrodorion, etc. Richard Newcome, M.A., Archdeacon of Merioneth and Warden of Ruthin ; author of An Account of the Castle and Town of Ruthin ; ditto of Denbigh ; Memoirs of Dean and Bishop Goodman, etc.6 John Williams, M.A., Ablthel; author of The Traditionary Annals of the Cymry, Ecclesiasticcd Antiquities of the Cymry ; originator and cester, 1705; Principal of Jesus Collega, 1712; Bishop of St. Asaph, 1715; Bishop of Wells, 1727. Supra, pp. 133, 231. 1 Dean Tucker's published writings embrace not only political but also ecclesiastical subjects, such as An Apology for the Church of England j Ser- mons ; The Difficulties of the Trinitarian, Avian, and Socinian Systems, etc. 2 Attorney-General and Chief Justice of Chester, 1782; Master of the Rolls, 1784; Chief Justice of the King's Bench, 1788. 3 Michel Fellow of Queen's College, Oxford; Chief Justice of Chester, 1813; Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer, 18! 7. 4 Dr. Owen's more important writings embraced Harmonia Trigonometrica, 1748 ; Observations on the Four Gospels, 1764 ; the Boyle Lectures for 1 773, on The Intent and Propriety of the Scripture Miracles ; Critica Sacra, 1774; Collatio Codicis Cottoniani Geneseos, 1778, etc. 5 Subject, The Moral Tendency of Divine Revelation. 6 Newcome was only part of his time at this School ; but as much of his after interest in it and the neighbourhood may have been partially due to this early as well as his later connexion with it, I venture to include his name in the list. Among others who began their school-life here may also be named John Hughes, M.A., of Oriel, grandson of a former Head Master of that name, and father of the author of Tom Brown ; Dr. John Bull, Canon of Christ Church, Oxford, and Archdeacon of Barnstaple; Rev. H. Holland Edwards, Prebendary of Westminster, and founder of St. Mary's Church, Llanrwst, etc. 456 THE DEANERY OF DYFFKYN CLWYD. joint editor of the Archceologia Cambrensis, and editor of Y Gododin, The Grammar of Edeym Dafod aur, The Cambrian Journal, Clock y Llan, Baner y Groes, etc. Richard Perryn, Baron of the Exchequer. John Lloyd, Chief Justice of the Carmarthen circuit. Sir Thomas Maddock, Secretary to the Indian Government. J. M. Wain wright, Bishop of Western New York. Dr. Cotton, Dean of Chester. Dr. Edwards, Archdeacon of Brecon. Henry Parry, editor of Dr. Davies' Antiquce Lingua? Britannicce Rudimenta. HEAD MASTERS.1 1574. — Price, John. Probably the Warden of 1594. Goodman, Hugh. 1595. — Parry, Richard, A.M., Dean of Bangor, 1599; Bishop of St. Asaph, 1604. 1599. — Griffith, Robert. 1607. — Parry, Gabriel, A.M., nephew of Bishop Parry; S. R. Llan- rhaidr-yn-Mochnant,1608; V. Henllan, 1609; V. Abergele, 1 6 1 3 ; S. R. Llansannan, 1616 ; S. R. Llansantffraid yn Mechain, 1617; R. Llangynhafal and Precentor of Bangor, 1632. 1609. — Lloyd, L. Previously Under-Master and curate of Llanrhudd, 1615. — Jones, John, A.M. 1626. — Langford, Wm., A.M., Hart Hall, Oxford, had been Under- Master for two years; R. Heneglwys, 1630 ; V. Welshpool, 1632; R. Llanerfyl, 1637 ; Canon of St. Asaph, 1639 ; S. R. Llanfor, 1644. Ejected by the Committee of Sequestrators, 1650 ; restored to the vicarage of Pool, 1660.2 1653. — Chaloner, Thomas, ejected by the Committee of Sequestrators from the head-mastership of Shrewsbury School. (Memoirs, "Addenda.")3 1680. — Price, Henry, A.M., Prebendary of Llanfair in St. Asaph Cathe- dral, 1684. Deprived, as a Non-juror, 1691. (Monument in Llanfair, D. C, Church.) 1 The difficulty about the names and order of the earliest Head Masters, noticed in the Memoirs (p. 47), seems to have arisen from the circumstance of Robert Griffith having been the first to have received his salary through the Warden. The previous interval from the foundation gives ample space for the earlier ones, given on the authority of no less an antiquary than Dr. (afterwards Bishop) Humphreys, who derived them from the Registers of his see. Gabriel Powel, named in Wood's Athence Oxon. (first edition), was apparently a mistake for Gabriel Parry. 2 The Archbishop of Canterbury issued an inquisition to the Bishop of Bangor in 1036, to inquire into the cause of dismissal of the late Master, and certain complaints made by him against the Warden. (A. C, 18G3, p. 280.) 3 The School was at this time very flourishing, the names of the scholars THE DEANERY OF DYFFBYN CLWYD. 457 1691. — Lloyd, John, the correspondent of Edward Llwyd, the anti- quary. 1700.— Morgan D.D. (Benefaction-table.) 1705. — Williams, John, A.M., R. Clocaenog, 1714. 1714. — Wynne, John, A.M., Fellow of Magdalene College, Cambridge; R. Efenechtyd, 1698. (Monument in Ruthin Church.) 1724.— Edwards (qu. V. Llanfair, 1702 ; R. Llanfwrog, 1730). 1731. — Vaughan, Thomas, A.M. 1739. — Hughes, Thomas, LL.B., Trin. Hall, Camb.; R. Llanfwrog, 1755; V. Llansilin, 1763-76.1 1768.— Parry, William, A.M., Second Master; V. Llanfair, 1776 ; Warden, 1784; R. Llanfwrog, 1794. 1785. — Walters, John, A.M., Fellow of Jesus College, Oxford ; R. Efenechtyd, 1789. (Monument in that church.) He was the son of the author of the Welsh Dictionary, and himself the author of some Letters to Dr. Priestley ; wrote the preface to Jones' Relics of the Welsh Bards, and edited Roger Ascham's Toxophilus. 1789.— Roberts, Thomas, A.M.; R. Efenechtyd, 1789-90; R. Llan- gwyfan, 1790-94 ; R. Clocaenog, 1794-96. (Monument in Cloc- aenog Church.) He was chaplain to Archbishop Moore. 1796. — Hughes, David, M.A., usher under the last two Heads; R. Efenechtyd, 1790; R. Llangynhafal, 1796. (Monument.) His poems, in English and Latin, are edited by his son (1865). 1809. — Jones, Edward, M.A., chaplain of Christ Church, Oxford. 1831.— Owen, Owen, M.A., Fellow of Jesus College, Oxford.2 1831. — Williams, Charles, M.A. ; first class Litt. Hum., second class Math., 1827; Fellow of Jesus College, Oxford; P. C. Holyhead, 1845; Hon. Canon of Bangor, and Proctor in Convocation for the clergy of the diocese; Principal of Jesus College, 1857. Author of a volume of Sermons privately printed. 1845. — Barnwell, Edward Lowry, M.A., F.S.A. Scot., Balliol College, Oxford; first class Math., hon. fourth class Litt. Hum., 1834; Scholar of Jesus, 1834. Author viPerrot Memoirs and other anti- quarian notes. 1865. — Freeborn, John William, M.A., Worcester College, Oxford ; second class Math., 1846; Head Master of Llanrwst School, 1851- 1865. 