Page:The National Gazetteer - A Topographical Dictionary of the British Islands, Volume 1.djvu/19

Rh ABEPvCOWARCH. ABERDEEN. visit to Scotland, was entertained hero. The parish gives the British title of Marquis, and the Scotch title of Earl, to the Hamiltons of Duddingstone. ABERCOWARCH, near DinasMowddwy, in the par. of Mallwyd and co. of Merioneth, 9 miles S.E. of Dolgelly, and 200 from London ; a fine spot among the Aran Mowddwy mountains. ABERCRAF, near Ystradynglais, in the hund. of Devynnock, in the co. of Brecon, 8 miles N. of Neath. Here was the Gwyns' old seat, now a farm. ABERCROMBIE, or ST. MONANCE, a par. in tho district of St. Andrew's, in the co. of Fife, 1 mile S.W. of Pittenween, 20 from Perth, and 31 from Edinburgh. With tho post-office village of St. Monance, it forms a burgh or barony under the laird of Newark, and is governed by a town council of fifteen, and three bailies. The living, val. 162, is in the presb. of St. Andrew's, and in tho patron, of the crown. The parish church is part of an old convent, situated on a rock projecting into the Frith, and is a stately Gothic pile in tho form of a cross, originally built by David II. in 1369 after escaping shipwreck. It was granted by James III. to the Black Friars, and was restored in 1827, with much taste, as the parish church. The coast consists of free and lime-stone rocks, and the -village has a tolerably good harbour, ac- commodating three or four trading vessels and thirty largo fishing boats. It was formerly one of the most consider- able towns on the coast of Fife, but is now only a village of second-rate importance. There are in the neigh- bourhood quarries of lime, ironstone, and coal. It gives the title of Baron to the son of Sir Ralph Abercrombic, who fell at the battle of Alexandria ; and the surname of Abercrombie to Sir Robert of Birkenbog, the head of the Clan. Here are the remains of New House, tho soat of General Leslie, famous in the Commonwealth time. ABERDALGIE, a par., now united with Dupplin, in the district of East Perth, in tho co. of Perth, Scotland, 3 miles S.W. of Perth. It lies on the north bank of tho river Earn, which affords good fishing. Freestone is abundant, and there are some limo quarries at Milton. Dupplin Castle is the scat of the Earl of Kinnoul ; it was destroyed by fire in 1827, but has been rebuilt in the Elizabethan style. The living, val. 158, is in the presb. of Perth, and in tho patron, of the Earl of Kin- noul, chief heritor. Tho battle of Dupplin was fought here in 1332, between Baliol nnd the Earl of Mar. The parish was the estate of the Oliphants, from the reign of David II. to 1625, when the Earl of Morton sold it to the ancestors of the Earl of Kinnoul. AliKRDAKK, a par. in the hund. of Miskin, in the co. of Glamorgan, South Wales, 4 miles to tho S.W. of Merthyr Tydfil, 19 miles to the E. of Neath, and 23 miles N.W. of Cardiff. It has a station on tho Taff- Vale Line, by which it communicates, riu Cardiff, with London, 1944 miles. It comprises the limits, of Cefnpennar, Cwmdare, Forchaman, and Llwydcoed. The situation and surrounding scenery of Aberdare are particularly pleasant. The village lies on the banks of the river Diir, near the point of its junction with tho Cynon, in the romantic vale of Cynon. Groves of oak and fir are intermingled with green meadows and corn-fields, with rugged rocks, and the windings of tho stream. Coal and iron ore are found ; and the works furnish employment for 8,000 hands. The works at Llwydcoed and Abernant are capable of producing 1,400 tons of iron weekly. There are other extensive iron-works in the parish. A canal, 7 miles in length, connects these works with the Cardiff canal, and a railway, 8 miles in length, connects them with tho Taff Vale railway. There is also a rail- way to Neath, and another to Hereford. By the Reform Bill of 1832, Aberdare is made to form part of tho borough of Merthvr Tydfil. The living is a vie.