1871. — Preston, George, M.A., Fellow of Magdalene College, Camb.; first class Classical Tripos, 1864 ; Assistant Master at Shrewsbury School ; Assistant and Composition Master in King Edward's School, Birmingham. Author of Greek Verse Composition. including Vaughan, Tudor, Trygarn, Powel, Pennant, Trevor, Salusbury, Coetnior, Nanney, Thelwall, Grrosvenor, Madryn, Yonge, Dolben, Crewe, Moyle, Meyrick, Kynaston, Goodman, Cotton, Bythel, Meredith, etc. 1 " He carried the School to greater celebrity than it had ever attained before." His son was Dr. Thomas Hughes, Preb. of St. Paul's. 2 Drowned in the Rothesay Castle before he had taken charge of the School. 458 THE DEANERY OF HOLYWELL. This deanery was formed by the subdivision of the ancient deanery of " Englefield" (1291), " Tegyngil" (1535) into those of St. Asaph and Holywell, December 13, 1844, and embraces the parishes of Cilcain, Rhydynxwyn, Halkin, Rhesycae, Holywell, Bagillt and Brynford, Nannerch, Northop, Flint and St. Mark's Connah's Quay, Whit- ford, Gorsedd and Mostyn, and Ysgeifiog.1 CILCAIN.2 This parish consists of seven townships, viz. Trellan,Llysycoed,Maes- ygroes, Dolfechlas, Cefn, Trellyniau, and Llysdianhunedd (also called Glust), having an area of 5,500 acres, rated at £5,637, and a popula- tion of 949. For ecclesiastical purposes, however, the townships of Dolfechlas and portions of Cefn and Llysdianhunedd have been assigned to the new district of Rhydymwyn, and that of Trellyniau and part of Llysdianhunedd to Rhesycae. According to the Taxatio. " Eccl'ia de Kyllein taxatur, — rectoria, £7, dec. 14s.; vicaria, £4 : 1 : 8, dec. 8s. 2d"; and in the Valor JEccles., " Rectoria valet clare, £14 : 14 : 5 J, dec. £1:9: 5 \ ; vicaria, £6:6:8, dec. 12s. Sd. being in the proportion of two -thirds to the rector, and one -third to the vicar. Pennant states that Sir Richard Clough, who died in 1570, "left the tithes of this parish to the school at Denbigh,"3 which could not have been the case, as they were not impropriate ; but he may have had a lease of them, and have directed his legacy to be paid therefrom ; or possibly the legacy itself, or at least its amount, may have been made to depend upon the appropriation of the sine- cure to that purpose by the Bishop.4 More recently Bishop Wynne promised to appropriate the said tithes to the endowment of a Welsh church, to be built at Wrexham ; and appointed Mr. Davies, vicar of Rhuabon, to the sinecure for the interval. But unfortunately the 1 The Roman letters indicate the mother parishes. 2 Variously interpreted as — J, the fair retreat ; 2, the retreat on the Cain, a stream and dell close by ; and 3, the retreat of Cain, for her goodness sur- named "Eurgain," the foundress of Northop Church. 3 Tours in Wales, ii, p. 142. 4 Supra, under Denbigh, p. 3G6. THE DEANERY OF HOLYWELL. 459 project fell through, owing to a dispute about the patronage, and the money which had been collected was returned. Mr. Davies thereupon rebuilt, at his own expense, the north aisle,1 which had been burnt down during a " Plygain" on Christmas morning, 1532.2 The Com- mutation Returns (1836) assigned £472 : 3 : 4 to the Treasurer of Queen Anne's Bounty, for the sinecure rectory; £266 : 4 : 10 to the vicar, £22 : 8 : 6 to the rector of Ysceifiog ; £17 to the rector of Llan- ferras : these two last in token, doubtless, of some early consolida- tion. Out of the rectorial tithes the Ecclesiastical Commissioners have increased the vicar's income to £343 : 1 : 8, and have transferred £236 : 9 towards the endowment of Rhydymwyn, and £60 per ami. to that of Rhesycae. They also transferred to the vicar, in 1844, a tenement called " Plas Person," with thirteen acres of land previously belonging to the sinecure ; but this was sold in 1869, and the money invested in the purchase of other land more conveniently situated. The present extent of the glebe is eleven acres ; and there is also a house, rebuilt in 1807. The patronage, which formerly belonged to the see of St. Asaph, was transferred by the late Act to the Bishop of Gloucester and Bristol, who has subsequently given it to the Lord Chancellor in exchange for one in his own diocese. The church, St. Mary's, consists of two equal aisles of four bays, with a western tower. The north aisle, as we have seen, was rebuilt in 1746 ; that of the south side being of a much earlier period, and retaining some interesting features. It would seem, from the appear- ance of the wall and the westernmost arch, as if the original church had only extended so far ; and that when enlarged, one of its w7alls (probably the south one, as the tower is attached to the north aisle) was opened out and arched ; and somewhat later, both parts length- ened to their present extent. The most striking feature is the beau- tiful Perpendicular roof of the south aisle, the western portion of which is of the hammer-beam form richly ornamented, whilst that of the eastern or chancel portion is coved in a segment of a circle, with horizontal bands of quatrefoil tracery. There is a tradition that it ca,me from the neighbouring Abbey of BasingwTerk. In any case it would seem, from the boldness of its carved work, the something of heaviness which it has, and the unsymmetrical distances at which the principals are fixed over the arches, that it was originally designed for a church of other proportions. Both it and the rest of the church were carefully repaired, in 1845, under the care of Mr. Ambrose Poyn- ter, F.S.A.3 The Perpendicular chancel-window, of five lights, cou- 1 Brass inscription on north wall. 2 " Mil pum cant, rhifant y rhai'n Nod addas, a deuddeg ar hugain, Oedd y Gair am FAB Mair fain Pan ddaeth y Golcaith i Gilcen." (B. Willis, p. 230.) 3 The roof and early tombstones are described and illustrated in the Archce- ologia Cambrensis for 1846, p. 441, and 1847, p. 77. 460 THE DEANERY OF HOLYWELL. tains portions of old stained glass ; and there are Decorated windows on the south side, and at the east end of the north aisle. Among other remains of mediaeval art which are preserved in the church may be noted, — (1), an early Norman font remarkable for the interlaced ornamentation of its exterior, and the conical form of its interior ; (2), the old stoup ; (3), a coffin-lid with the bust of a man, and his hands crossed, inscribed " Hie jacet Marredt : Ierwert'h"; (4), another in the window near the pulpit, bearing a griffin rampant, and inscribed " Hie jacet Jo...ndyau... Requiescat in pace"; (5), another ornamented with a cross fleuri ; (6), one formerly serving as a lintel to the old vestry door ; and (7), another with the bust of a female, which now forms a coping stone on the north gable ; and in the churchyard the shaft of the old cross. The modern monuments are chiefly to the memory of the Mostyns of Cilcain Hall. A gallery occupies the west end of the south aisle. In it is a small organ, and under it the vestry. An incongruous addition was made to the old tower some years ago by increasing its height with several feet of brickwork. The National School was rebuilt in 1842. Several charities are enumerated in the benefaction-table (1735) and in the Charity Report (1837), but none of them are now in exist- ence, e. g. : 1. Rent-charge of 3s. on Talar-y-dref, by Thomas Lloyd. 2. ,, of 5s. on Wenerw, by David ap Rees ap Evan of Llysycoed, in 1617. 3. Interest of £8, by Mrs. Dorothy Mostyn of Llandyrnog, in 1 703. 4. „ £5, by Mr. Thomas Williams, Mold, 1734. 5. „ £50, by Gruff. Williams in 1756. 6. „ £50, by Mr. Roger Mostyn, junior, of Gyrn, 1729. 7. „ £50 by Mr. Roger Mostyn, senior, of Cilcain, 1729. 8. „ £45 by Miss Jane Edwards of Maesygroes, 1808. According to the Report, Nos. 2-5 were last in the hands of Mr. Wat- kin Williams of Penbedw ; and 6, 7, of members of the Mostyn family. Four cottages for the poor were bought in 1810, probably with the last bequest. They are now in ruins. There is a field near the vill- age, called " Cae Bara Gwyn," which would imply that it had once been applied as a charity for white bread. SINECURE RECTORS. 1537. — Birkenhead, Ralph1 1557. — Parsey, John 1560.— Jones, Griffith 1564. — Brereton, Thomas 1566. — Ithell, Thomas, LL.D. 1579. — Tomson, William 1596. — Yale, Thomas Parry, Bishop in com. 1C>22. — Wynne, Morgan 1644.— Lloyd, Samuel, B.M.2 ■ Canon, 1536. 2 V. Gresford, 1635; R. Aldford, dioc. Chester; S. R. Llansannan, 1643. THE DEANERY OF HOLYWELL. 401 1673.— Clopton, Thomas, M.A.1 1721.— Davies, Richard, M.A.2 1746. — Wells, John 1747. — Allen, John 1765. — NEWCOME,Benjamin,D.D.3 1775. — Poyntz, Charles, D.D. 1779.— Delap, J., D.D.4 1813.— Cory, R. Towerson, D.D.5 VICARS. 1536. — Gruffydd ap Thomas 1749.- 1585.— Morgan, Thomas 1762.- 1626.— Prichard, Robert 1772.- 1626.— Morgan, Henry 1782.- 1665.— Lloyd, Edward6 1807.- 1702.— Lewis, Ellis 1809.- 1705.— Hughes, Peter, A.B. 1826.- 1739. — Price, Thomas, M.A.? 1841.- 1740. — Edwards, Thomas, M.A.8 1851.- -Price, John, A.B.9 -Ellis, Evan, A.B. -Edwards, Edward, A.M.10 -Lloyd, John, B.D.11 -Williams, Rowland, A. M. 12 -Hughes, Thomas -Hughes, John13 -Evans, Thomas -Hallowes, B., M.A.u 1867. — Jones, Ebenezer, St. David's College, Lampeter; Deacon, 1852; Priest, 1853 ; C. Llansantffraid, G. D.; P. C. Nerquis, 1856. RHYDYMWYN. The Order in Council, dated 31st March, 1865, which assigned this district, defines it to be consolidated out of portions of the parishes of Cilcain, Mold, and Northop, the chapelry of Gwernaffield, and the con- solidated chapelry of Rhesycae. Its extent is about 2,250 acres; and the townships of which it is composed are, — a portion of Gwysaney 1 Head Master of Oswestry School, 1672; Canon, 1675; S. R. Llanrwst, 1677; Prebendary of Meifod, 1677; R. Castle Caereinion, 1678. 2 V. Khuabon and R. Erbistock, 1706 ; Canon of St. David's, 1732 ; Canon of St. Asaph, 1710. 3 Prebendary of Worcester, Dean of Rochester, 1773. 4 " Beneficed near Lewes in Sussex, and published several things, among which are two tragedies, Hecuba and The Royal Suppliants." (B. W.) 5 Master of Emmanuel College, Cambridge. On his death, in J 835, the sinecure lapsed to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. e V. Liang wm, 1664-66. 7 E. Caerwys, 1740; Canon, 1747; Vic. Chor. and R. St. George, 1750; R. Cerrigydrudion, 1759. s E. Llanelian, 1749. 9 R. Ysceifiog, 1762. 10 Y. Llanarmon yn Ial, 1782. Editor of the second edition of Browne Willis' Survey of the Diocese, two vols., 1801. 11 Formerly Fellow of Jesus College, Oxford ; Y. Holywell, 1773. 12 E. Halkin and Canon, 1809; Y. Meifod, 1819 ; E. Ysceifiog, 1836. 13 E. Nannerch, 1841. 14 Lincoln CoUege, Oxford ; P. C. Disserth, 1867. 30 462 THE DEANERY OF HOLYWELL. and Gwernaffield in Mold, a portion of Cefn and Glust (Llysdianhun- edd), and the whole of Dolfechlas in Cilcain, a portion of Caerfallwch in Northop, and of Lygan y llan in Halkin. It was endowed by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, at first, wTith £236 : 6 per ann. out of the lapsed sinecure rectory of Cilcain, and augmented in 1871 with £127:1 5: 11 per ann. out of that of Northop ; so that the present value is £364 : 1 : 11. Besides which there is a new house and an acre and three quarters of glebe. Patron, the Bishop of St. Asaph. The church, St. John the Evangelist, consists of chancel, wTith organ - chamber and vestry on the south side, and nave with north porch. The site was given by P. B. Davies-Cooke, Esq., Gwysaney;1 the foundation-stone laid by Miss Davies-Cooke, August 1, 1861; and the church consecrated 17th September, 1864. The chancel is separated from the nave by a low stone screen which supports the pillars of the chancel-arch ; a painted reredos represents the Last Supper ; and bands of quatrefoil tracery are continued round the sides. The east window, of three lights, has geometrical head-tracery, and detached marble shafts at the mullions and angles. The oak roof is of peculiar design,2 and very effective ; and the floor paved with encaustic tiles. The sanctuary- step bears the inscription, " To the glory of God, and in memory of Philip Davies-Cooke of Gwysaney; born 11th August, 1793; died 20 November, 1853 ; this chancel was erected a.d. 1863." In the nave a polygonal pulpit of freestone, with open arcaded panels and small pillars of green and pink marble at its angles, occupies the south-eastern angle; and the font, which is square, and supported by a circular base, has its panels carved in diaper, with the Agnus and monogram, and emblems of the Trinity and the Passion. This is in memory of Elinor Hallowes, wife of the Rev. Brabazon Hallowes, vicar of Cilcain, who died Dec. 28, 1862. Among other gifts may be enu- merated the Communion-plate, by Lady Helena C. Cooke ; the rich altar-cloth, embroidered, by Mrs. P. B. Davies-Cooke ; and the organ by Dr. Reynolds of Coed du. The porch has perforated side-lights, and is provided with stone benches. The material employed is the local limestone, with freestone dressings for the windows and angles ; and horizontal bands of the same, introduced with excellent effect, both externally and internally. A chaste cross of white marble, in the churchyard, marks the grave of Frederick Anthony Davies-Cooke, ob. 1 Mr. Davies-Cooke also gave the site for the Parsonage and the School. 