* in the dioc. of Llnndaff, with St. Elvan's and Ilirwain annexed, val. 305, in the patron, of the Marquis of Bute. The church, dedicated to St. John the Baptist, is [indent, small, singularly plain, and has no steeple. There are, beside the parish church, three hands, uno new churches, and a fourth, dedicated to St. Fagan, which is now a perpet. VOL. I. cur., val. 120, in the patron, of the Bishop of Llandaff. There are also places of worship for the Independents, Baptists, Unitarians, Calvinistic and Wesleyan Me- thodists. Dyffryn, in this parish is interesting as tho birthplace and tho residence of Oweu (Jetian dda ab Davydd-ab-Owain), the poet and patron of bards, who lived about the middle of tho 15th century. It is also the birthplace of Edward Evan, the Congregational minister, distinguished both as poet and divine, who exerted himself so zealously for the preservation of tho bardic institutions in his country. Ho died in the year 1798. This parish was the scene of a fierce contest, in the reign of William Rufus, between the forces of the British and the Normans ; the latter being led by Fitzhamon, who defeated Jestyn, and divided his territories between himself and his followers. ABERDARGIE, a vil. in the par. of Abernethy, in Perthshire, Scotland, 1 mile from Abernethy. ABERDARON, a par. in tho hund. of Commitmaen, in tho eo. of Carnarvon, North Wales, 14 miles S.W. of Pwllhcli. It is situated, as its name indicates, at the mouth of the river Daron, at the extremity of tho penin- sula of Lleyn, and opposite to Bardsey Island. Oil this island a famous monastery once existed which used to attract a large number of pilgrims. Aberdaron was the usual place of embarkation for the island, and was much frequented by tho pilgrims. On the highest ground a chapel was erected, Capel Vair, or " Chapel of Our Lady," in which it was customary to invoke the protection of the Virgin before passing over to the island. There was also another chapel at a little distance from the former, and near the shore, named Capel Anhaelog. These havo both shared the destiny of the monastery to which they were related, and have fallen into decay. The church had anciently the privilege of sanctuary attached to it ; and in 1115 Grifi'ydd-ab-Rhys, prince of South Wales, took refuge within its precincts, from Griffydd-ab-Cynan, prince of North Wales, who desired to capture and give him up to Henry I. The isolated position of the village, and tho want of roads, cut it off from commu- nication with other towns. Good limestone is quarried, and a small quantity of lead ore is found, in the parish. A fair is held on the 10th June. The living, which is in tho dioc. of Bangor, and in tho patron, of tho bishop, is a rect. and vie. ; val., with Llanfael- rhys, 120. The church, which was formerly collegiate, had privilege of sanctuary, and was dedicated to St. Hyrwyn, the tutelary saint of Bardsey Island. The Inde- pendents, and the Calvinistic and Wesleyan Methodists, have chapels in the village. Beneath the hill on which the chapel of Our Lady stood, was tho cave of Ogo Vair, and in the cave was a kind of wishing well. The devout visitor had to carry a mouthful of its water up a difficult and dangerous way to the top of the hill. ABERDAUGLEDDAN, Pembrokeshire. See MIL- FORD HAVEN. ABERDEEN, a city, tho capital of the co. of Aber- deen, in the N. of Scotland, 110 miles N.N.E. of Edin- burgh by road, and 130 by rail, through Perth, or 1122 through Broughty Ferry. Being 526 miles from London by the Great Northern, and 542{ by the North Western railway. It is a royal and parliamentary borough, and takes rank as fourth among the cities of North Britain. It is situated on the north bank of tho river Dee, near its mouth, and about lj mile from the mouth of the Don. The approach to it by sea lies along a bleak sandy coast, with low rocks and reefs, so that the im- pression produced upon a stranger of the magnificence of the city is heightened as he rounds the point of sudden ingress. The ancient form of its name is Abredo, Aber- don, or Aberdoen, signifying the " confluence of the Don and tho Dee," more properly applicable to Old Aberdeen, whence the inhabitants still bear tho title of Aberdo- nians. The earliest mention of the locality occurs in the writings of Ptolemy, who speaks of a town existing here which he calls 'Devana. There is an ancient tradition which affirms that municipal privileges were conferred on the town as early as the 9th century, by King Gregory. But this is unquestionably apocrypha]