2 This peculiarity consists, first, in the lowest purlin being fixed perpen- dicularly in the inner wall-plate, and supported from it by curved and cusped braces between the principal rafters ; secondly, in there being two head- pieces resting on the collars of the principal trusses, from which struts are fixed to support the common rafters in both a perpendicular and sloping direction. There is also a centre head-piece resting on a second collar in the principal trusses, which is supported longitudinally by curved braces from the lower collar. Some tracery fills in the space between the two collars.— J, H. P. THE DEANERY OF HOLYWELL. 4C3 13 March, 1869. This is one of the prettiest and most effective little churches in the diocese, and was erected at a total cost of about £2,500, from the plans of Mr. J. H. Pearson of Harley Street, London. The National School has been built at a cost of about £840, towards which the Committee of Council granted £189 : 6 : 3 ; the Diocesan Board of Education, £40. It was formally opened Oct. 11, 1871. Vicar. — 1865, Jones, James, Theol. Assoc. of King's College, London ; Deacon, 1856; Priest, 1857; C. Llanuwchlyn, 1856 ; Llansantftraid, U. D., 1858; Holywell, 1860; Ysceifiog, 1861; Rhydymwyn, 1863. HALKIN.1 The parish contains three townships, Lygan y wern, Lygan y Han, and Hendrefigillt, with an area of about 3,800 acres ; the rated por- tion being 2,110, and the value, £3,458. For ecclesiastical purposes, however, Hendrefigillt township has been assigned to the new district of Rhesycae, and a portion of Lygan y llan to Rhydymwyn. The population is chiefly engaged in lead mining. It appears from Domesday, under " Inglecroft, Brunfor et Alchene," that there was a church here at that early date, "Ibi in dominio eccle- sia cum presbitero." In 1291 " Ecclesia de Helyng taxatur, — recto- ria, £4; non dec. ; vicaria, £4 : 1 : 8 ; dec. Is. 2d." In the interval between the Taxatio and the Valor, the rectory and vicarage were united ; so that we have in the latter, " Rectoria de Halkeyn valet clare £14 : 7 : dec. £1:8: 9J." The commuted value of the tithes is £380 : 10, and there is an acre and a half of glebe. Over the door of the old rectory house was inscribed, "Deo qui dedit, 1622." The present house was built in 1812, and partly rebuilt in 1840. Patron, since 1861, the Bishop of Llandaff. The church, St. Mary's, was rebuilt in 1776, partly by a brief, partly by subscription. It consists of a nave with a small apse, and has a belfry -tower at the west end, a south entrance and north vestry. A painting of the Last Supper is placed at the east end, and the west is occupied by a gallery. It is pewed to seat three hundred and forty. The principal monuments are those of Mrs. Ann Williams of Ha] kin Castle, 1703 ; the Prices and Humphreys of Penypylle ; Ed ward Roberts, M.A., rector, 1839; and Petrus Roberts, A.M., rector, ob. 1819, who is described as "in legibus, moribus, institutis, annalibus, poesi, musica, gentis Cambro-Britannica3 instructissimus." 1 The Welsh form is " Helygan," ordinarily pronounced as in the name of the two townships; but there is some doubt as to its origin. The common derivation is from u Helygen," a willow tree ; but it has also been thought to be derived from " Llugain" the founder of the church, whose name also occurs in Llanllugan in Montgomeryshire; and in this case it would probably be a contraction of " Heol Lygan." 464 THE DEANERY OF HOLYWELL. The National School, containing two rooms (for boys and girls) and a class-room, with a master's house, was erected in 1849 by the Mar- quis of Westminster, and cost £ J ,408 : 19 : 5. The only charities now remaining to the parish are : The interest of £581 invested in the Post Office Savings' Bank. Kent-charge of £2 on Plas Issa, by Henry Lewis, in 1692. Many valuable ones have been lost, e. g., — (1.) The sum of £600, left by John Barker in 1756, through the failure of Mr. Richard Ingleby, a son of the testator's executor, in 1806. (2.) A sum of £100 left by Thos. Williams, Esq., of Halkin, in 1721, for schooling. Interest appears to have been paid for it till 1786, but nothing known of it since then. (3.) Rent-charge of £12 per ann., not paid since 1770, vested in 1780 in Sir Edward Lloyd, Bart. (4.) A gift of £4 by Edward Pugh. (5.) A sum of £50 by Sir Roger Mostyn, 1729. (6.) A sum of £10 by Jane Booly. RECTORS. 1537. — Conway, Thomas 1555. — Rhys ap John2 Williams, John 1557. — Evans, Win., orAp Ienn 1594. — Lloyd, Robert3 1626.— Evans, Richard4 1666. — Edwards, Robert 1694.— Owen, Olivet 1729. — Myddelton, John 1730.— Vaughan, William 1 730.— Lewis, Hugh 1742. — Edwards, George7 1757. — Williams, Jeffrey8 1778.— Lloyd, Hedd9 1783.— Clough, Thomas, M.A.10 1797.— Williams, Hugh, M.A.11 1809.— Williams, R., M.A.12 1818.— Roberts, Peter, M.A.13 1 This includes £30, Mrs. Wynne's charity, and Mr. Fletcher's and Mrs. Lloyd's of £5 each. 2 " Deprived for simony and ignorance." (B. W.) 3 V. Wrexham, 1598; Preh. MeHden, 1624. 4 V. Tremeirchion, 1619. 5 V. Corwen, 1658. 8 Owen Oliver obtained this presentation from Bishop Jones, for a bribe of .£40. (Proceedings.) 7 R. Llanarmon, D. C, 1708; V. Bettws yn Rhos, 1738. 8 V. Choral, 1736 9 Of Hafodunos. R. Bodfari, 1761 ; V. Hope, 1765. 10 V. Llangerny w, 1 783 ; Canon,l794; R. Denbigh, 1797; R. Hirnant, 1799; V. Nantglyn, 1807. 11 Chaplain to Bishop Bagot ; R. Llanelidan, 1780; V. Conway, 1786; R. Llangynyw, 1790; Canon of St. Asaph, 1792; R. Clocaenog, 1796. 12 V. Cilcain, 1807; Canon, 1809; V. Meifod, 1819; R. Ysceifiog, 1836. 13 R. Llanarmon, D. C, 1811; V. Madeley, 1814. Author of " Harmony of the Epistles," 1800; " Christianity Vindicated," 1800; "Sketch of the Early History of the Cymry," 1803; " Chronicles of the Kings of Britain," THE DEANERY OF HOLYWELL. 465 1819.— Roberts, Edward, M.A.1 1839.— Williams, W. M.., M.A.2 1851. — Evans, Edward, A.M., Trin. Coll., Dublin; Deacon, 1823 ; Priest, 1824 ; C. Gwaunysgor, 1827; P. C. Newmarket, 1828. RHESYOAE. " The consolidated chapelry of Rhesycae was constituted by an Order in Council, June 27th, 1848, out of the township of Hendrefigillt in Halkin, the township of Trellyniau, and part of that of Llysdian- hunedd in Cilcain, and that portion of the township of Trellan uchaf in Ysceifiog which lies to the south of the ridge Penucha'r plwyf, and abuts on Rhesycae." It contains a population of about 627. In 18-18 a sum of £-100 (of which £300 were an anonymous gift) was invested in the Funds, 3 per Cent. Consols., for the benefit of the incumbent; and in 1849 the Ecclesiastical Commissioners assigned to the endowment a grant of £60 per ann. out of the sinecure rectory of Cilcain, which they further augmented in 1855 with a tithe rent- charge of £69 : 18 : 2, arising out of Ysceifiog. A subsequent aug- mentation, in 1865, has raised the income to £234 per aim. A par- sonage-house was built in 1859, at a cost of £1,014 : 18 : 7 J, 3 and has four acres of glebe attached. Patron, the Bishop of the diocese. The church, dedicated under the name of Christ Church, is very plain. It was built at a cost of £850, and was consecrated the 30th September, 1847. The sites for both the church and the house were presented by the Commissioners of Woods and Forests. PERPETUAL CURATES. 1849.— Davies, John Evan, M.A., C. St. Mary's, Llanrwst, 1852; P. C. Trevor, 1861; R. Llangelynin near Doloellev, 1865. 1852.— Jones, Edward Evans, St. Bees; P. C. Gorsedd, 1853. 1854. — Jenkins, David, St. David's, Lampeter, Scholar; Deacon, 1851 ; Priest, 1852. 1811 ; "Cambrian Popular Antiquities," 1S15 ; "Essay on the Origin of Con- stellations"; " History of Oswestry," 1S15, etc. 1 P. C. Henllan, 1801. 2 P. C. Flint, 1825; R. Llanfechain, 1851. 3 Towards this the Ecclesiastical Commissioners contributed £ 400 ; the Marquis of Westminster, £200 ; Queen Anne's Bounty and Bishop Short, each £100; and £200 were withdrawn from the above mentioned fund of £400 in the 3 per Cents. 466 THE DEANERY OF HOLYWELL HOLYWELL. This parish embraces the nine townships of Holywell,1 Greenfield,"2 Wellstone, Bagillt3 fawr, Bagillt fechan, Coleshill4 fawr, Coleshill fechan, Calcot, and Brynford, having an area of 7,532 a. 1 r. 23 p., rated at £31,558, and a population of 9,965. Ecclesiastically, how- ever, this has been greatly diminished by the formation out of it of the new districts of Bagillt and Brynford, whereby the portion remaining to the mother church has been reduced to an area of 3,200 a. 3 r. 30 p., and a population of 6000; and this has again been relieved by the recent consecration of the new church at Greenfield. Whether the " Weltune" of Domesday** was intended to represent the town of Holywell, or the township of Wellstone, or even to indi- cate some other unidentified place in the neighbourhood of the other names with which it is there associated, may be a matter of some doubt. The absence of any notice of either a church or a priest con- cerns us more ; for in contrast to the record of Whitford, it implies the greater importance of the latter ; and in connexion with the next notice, it seems to indicate the period when the church was built, for in a.d. 1093, Adeliza, the wife of Hugh Lupus, Earl of Chester, added "the churche of Haliwel" to her husband's previous grants to the monks of St. Werburgh's in Chester. The legendary Life of St. Win- ifred, compiled by Robert of Shrewsbury about fifty years later, and combining all the information he could gather from the most likely quarters,0 throws back the foundation, it is true, to a very early date ; but it also implies, when divested of its mythical character, that this was a daughter church of Whitford ; and it is not improbable that the annual payment of two shillings made to St. Beuno, " ex'a d'nm de Holywell," down at least to the Dissolution, may have been the formal acknowledgment of such connexion. It was, however, about the time of the foundation, or perhaps re-foundation, of Basingwerk Abbey (c. 1130), that this place came into prominence, for the proxi- mity of St. Winifred's Well seems to have been as beneficial to that 1 Welsh, " Treffynnon," i. e., the well-town. 2 W., " Maesglas." 3 Anciently written also " Baggeburg," "Bachelie," " Backley/' and "Bakc- ley." 4 W., "Cynsyllt." In the Myfyrian Archaiology written as "Cwui Seled." 5 "Aliana medietatem hujus manerii (sc. Biscopstreu, hodie Bistre) et me- dietatem de Mulinton et totum Wiselei tenet de Comite Odinus. Berewickai ejusdem manerii Hendrebifau et Weltune et Munentone et due Horspol et diraidiam Mulintone tenet Hugo filius Norman de Comite." 0 " Consultis Rossis et Ruthenis," — the first referring to Gwytherin in Rhus; the other, no doubt, to Gwytheriac near Ruthin, i. e., Efenechtyd, q. v., p. 409. THE DEANERY OF HOLYWELL. 467 house as the possession of her relies proved to the kindred Abbey at Shrewsbury. Henry II (a.d. 1154-88) granted " to God, St. Mary, and the monks of Basingwerk," inter aliay "the chapel of Basingwerk"; and David, son of Llewelyn ap Iorwerth, in 1240 added "the chirche also of Haliwelle, with the chapel of Colsul." The Taxatio of 1291 next records, "Eccl'ia de Heliwa tax' rectoria £15, dec. £1 : 10; vicaria £3, non decimatur." The Valor of 1535 returns the rectorial tithes as appropriate to the Abbey, and worth £31 : 6 : 4, inclusive of the offerings at the altar of St. Winifred, but liable to an annual pay- ment to St. Beuno.1 The vicarage is given at £9:14:8; tenth, 19s. 5jd.; and the chapel at £10, dec. £1. In 1537 the Abbey of Basingwerk was dissolved, and its possessions transferred, together with those of Beddgelert, Cardigan, and others, to the Abbey of Bustlesham or Bisham, which Henry VIII refounded and greatly enriched; but in 1539 that Abbey was itself also dis- solved ; and two years later, on the 28th of April, 1541 (32 Hen. VIII), letters patent were issued under the great seal granting to Henri ap Harri and Peter Mutton the inversion of the house and site of Basing- werk, in consideration of £28:11 :8 purchase money."2 By the marriage of Anne, the daughter of Henri ap Harri, to William Mostyn of Talacre,the site passed to that family, in which it still remains; and on the marriage of Anne, the daughter of the above Sir Peter Mutton, Chief Justice of North Wales, to Robert Davies of Gwysaney, Serjeant at law, the tithes appear to have been transferred to him as her dower, for in 1580 Mr. Davies leased them to his son John for ten years, and in 1614 his grandson let or sold those of " the townships of Over Berrington3 and Nether Berrington, and of Great Backley and Little Backle}-, to John Pennant of Holywell.4 In 1801 they were held by the Llanerch, Bychton, and Pennant of Bagillt families.5 They are now impropriate to Whitehall Dod, Esq., of Llanerch, and the Earl of Denbigh, and of the commuted value of £959 : 19 : 3. The vicarial tithes were commuted at the same time (1836) at £271 : 5, and have been subsequently augmented as follows : 1. Mrs. Allanson, by a codicil to her will in 1840, enrolled in Chancery in 1852, transferred from the impropriate tithes the annual sum of - - - ,£25 0 0 2. David Pennant, Esq., in 1840 gave £1,000 3 per Cent. Cons. 30 0 0 3. Jesus College, Oxford, in 1840, £800 ( = £905 : 4 : 8) in ditto 27 3 0 4. Lady Emma Pennant, £700 in trust in Queen Anne's Bounty, being part of <£3,000 left by her will, in 1846, for spiritual purposes in Holywell and Whitford - - 21 0 0 1 " Oblac'o'es ad S'c'am Wenefredam £x." " Eeddit' resolut' S'c'o Bew- noni per annu' ex'a d'niu' de Holywell ijs." 2 Arch. Camb., 1846, p. 411. 3 Probably Coleshill fawr and Coleshill fechan. 4 Llannerch MSS. 5 Br. Willis. 468 THE DEANERY OF HOLYWELL. 5. There are also forty acres of land at Cilceen, being a por- <£ s. d. tion of the enclosed waste lands bought in 1794 with two grants of .£200 from Queen Anne's Bounty, and <£150 from Jesus College, Oxford, now let at 1 - - 15 0 0 6. Interest of =£39 : 10 in Queen Anne's Bounty, being balance of above grants - - - - -156 The vicarage house was built in 1760, at the expense of Thomas and John Barker, Esqs., of Brynmadyn,2 and has attached to it about an acre of land. The patronage, which before the Dissolution be- longed to Basingwerk Abbey, passed with the rectory to the family of Grwysaney. In 1626 Robert Davies of Gwysaney, by deed, gave the nomination to Jesus College, Oxford, but retained the presentation in his own hands ; aud in 1841 Mrs. Allanson made over to the College the right of presentation also. The church, dedicated to St. Winifred (vigil, Nov. 3), was rebuilt in 1769, and probably at that time re-dedicated in the name of St. James the Apostle. It consists of a nave with north and south aisles, and a quasi chancel ; and is occupied on three sides by a gallery, that at the west end being for the organ3 and choir, that on the north free, and the one on the south pewed ; the whole giving accommodation for twelve hundred. Some of the pillars of the nave are Norman; the arches under the tower, Early English ; the upper portion is of later date, and contains one bell. There is also preserved a hand-bell, which, owing to the position of the church, in a hollow below the town, and the consequent difficulty of hearing, used to be carried about the town by the verger, and rung to announce the times of service, until a substitute was supplied by that of the new Cemetery Chapel. Under the tower is also preserved a mutilated effigy of a priest in his vestments. It was discovered during the rebuilding of the church, and is supposed by Pennant to represent Thomas, second son of Thomas ap David, Abbot of Basingwerk, a former vicar of this parish. More recent monuments, to the Mostyns of Talacre, Pen- nants of Bagillt and Holywell, Pantons of Bagillt, Edwards of Bryn- ford Hall, and others, are described in Pennant's interesting History of Holywell. The Communion plate consists of a flagon, presented by Mrs. Key in 1715; and a paten and two chalices, the gifts (together with a pocket Communion service for use with the sick) of Mr. John Hughes in 1853. 1 It may illustrate the working of the old system of dilapidations to state that the sum put down on account of this in 1868 was =£70, — six years' value of the then rental. 2 " iEde3 hasce Thomas et Johannes Barkerus de Brynmadyn fratres viri multis nominibus colendi suis solorum impensis animoque valde animabus benevolo testamento etiam uterque suo pia sedulitate curarunt exstruendas. Quod felix faustumque ut sit bonus nimirum faxit Deus." (Inscription formerly on the house.) :i Built by Flight and Robson, London, in 1825. THE DEANERY OF HOLYWELL. 409 The churchyard was enlarged in 1815, the land being given by Sir Piers Mostyn, Bart., of Talacre ; and on October 11, 1847, a new cemetery was consecrated, — the land (valued at £200) having been given by Lady Emma Pennant. The mortuary chapel, dedicated to St. Peter, was erected by subscription in 1848, and cost, together with the boundary walls, £800. The bell was added in 1853. St. Winifred's Chapel, over the Well, was built about the year 1490, by Margaret Countess of Derby, the mother of Henry VII, and consists of a nave with a small north aisle or recess of three bays, and an apsidal chancel considerably raised above it, but now divided off by a partition. The chancel-roof is vaulted in stone, and has curious devices carved in wood along the wall-plate. The east window has been converted into a doorway, and three out of four others closed. In the nave the roof is Perpendicular, and retains some of its bosses. Elegant fluted pillars sustain the aisle-arcades, and are set off with characteristic carving at their intersections. A small clerestory of three lights, above them, has been hidden by the raising of the ex- ternal roof. Before its erection there was probably an earlier and less handsome edifice, as in 1439 Isabel Countess of Warwick gave her gown of russet velvet, probably to grace the image on high festivals ;T and in Richard Ill's reign the Abbot and Convent received ten meres yearly from the Crown, "for the sustenance and salarie ofaprieste at the Chappelle of St. Wynifrede."2 In the Valor of 1535 it is stated to be worth £10 per ann., and to be granted to the Rev. Peter Fowler for the performance of divine service therein.3 At the Reformation these services were probably discontinued ; but during the interval of Queen Mary's reign they must have greatly revived, as Bishop Gold- well obtained from the Pope a renewal of indulgences for pilgrims to the Well. This was, however, of short continuance, and on the acces- sion of Queen Elizabeth it again fell into neglect. Mary, the queen of James II, received a grant of it from her husband in 1687, and expressed her intention of having it " decently repaired, and put to a good use," but hardly had time to carry it into effect. It has subse- quently been used for the several purposes of a grammar school, a Sunday school, week-day lectures, and vestry ; and once the assizes have been held in it, whence it has been also called the Hall. It is, however, ecclesiastical property, and used to be repaired out of the church-rate. The spring above which this Chapel is built is one of unusual 1 The story of the origin of the Well, told in the Golden Legend, printed by Wynkin de Worde in 1512, was painted on the windows before the restora- tion (temp. Henry VII), according to the author of England Illustrated. 2 Pennant's Eolyivell, 44. 3 "Capella de Holywell, valet clare in quadam annate sive annuali pensi- one per annum per dominum nunc regem per literas suas patentes, concessa Petro Fowler, clerico pro termino vite sue ad celebranda seu celebrari faci- enda divina servicia infra capellam predictain." 3p 470 THE DEANERY OF HOLYWELL. magnitude, and throws up, according to Mr. Pennant, above twenty tons of water a minute. This is enclosed in a polygonal basin, from the angles of which rise lofty fluted pillars that support a beautiful vaulted roof, the bosses of which are carved with heraldic and other devices, and the foliated tracery laden with crutches and other mementoes of the cures said to have been effected by its waters. The legendary account of its origin has been already noticed, and an attempt made to shew the substratum of fact on which it was built •} and a further clue to the decollation myth may, I think, be found in the well close by, once famous for the cure of sore eyes ; for as the old custom of offering pins argues for it a pre-Christian notoriety, — and it is dried up by letting off the water from the adjoining mill-pool, — it is highly probable that the effect produced upon it by the bursting forth of the larger spring may be the real, underlying fact represented by the violent attack of the son of Alyn, and the temporary end of the maiden. The Grammar School has at different times had several benefactions made to it, e. Mr. Williams, £100; Mrs. Kaey (the donor of the Page 2, note, supra. THE DEANERY OF HOLYWELL. 471 Communion plate), £60; Mrs. Poole and Mr. Edward Price, £25 each; and an anonymous donor, £120. Of these, the last was invested in the Halkin Turnpike Trust, which proved unprofitable, and was aban- doned in 1782 ; the third and fourth had been lost long before ; and the first two, bearing interest at 3 per cent., are now the only endow- ment. The National School for boys, girls, and infants, was erected in 1819, at a cost of £1,160.! The charities embrace : £ s. d. 1 . Ellis Parry's, the rental of thirty-four acres in the township of Bagillt, left in 1628 by Ellis Parry, a native of that town- ship, and citizen of London ; distributed each Sunday, in bread, to the poor attending church - - - - 45 0 6 2. Griffith Jones', 1 a. 1 r. 10 p., distributed as above - - 1 4 0 3. Edward and Nicholas George's, rental of 18 a. 3 r. 8 p. in Ys- geifiog, left in 1628 and 1645 ; distributed in clothing tickets, 2s. each, on St. Thomas' Day - - - - - 25 6 0 4. Ellis Parry's second. Eent-charge on " Shears" public house in Wood Street, Cheapside, being £6, less 17s. 6cl. taxes ; dis- tributed in books to the National School, Bryncelyn - 5 2 6 5. Humphrey Eoberts', interest of ,£500, 3 per Cents. ; distri- buted on St. Thomas' Day, in clothing tickets, 2s. each - 14 7 0 6. Interest of £100 2 distributed to one hundred poor on St. Tho- mas' Day - - - - - - - 500 7. Mrs. Jones' (the Eock), in 1825 ; distributed St. Thomas' Day 0 7 0 8. Miss Emma Williams', 1858, interest of £500 in Consolidated Fund, for old women born in Holywell, and past work - 15 0 0 9. Mr. John Hughes', interest of =£1,000 in Liverpool Dock Bonds, 4} per cent. ; distributed on St. Thomas' Day among thirty old men and women most regular in church and at the Lord's Supper - - - - - - - - 47 10 0 VICARS. 1537. — Maurice ap David 1542. — Howel ap David Hugh ap David 1593. — Hughes, Owen 1608.— Price, Robert 1635. — Lloyd, Evan, A.M. 1677. — Humphreys, J. 1682.— Ball, William, A.M. 1692.— Parry, Edward 1700.— Price, Ellis 1763.— *Havard, Benjamin, B.D. 1773.— *Lloyd, John, B.D.3 1 The National Society granted £100. 8 Arising from ,£50 by David Parry of Bagillt, £17 from sale of confiscated Irish cattle, £10 each by Mr. Ellis and Executors of D. P., and interest, in the hands of Mr. P. P. Pennant. * Fellows of Jesus College, Oxford. ■ V. Cilcain, 1782. 472 THE DEANERY OF HOLYWELL. 1807.— * Jones, John, B.D.1 1837. — "Gardner, Arthur Dowries, M.A. 1844. — * Jones, Hugh, M.A.2 1868. — Williams, Richard Owen, M.A., Jesus College, Oxford ; Deacon, 1861; Pr., 1862; Curate of Hope, 1861; of Holywell, 1863. BAGILLT.3 This ecclesiastical district was formed out of the parish of Holyw^ell ; gazetted May 23, 1844 ; and consists of the townships of Bagillt Fawr, Bagillt Fechan, Coleshill Fawr, and Coleshill Fechan ; having an area of 3,077 a. 2 r. 33 p.; and a population of 3,111. The church (St. Mary's) is cruciform in plan, wTith a low, battle- mented tower at the west end, and turrets at the angles of the tran- septs. The foundation-stone was laid by the Rev. Thomas Pennant, March 29th, 1837; and it was consecrated the 18th of July, 1839. Total cost, £2,235. The National School was built in 1840, at a cost of £430. The endowment of the church consists of : £ s. d. 1. Interest of ,£1,500 in Three per Cents., bequest of Lady Emma Pennant - - - - - - - 45 0 0 2. Ditto, £807 : 1 : 3, New Three per Cents., now in Queen Anne's Bounty - - - - - - - - 24 4 0 3. Two augmentations by Ecclesiastical Commissioners in 1848 and 1859 - - - - - - - - 75 0 0 4. Pew rents and fees - - - - - - 28 0 0 £172 4 0 A parsonage house was added in 1860 at a cost of £1,171 : 12 : 11, derived from a grant of £300 from the Galley Knight Fund ; £300, a bequest of Lady Emma Pennant ; sale of £538 : 17 : 11, Consols, in Queen Anne's Bounty; and the balance, £32 : 15, given by Bishop Short. Patron, the vicar of Holywell. INCUMBENTS. 1839. — Jones, Hugh, M.A.; V. Holywell, 1844; Canon Residentiary. 1844. — Edwards, Ebenezer. 1846.— Jones, William Evan, E. Garthbeibio, 1850. 1 V. Cwm, 1820-33; V. Llansannan, 1833. 2 Hon. Canon of St. Asaph, 1850; Residentiary Canon, I860; E. Llan- rwst, 1868. Author of The Christian's Example (sermons preached here in Lent 1848), and A Collection of Psalms and Hymns. 3 Possibly a corruption of bachell, a corner, from its position on the border- line. The name also occurs in the township of Hendre-figillt, in the neigh- bouring parish of Halkin. st. Paul's, gorsedd. THE DEANERY OF HOLYWELL. 473 1850. — Jones, Edward Newton, B.A. ;T P. C. Lynesach, 1855; Penk- hull, 1860. 1855. — Jones, James Evans, Univ. College, Durham, Licen. Theol. ; Deac., 1848; Pr., 1850 ; P. C. Lynesach, Durham, 1848-56. BRYNFORD. The origin of this church is in one respect a painful one, as it is one of the two erected at the same time to supply the place of that at Pantasa, the foundation-stone of which had been laid as a Protestant church of England, but its dedication transferred to Pome, through the adoption of that creed by the founders, Lord and Lady Feilding.2 This perversion was followed by an appeal to the public to provide funds to supply its place, which resulted in the collection of a large sum,3 and the erection of the two churches of Brynford and Gorsedd, with their respective parsonages and schools. The foundation-stone was laid by Bishop Short on Monday, 29th of September, 1851; and it was consecrated, under the dedication of St. Michael, on Tuesday, 12th of July, 1853. It consists of nave and chancel, with north vestry, south porch, and western bell-turret, and has open seats and roof. The east window has a triple lancet, and is filled with stained glass of a diaper pattern. The font is polygonal, and stands on clustered pillars. The Communion plate was presented by the Misses Luxmoore, and consists of flagon, chalice, paten, and alms-dish, each inscribed with an appropriate text. The accommoda- tion is for three hundred and fifty, all of which are free, except nine 1 Author of occasional sermons. 8 The site of Pantasa had been indicated by Lady E. Pennant for a church which she wished to build ; but none of the £3,000 which she left by her will for the spiritual benefits of the parishes of Whitford and Holywell were ex- pended upon it. Lord and Lady Feilding (the daughter of Lady E. Pen- nant) built it at their sole expense (£10,000), as a thank-offering on their marriage. 3 This embraced sums of ,£500 from Mrs. Pennant, Brynbella; <£150 from the Earl of Cardigan; <£120, Messrs. Newton, Keats, and Co.; £100 each from Bishop Short, Dean Luxmoore, Dowager Marchioness of Downshire (together with ,£100 for the endowment), Marquis of Westminster, Earl Howe, Lord Dinorben, Duke of Cleveland, Hon. Colonel Douglas Pennant, Misses Luxmoore, Mrs. Oakley (Tanybwlch), Mrs. Park of Ince Hall, John Day, Esq.; £50 each from Eev. Dr. Briscoe, J. L. Petit, Esq.; C. W. Tabor, Esq. ; Jesus College, Oxford ; Miss Pollen ; Lady Dinorben ; Mrs. Carey ; Duchess Dowager of Northumberland ; a friend of the late Eev. T. Pennant Miss Mostyn; Earl Amherst; Hon. E. M. Lloyd Mostyn, M.P.; W. C.j and Miss Jane Peel ; and collections from seventy-five churches in the diocese, in compliance with the request of a pastoral letter from the Bishop. 474 THE DEANERY OF HOLYWELL. seats let to meet the expenses of the church. The entire cost, includ- ing all incidental expenses, was £2,030:14:9. Architect, Mr. T. H. Wyatt. The Schoolroom, with master's house, was opened in 1854. Cost, £676 : 12 : 6 ; and the parsonage house erected in 1857, at a cost of £705. The sites for church, school, and parsonage, were all presented by the Crown. The area of the parish is 1,253 a. 3r. 10 p.; population, ; endow- ment, £280 per aim., e. g., £ s. d. 1. Interest of .£2,731 : 7 : 7, subscriptions, in Queen Anne's Bounty, at 3 per cent. - - - - - 82 0 0 2. From Ecclesiastical Commissioners - - - 40 0 0 3. From tithes in Ysceifiog - 158 0 0 There are also six acres and a half of glebe, the gift of the Marquis of Westminster. Patron, the Bishop of the diocese. Vicar. — 1853. Jones, David, St. David's, Lampeter; Deacon, 1851 j Priest, 1852. GREENFIELD. The foundation-stone of this church was laid, in the name of the Holy Trinity, on the 15th of August, 1870, by Constance Gertrude, Mar- chioness of Westminster; and it was licensed for divine service on the 18th October, 1871. Some twenty years before a room had been licensed for service, for the accommodation of the large and increasing population of the district ; but the building of a church had been delayed, owing to the difficulty of procuring a site, until Mr. Richard- son of Greenfield Hall offered a portion of his park, adjoining the high road, for the purpose. The church is designed by Mr. Christian of London, in the style of the thirteenth century; and w7hen complete will consist of nave with south aisle, and chancel with aisles ; but at present, through lack of funds, only the nave and aisle have been finished. The material used has been local stone of a bluish tint, with dressings of warm coloured Storeton stone ; and the cost, exclusive of site (valued at £100), has been £2,300; the principal contributors having been Mr. Keates, late of Greenfield Hall, and family, £600 ; Marquis of Westminster, Bishop Short, and Diocesan Church Building Society, each £200; the Incorporated Church Building Society, £150; and Jesus College, Oxford, £100.* A district has been assigned, but not yet legally attached to the church. 1 Other sums were, £60 Carey Fund, and £50 each from Canon Jones, Whitehall Dod, and Miss Mesham. THE DEANERY OF HOLYWELL. NANNERCH.1 475 Three of the townships of this parish, Trellan, Trefechan, and Trecwm, are in Flintshire ; the other, Tre Penbedw, is in the county of Den- bigh. The area is about 2,900 acres, of which about 700 acres are mountain. Rateable value, £2,208; and population, 318. The township of Penbedw, together with Maesmynan and Blowty, was granted by Edward I, after his conquest of the country, to Regi- nald de Grey, lord of Ruthin ; and in 1544 it was again granted, by Henry VIII, to Piers ap Howel, alias Peter Mostyn, of \Vespre, in consideration of the payment of £73. In this grant it is described as having been part of the possessions of the Earl of Kent in the com- mot of Dogveilyn, one of the commots in the cantred of Dyffryn Clwyd. There is still some ecclesiastical property originally granted to the see of St. Asaph by Edward in 1281, thence called Lhjs Esgob,2 and now known as Maes yr Esgob, in Trefechan township, containing 1 " Olim Capel y Wiail yn Rhos." (Bishop Tanner.) - 87a. — " Convencio inter Ep'um et liberos tenentes de Xannerch, per quod ipsi liberi tenentes concedunt Ep'o quoddam boscum, consideraeione quod illi boscum Ep'i sine licentia succiderent. A'o 1305. 87b. — Demissio manerii D'ni de Nannerch cum 60 acris terre Madoco Yyckan cum teneraento vocato Llys Esgob cum molendiuo et solvet per annum 5 lib., et Bledynt ap Madoc tenet unum tenementum et diversas parcellas terre continentes per estimacionem 30 acras pro xxs." 470 THE DEANERY OF HOLYWELL. 15 a. 3 r. 8 p. The Taxatio of 1291, under " Ecclesia de Nannerch," mentions, " Rectoria taxatur £3 ; vicaria, £1 : 13 : 4 ; non deciman- tur." And the Valor of 1535, " Rectoria valet clare £8:18:8; inde pro decima parte regi, 17s. 10}